Almost 3yr old never has solid poop, could it be food allergies?

[okinawama]

DS is is 2yr 10 months, and very very rarely has solid poop. He is on a healthy diet and willingly eats almost anything in front of him. I know a healthy BM is the consistency of peanut butter, but it's rarely even that solid. There are times when it is almost pure liquid and absorbed by the diaper. We have started to think about potty training him soon, but I don't know if he's even completely aware when he has a BM because it takes next to no effort and is just so watery.

I know he has an issue with Mandarin oranges, because those diapers are pure liquid for days and burn his but like no other, even after one orange. Other than that, he's never had a rash, he gains weight, and as an infant had a gnarly case of acid reflux, but he's off meds and seems fine. Do you think it could be FA? If not, what else could be causing such loose stools?

[rin]

Is it at all possible that he has too much fiber in his diet? My dd2 loves fruit and vegetables to the point where we do have to ration her because she gives herself diarrhea. When we limit her fruit and veggie consumption and increase her grain intake her poop is better.

Aside from that, I don't have any personal experience with FAs, but I'm sure others who are knowledgeable will chime in.

[okinawama]

Thanks for the suggestion, but it's definitely not too much fiber. When I initially noticed the issue we really tried to cut back on all fiber (and fruit juice of any kind) and it made no noticeable difference. I also forgot to add that we give him a probiotic in an attempt to help, but again, no difference.

[candaceb]

DS was that same age when we figured out that he was lactose intolerant. He was on the BRATY (bread rice applesauce toast and yogurt) diet until things calmed down, and then I started reintroducing foods one at a time. As soon as I added milk, we were back to square 1. I had suspected he had an issue with milk for a while and when I had previously brought up the issue with the ped, he said "if there's a problem, you'll know". It got to the point where we definitely knew there was a problem. It has not been a big deal to deal with it, especially because DS seems to be tolerant of small amounts of cheese. He absolutely can't have straight milk or ice cream.

[petesgirl]

My son's allergist said that diarrhea can be a sign of food allergy. You might want to find a pediatric G. I. doc or allergist and get it checked out. I would be worried about nutrient absorption and dehydration with that kind of poop.
Also, maybe I'm thinking of someone else, but does he also have trouble sleeping? We noticed a huge improvement in DS's sleep when we cut out his allergens.

[okinawama]

Also, maybe I'm thinking of someone else, but does he also have trouble sleeping? We noticed a huge improvement in DS's sleep when we cut out his allergens.
OMG!!! I can't tell you how awful his sleep is. It's terrible....STILL...at 3! Hmm.....I need to call our pediatrician!

[Simon]

OMG!!! I can't tell you how awful his sleep is. It's terrible....STILL...at 3! Hmm.....I need to call our pediatrician!

I would strongly suspect a food intolerance, but probably not a straight up IgE allergy. Milk/dairy caused nightwaking in 2 of my kids. Other foods are currently causing nightwaking in my 3rd child. I agree with Pp's concerns about nutrient absorption. Also, there is also something called fructose malabsorption which can cause watery stools and other symptoms. It is usually controlled with diet like food allergies. This is something to consider if you don't think the symptoms are not linked to just 1-2 specific foods. Do not confuse this with hereditary fructose intolerance, which is different.

[okinawama]

Man, I have lots of research to do. On nutrient malabsorption, do they continue to gain weight? How do I know if he isn't getting the nutrients he's supposed to? How do you test for food intolerances rather than allergies? Any websites or books I can read to help so I can gain some knowledge on allergies/intolerances. I'm also pretty positive that as long as DS is gaining weight and not having any apparent food allergy reactions ( ie: rash, itchiness, swelling...) he will totally blow me off, what types of info and questions do I need to ask to get the testing my little guy needs.

[petesgirl]

So we *think* my son had a soy and dairy intolerance as an infant. He was definitely more fussy when I was nursing him but did okay on a digested milk protein formula. Our problem was that even though I eliminated dairy, etc, breast milk always seemed to upset him more than formula. But he does have reflux and we didn't discover that til later. When he was almost 2 we saw a pediatric allergist who did skin prick testing for about 40 common allergens.. All were negative. She said to give dairy a try and that it was probably an intolerance he had grown out of. We don't limit dairy now and he seems fins but his G. I. Dr says that it is probably an allergy causing his reflux... It can get complicated.
If you think your ped will blow it off, could you go to an allergist on your own? Or at least maybe the ped would be willing to give you a referral.
My son has also always gained weight but he is only about 10th percentile and about 50th for height. His ped has never been worried since DH and I are both slender build and average height. But his pediatric G. I. Dr thinks we are starving him to death! We've had a 2nd opinion about that and kind of ignore parts of her advice, but she has been helpful in other ways.

[Simon]

Food intolerances suck to identify. There is no testing and its basically, remove from the diet for ~3+ weeks and then reintroduce and look for changes in symptoms. We're in the middle of that process. We have been through several allergists and have not found them to be overly helpful because their focus is actual allergies and intolerance is more of a gray area. You can check for vitamin deficiencies with a blood draw, and you can be growing and doing well even with very low levels of iron or vitamin D, for example. Fructose malabsorption is a breath test (breathing into a tube). I think you might have better luck with a GI who can give you advice on the persistent loose stools. Personally, I'd start with GI vs. allergist. The forums at Kidswithfoodallergies.org are full of very helpful people.