The child's poop smells bad

Children are young and are more likely to have health problems, some of which are not easy to detect in time, such as gastrointestinal diseases. In this case, it is necessary to observe the child's stool shape, color, smell, etc. to determine whether the child has any abnormalities in this regard. It is common for children to have smelly stools, which has a lot to do with the fact that they have just started to add complementary foods. Please see the detailed analysis below for the specific situation.

Many mothers have found that since their babies started to eat complementary foods, not only has the frequency of bowel movements decreased and the time of bowel movements prolonged, but the stool also smells particularly bad. In fact, this is the same as for adults. As long as there is no bowel movement for more than a day, it means that the feces have accumulated in the large intestine for more than 10 hours. Under the action of intestinal bacteria, various smelly gases are produced. Therefore, it is normal for the stool to be a little smelly, but if it is particularly smelly, you must be careful. If it is particularly smelly, there must be a problem with the intestines. Please see the following specific analysis for specific problems and how to improve them.

When food residues enter the large intestine, it is mainly these bacteria that take effect. Under the action of bacteria, the food residues are decomposed and the gases produced mainly include indole, skatole, hydrocarbons, amines, acetic acid, butyric acid, etc. Among them, the odor mainly comes from indole, skatole, and hydrogen sulfide. The more of these gases are produced, the stronger the odor!

Everyone has noticed that the baby's stool has become more and more smelly since the baby started to eat complementary foods. This is because the frequency of bowel movements has decreased, the defecation time has been prolonged, and the time that food residues stay in the intestines has also been prolonged. As a result, more indole, skatole, etc. are produced, and naturally the stool becomes more smelly!

Why do exclusively breastfed babies’ stools not smell bad? The main reason is that bowel movements are so frequent that the intestines don’t have time to produce bad odor!

If the baby's bowel movement time is prolonged and the stool has a bad smell, but the baby is not constipated and the stool color is the same, it can be considered normal. If the baby is constipated and does not have a bowel movement for several days, the stool will of course be very smelly. In this case, the smell can be improved by improving the constipation.

Factors that can affect the intensity of stool odor

1. Food types: The odor mainly comes from the decomposition of protein food residues, while there is almost no fiber food and very little starch food; so the more protein food such as meat, eggs and milk you eat, the more obvious the odor will be. If your baby's stool is very smelly, consider whether the proportion of protein food intake is too large, and increase the intake of fiber food (vegetables and fruits) and starch food (rice, flour and potatoes);

2. From the perspective of food digestion time, the time food residues stay in the intestines is the longest for protein foods, while fiber and starch foods take a short time to digest. Foods that take a long time to digest naturally stay in the intestines for a longer time, which makes bacteria act on food residues for a longer time, and correspondingly produces more indole, skatole, etc.

In addition to the type of food, the peristaltic ability of the intestines and the balance of intestinal flora will also affect the time that food residues stay in the intestines!

In addition, the source of the odor is mainly protein food residues, so people who like to eat meat usually have particularly smelly feces!

Generally speaking, it takes 18 to 20 hours for food to be eaten and turned into feces and excreted. This time means that the feces has stayed in the large intestine for 8 to 10 hours. The accumulation of feces in the intestine is like food that has been left in a high temperature environment for a long time and will deteriorate and smell bad. The feces that are only excreted once every few days must be smelly.

Similarly, to improve the condition, you need to consume more fiber and starchy foods, and you can also do abdominal massage to promote intestinal motility!