Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×

  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Sand-like Or Grainy Stools

e&j0304

Recommended Posts

e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted

I know that Ella's stools used to be like this (pre gluten-free diet), so maybe this is just my kids, but can it be due to gluten? I have the feeling that ds got into something because he has been having diarrhea again for days. It is also very sandy or grainy in consistency and it is making his little bottom RAW. He is miserable.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their children. There is not much I could find online about it.

Thanks for any info you all can provide!

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


Lymetoo Contributor
Lymetoo
Posted
I know that Ella's stools used to be like this (pre gluten-free diet), so maybe this is just my kids, but can it be due to gluten? I have the feeling that ds got into something because he has been having diarrhea again for days. It is also very sandy or grainy in consistency and it is making his little bottom RAW. He is miserable.

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their children. There is not much I could find online about it.

Thanks for any info you all can provide!

I think mine were that way. Not sure what you're describing. Mine sort of "fell apart" in the toilet sometimes. Very strange looking.

e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted
  • Author

My kids' stools almost look like they literally ate sand from a sandbox. It is very hard to get off their skin with baby wipes.

We don't have a sandbox and they have not been around one, so I know that's not what it is.

No doctor that we have brought this up with has been able to help us.

Just wondering if anyone on here had experienced it.

Thanks for your help!

e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted
  • Author

ok. I've just spent almost an hour looking online for information about sandy or grainy stools and have found pretty much NOTHING!!!

Maybe my kiddos are just weird. I do have to get a new prescription diaper rash cream for ds though. His little bottom is now bleeding from the diarrhea. I've never seen a diaper rash this bad before and I feel so badly for him.

evie Rookie
evie
Posted
ok. I've just spent almost an hour looking online for information about sandy or grainy stools and have found pretty much NOTHING!!!

Maybe my kiddos are just weird. I do have to get a new prescription diaper rash cream for ds though. His little bottom is now bleeding from the diarrhea. I've never seen a diaper rash this bad before and I feel so badly for him.

When I felt I had been glutened, had D, I also felt like my stools had acid in them. Left me very sore!! :angry: Was rather painful, that was when I tried to drink extra water. Is your child celiac? I know it is hard to keep them from eating all gluten free if others want to give them a treat. Hope for a better day for you and family. :) evie

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

Both my kids have had this where it's nearly impossible to get all the little tiny things off them. You pretty much have to pick each one off. (Neither of my kids are gluten-free, but we're getting them tested through Enterolab as we can afford it.)

I have done searches on it too, and have found other people asking about it, but no answers. I've seen it described as grainy, seedy, sandy or cornmeal-like. Somehow it wouldn't be so disturbing if it wasn't so hard to get it off their little bottoms.

With my son, I've noticed that it happens when he gets dairy, with the raw rash going with it. Dairy intolerance can be a symptom of celiac.

Nancy

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

Well, I consulted the experts. I just sent off an email to Enterolab. If anyone would have noticed a connection between celiac and grainy stools, it would be Dr. Fine. :lol:

I'll post the email when I get a response.

Nancy

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted
  • Author

Thank you, Nancy! I will be looking for your post with the answer. I really want to get to the bottom of this for him!

Sometimes I do wonder about dairy, but he eats yogurt and cheese with no problem. He seems to have a hard time with cow's milk though and usually drinks soy.

Again, thanks for your help!

Evie,

My kids are both gluten free although they may or may not have celiac. My dd was tested through enterolab and was positive for gluten intolerance. My ds had celiac testing and it was negative. However, once on the gluten-free diet his "toddler diarrhea" cleared up and he was much healthier. We think he got glutened and that is why he is having diarrhea again right now.

momothree Apprentice
momothree
Posted

Hi there. I've posted about this exact problem with my little girl (now 21 months old) and didn't really get anywhere with it. I'm so glad to see it come up again and I am literally on the edge of my seat to find out what comes back from the Enterolab doc. Both of my older kids (12 and 10yrs) have been recently diagnosed, but when I had my babe's blood work done it came back with some bizarre number like -2 or something like that. Now I know that she is too young to get an accurate diagnosis from blood work. However, I have had her on the gluten-free diet like her sibs for about 2 months now and we have definitely noticed a difference. She didn't really have a problem with D, but was alternating between constipation and kind of mucky poops that were full of sand-like particles. I had nothing but shrugged shoulders and blank stares from the med. community where I live and had almost given up on the answer. Now, they are mostly solid, sometimes a little soft, but NEVER sandy anymore. I can't wait to see if this is common with celiac, then, with both of her sibs having it--I will pretty much have my answer too. THANKS!

mle-ii Explorer
mle-ii
Posted

I found this, though it's for too much iron and in pregnant women.

Can I get too much iron?

There is a condition in which the liver gets overloaded with iron, but this is extremely rare in healthy reproductive-age women. The most common iron-related problem in pregnancy is that taking two or three 325 mg iron supplements a day can cause abdominal cramping, dark green and grainy stools, and constipation. The body only can absorb the equivalent of two supplements at most, so taking any more is not helpful--and very hard on the digestive system. Even the small amount of iron in a prenatal vitamin can cause some women to become constipated; conversely, some actually get diarrhea from iron.

Open Original Shared Link

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

I got an email from Enterolab customer service saying that Phyllis (the nurse there) is on vacation, and will be returning next week. They are saving my email so that she can respond to it when she gets back.

Nancy

e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted
  • Author

Nancy,

Thanks so much for following up on that. I am really looking forward to hearing what they have to say. I appreciate that you took the time to e-mail them!

Thanks again,

Shannon

Nancym Enthusiast
Nancym
Posted

I googled this yesterday and found a reference to babies being breastfed sometimes have grainy poo.

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

I do remember that about breastfeeding now that you mention it. I see that your son is 1 year Shannon. Are you still breastfeeding? My son is 2.5 and hasn't been breastfed in a long time. There doesn't seem to be a real obvious pattern of grainy stools that comes up in discussion here, so I'm leaning toward dairy maybe. But then, dairy can cause problems in early celiac too. I'm hoping Enterolab has seen a pattern of one sort or another with this grainyness.

Nancy

e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted
  • Author

Nancy,

No, my son is no longer breastfed. We stopped right at a year old and he will be 2 in November. My daughter also had this symptom before going gluten free when she was between the ages of 2-3.

I hope we find some answers. It sure is weird!

Thanks again,

Shannon

momothree Apprentice
momothree
Posted

My daughters BM's were perfectly normal until she was about 9 or 10 months old. I was still breastfeeding, but she started solids at about 6.5 months. After we stopped breastfeeding, at about a year, the grainy poops continued. She still drinks plenty of milk, but after going gluten-free things improved considerably.

azmom3 Contributor
azmom3
Posted
ok. I've just spent almost an hour looking online for information about sandy or grainy stools and have found pretty much NOTHING!!!

Maybe my kiddos are just weird. I do have to get a new prescription diaper rash cream for ds though. His little bottom is now bleeding from the diarrhea. I've never seen a diaper rash this bad before and I feel so badly for him.

My daughter had a diahrea episode when she was about 6 months old that lasted about a week with probably 30-50 times per day. It was awful! She was drinking great to make up for it and never got too dehydrated, but her whole bottom area was completely raw and bleeding. The doctor recommended (whenever possible) to let her be naked. Now that's not very realistic with a baby and people's schedules, but when I had the time, I would put her on a blanket with a pad and just let her play naked, clean everything up and start again. It was messy and time-consuming, but at least I saved on all the diapers and got her cleaned up before the diahrrea sat for a while and did more damage. Also, I'm sure they told you this already, but whenever possible, rinse him off as opposed to wiping him and either let him airdry or dry with a hairdryer on a low setting. When I'd be out some where, I'd rinse a baby wipe off really good before using it on her and then just pat it clean the best I could. Good luck to you and your little guy...it's not fun for either one of you. :(

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

Here's the response I got from Enterolab:

Dear Nancy, Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer to your question yet. It could be an inability to fully digest grains in general due to an immature digestive system. I'm sorry I am unable to give you more information at this time, but I will try to broach the subject with Dr. Fine when he is back in town. Perhaps he will have a more learned answer for us. Sincerely, Phyllis Zermeno, RN, BSN Clinical Manager

And, azmom, I remember one of my kids having a bad rash, and it was amazing how much keeping a diaper off helped, especially combined with a little bit of sunlight.

Well, I'll keep everybody posted if I hear anything new from Dr. Fine.

Nancy

AndreaB Contributor
AndreaB
Posted

I've noticed my son's stool is grainy like sand too. He's almost 4 and not potty trained yet, unfortunately. I always ask him if he's been playing in the sand, eating sand. We are gluten free now for almost 2 months, but still dairy light. None of us is intolerant to dairy but I haven't had allergy testing done on the kids. I'm mildly allergic. His vitamins are vegan since we just came off a vegan diet in April and they have 10 mg of iron. He's not eating much meat yet so I wasn't too worried about it. They don't always have them every day, but I'll have to pay attention to vitamin consumption and grainy stool. I was also curious about that. Don't know about my daughter since she is potty trained.

e&j0304 Enthusiast
e&j0304
Posted
  • Author

Thanks for posting that response.

For now, Jack's diarrhea has cleared up and he is doing great. His stools are normal, not grainy and his diaper rash is pretty much healed although you can still see where it was bleeding because it's still kind of red there.

I hope all of our little ones stay healthy for a long, long time!!

Shannon

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

That's great that he's doing better. Crossing fingers that he keeps healing.

Ya know, the actual sand-eating thing was never a factor for me. So I'm sure that's not it, at least in my case. I had such bad pain that I wasn't able to take my kids to the park (or anywhere else for that matter...). My husband built a sandbox in our back yard, but didn't put a cover on it (which I told him to of course...). Within a week, it was the favorite hangout of all the neighborhood cats. BLECH. I think my kids played in it twice before that happened.

Nancy

  • 5 weeks later...
KayJay Enthusiast
KayJay
Posted

Just wondering if anyone ever found out the cause for the grainy stools. Maddie has had them this week and the only new thing she has had the last few weeks is Milk and Dora the explore cereal. I was changing her grainy sandy diaper the other day and I was reminded of this thread so I thought I would check it.

Nantzie Collaborator
Nantzie
Posted

You know, I never did hear anything back on this from Enterolab.

My son hasn't had the grainyness in a long while. He's been gluten-free for a few weeks now, and I don't know how long it has been since he had milk. I'm thinking maybe it's a dairy thing? Like maybe it's little curds? (I know, ick..)

Nancy

  • 4 months later...
Ursa Major Collaborator
Ursa Major
Posted

A new member named Elvi tried posting, but hit the 'report' button instead. This is what she said:

I too have a 12 month old who has been pooping very grainy soft stools. right now he is being tested for celiac, the blood work came back normal but he had an upper endoscopy where they took biospy's to test for celiac and other possible diseases. he has been diagnosed with failure to thrive. doctors really feel that their is something wrong, I don't..well I hope not : (

I always noticed that his stools were very bulky, smelly and soft but it's only a few months ago that doctors got concerned....he used to have 5-6 BM but recently that has minimized and sometimes gets constipated but it's ususally very soft.....the grainy stools just started recently, his bottom is so red and raw like, i try to wash it and not use wipes and always put loads of zincofax, hope it makes him feel better....anyone else with these symptoms. please help

elvi

  • 7 months later...
bettyalready Newbie
bettyalready
Posted

For the past week, my 2 1/2 year old son has been having grainy/sandy type stools about 10 times per day. I know this subject is old, but I'm glad I found it. I can tell when he's having a bowel movement because he crosses his legs together and gets really distressed. This stool is apparently very acidic because his bottom is very red and raw. I've been very liberal with the Desitin and that part is better, but it still obviously bothers him. Constipation is not a problem for him at all. It's hard to know what to feed him. A) He's 2 and B) He's autistic, which seems to make him all the more picky about what he touches. He's always had some wheat, but even less dairy. He drinks rice milk and sometimes soy milk.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):


  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,042
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    LAJAD
    Newest Member
    LAJAD
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121k
    • Total Posts
      70.6k
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):



  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):


  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      By trents · Posted

      Welcome to the forum, @KRipple! Sorry to hear of all your husband's health problems. I can only imagine how anxious this makes you as when our spouse suffers we hurt right along with them. Can you post the results from the Celiac blood testing for us to look at? We would need the names of the tests run, the numeric results and (this is important) the reference ranges for each test used to establish high/low/negative/positive. Different labs use different rating scales so this is why I ask for this. There aren't industry standards. Has your husband seen any improvement from eliminating gluten from his diet? If your husband had any positive results from his celiac blood antibody testing, this is likely what triggered the consult with a  GI doc for an endoscopy. During the endoscopy, the GI doc will likely biopsy the lining of the small bowel lining to check for the damage caused by celiac disease. This would be for confirmation of the results of the blood tests and is considered the gold standard of celiac disease diagnosis. But here is some difficult information I have for you. If your husband has been gluten free already for months leading up to the endoscopy/biopsy, it will likely invalidate the biopsy and result in a false negative. Starting the gluten free diet now will allow the lining of the small bowel to begin healing and if enough healing takes place before the biopsy happens, there will be no damage to see. How far out is the endoscopy scheduled for? There still may be time for your husband to go back on gluten, what we call a "gluten challenge" to ensure valid test results.
    • kate g
      Are they close to a drug that will help celiacs with cross contamination

      By kate g · Posted

      Ive read articles that there is stage 2 research being conducted for drugs that will limit damage to celiacs through cross contamination- how close are they to this will there be enough funding to create a mainstream drug? 
    • KRipple
      Celiac or Addison's complications? Can someone share their experience?

      By KRipple · Posted

      Hello, My husband has had issues with really bad diarreah for over nine months now. In mid November, he went to the doctor for what they thought was a bad cold, which two weeks later was diagnosed as bronchitis. A week later, in December, I had to take him back to urgent care and from there, to the emergency room cause his vitals were too low. They said he was having an Addisionan crisis and he spent five days in the ICU. Since my husband has Autoimmune Polyendocrine Syndrome Type II (type 1 diabetes, Addison's and Hashimoto's), I fought for a blood test to determine if he had Celiacs. Given the results of the test, he was told to go to a gastro for an endoscopy. It took two months to get his first appointment with the gastro. Still waiting for the endoscopy appointment. He stopped eating gluten in the hospital and has followed a gluten-free diet since. His diarreah continues to be as bad as before he stopped eating gluten. Still has a horrible cough that makes him hack. His energy is so depleted he pretty much goes to work, comes home and goes lie in bed. He is having issues regulating body temperature. He is barely eating (he's lost 20 pounds since mid-December). Body aches. Totally run down. He has been taking more prednisone lately to try to counter the symptoms.  Today, we went to his endo to discuss these things. She said to continue taking increased amount of prednisone (even though I explained that the increased dosage is only allowing him to do the bare minimum). According to the endo, this is all related to Celiacs. I am concerned because I know that both Celiacs and Addison's can have similar symptoms, but don't know if he would still be having these many symptoms (worsening, at that) related to the Celiac's after stopping gluten two months ago. If anyone in this group has a combination of Celiacs and Addison's, could you please share your experience? I am really concerned and am feeling frustrated. His primary care provider and endocrinologist don't seem to consider this serious enough to warrant prompt attention, and we'll see about the gastro.  Thanks.
    • cristiana
      Celiac pain relief

      By cristiana · Posted

      Hi @Karmmacalling I'm very sorry to hear you are feeling so unwell.  Can you tell us exactly what sort of pain you are experiencing and where the pain is?  Is it your lower abdomen, upper abdomen etc?  Do you have any other symptoms? Cristiana
    • trents
      How many people here are aware that there are 9 types of gluten that Celiacs should be aware of?

      By trents · Posted

      The NIH article you link actually supports what I have been trying to explain to you: "Celiac disease (celiac disease) is an autoimmune-mediated enteropathy triggered by dietary gluten in genetically prone individuals. The current treatment for celiac disease is a strict lifelong gluten-free diet. However, in some celiac disease patients following a strict gluten-free diet, the symptoms do not remit. These cases may be refractory celiac disease or due to gluten contamination; however, the lack of response could be related to other dietary ingredients, such as maize, which is one of the most common alternatives to wheat used in the gluten-free diet. In some celiac disease patients, as a rare event, peptides from maize prolamins could induce a celiac-like immune response by similar or alternative pathogenic mechanisms to those used by wheat gluten peptides. This is supported by several shared features between wheat and maize prolamins and by some experimental results. Given that gluten peptides induce an immune response of the intestinal mucosa both in vivo and in vitro, peptides from maize prolamins could also be tested to determine whether they also induce a cellular immune response. Hypothetically, maize prolamins could be harmful for a very limited subgroup of celiac disease patients, especially those that are non-responsive, and if it is confirmed, they should follow, in addition to a gluten-free, a maize-free diet." Notice that those for whom it is suggested to follow a maize-free diet are a "very limited subgroup of celiac disease patients". Please don't try to make your own experience normative for the entire celiac community.  Notice also that the last part of the concluding sentence in the paragraph does not equate a gluten-free diet with a maize-free diet, it actually puts them in juxtaposition to one another. In other words, they are different but for a "limited subgroup of celiac disease patients" they produce the same or a similar reaction. You refer to celiac reactions to cereal grain prolamins as "allergic" reactions and "food sensitivity". For instance, you say, "NIH sees all these grains as in opposition to celiacs, of which I am one and that is science, not any MD with a good memory who overprescribes medications that contain known food allergens in them, of which they have zero knowledge if the patient is in fact allergic to or not, since they failed to do simple 'food sensitivity' testing" and "IF a person wants to get well, they should be the one to determine what grains they are allergic to and what grains they want to leave out, not you. I need to remind you that celiac disease is not an allergy, it is an autoimmune disorder. Neither allergy testing nor food sensitivity testing can be used to diagnose celiac disease. Allergy testing and food sensitivity testing cannot detect the antibodies produced by celiac disease in reaction to gluten ingestion.  You say of me, "You must be one of those who are only gluten intolerant . . ." Gluten intolerance is synonymous with celiac disease. You must be referring to gluten sensitivity or NCGS (Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity). Actually, I have been officially diagnosed with celiac disease both by blood antibody testing and by endoscopy/positive biopsy. Reacting to all cereal grain prolamins does not define celiac disease. If you are intent on teaching the truth, please get it straight first.
×
×
  • Create New...