Undigested food leftovers in a child's stool. The child almost does not chew and undigested stool. Possible causes of diarrhea
It is felt by us not only by some sensations in the epigastric region, but also by the color, appearance and smell of feces. Most often, such studies are carried out by young mothers, since the feces of a newborn are a significant indicator of the health of the baby. But adults should also pay attention to the fact that there is undigested food in the feces.
Is it a pathology or a variant of the norm?
Each of us knows firsthand about the change in color, smell and consistency of feces, because indigestion, infections, and constipation happen to everyone at least once in a lifetime. But undigested food fragments can cause real panic in some. Under normal conditions, the feces do not contain any inclusions, lumps, pieces of undigested food, mucus, blood, etc. Very small white blotches can be present in both children's feces and adults - this is a variant of the norm. The remains of undigested food in the feces do not always indicate poor functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Insufficiently digested food can be a consequence infectious diseases, constipation or indigestion. In most cases, the appearance of undigested food fragments does not mean that a person is sick. It’s just that the human gastrointestinal tract is not able to digest some products or parts of them. Why is this happening? To understand this, you need to know at least a little about what happens to products when passing digestive tract.
What food should remain undigested?
Plant foods contain two types of fiber: digestible and indigestible. The first type should not remain in the feces in the form of fragments. If this still happens, it indicates that the stomach produces hydrochloric acid in insufficient volume. The same can be said if the excrement contains practically whole pieces of vegetables and fruits. But bran, peel, seeds, partitions, stem fibers contain indigestible fiber. It is found in the coarsest parts of plants, covered with a double shell and consisting of cellulose and lignin and incapable of digestion in the human stomach.
So the detection of fragmentary residues of indigestible fiber in the feces does not mean pathology, it is a physiological phenomenon.
When overeating
In addition, there is, so to speak, a limit to the amount of food that our stomach and intestines can handle at a time. If you overeat, then the body simply cannot produce as many enzymes and enzymes, so part of the food will remain undigested. This process is also quite normal and is not considered a pathology. Digestive process may violate physical activity immediately after a heavy meal, as well as eating during illness or stress. Eating should be carried out in a calm atmosphere and in a normal mode. After the meal, you need to take a short break in your activities. In this situation, the body directs the right amount of resources for digestion, and the food is digested completely. If you notice undigested food in the stool systematically, then this indicates that the pancreas, stomach or small intestine work freelance and need some help. It is these organs that are responsible for the breakdown of products into proteins, fats and carbohydrates.
What are the reasons?
Undigested food in the stool (lienterea) in adults is most often detected due to the presence of chronic inflammation in the stomach (gastritis) or pancreas (pancreatitis). It is necessary to start treating these diseases as soon as possible, since the inflammation will worsen over time, which will eventually lead to tissue death.
Over time, ulcers may develop. diabetes, oncology. Given all these factors, you should be very careful about the presence of undigested food fragments in the feces. To find out what pathology this is caused, it is necessary to undergo an examination. In this case, it will be easier to make a diagnosis by knowing what type of food remains undigested: carbohydrate or protein. In order to break down proteins and carbohydrates, the body produces various enzymes. In addition, proteins, fats and carbohydrates are digested in different parts of the digestive tract. This provides information and allows you to analyze the results of the examination, and to conclude which of the organs or systems is not functioning well.
So, a person has pieces of undigested food in the stool.
If diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are detected, the doctor prescribes immediate treatment. In this case, therapy is a joint intake of antibacterial drugs, enzymes and anti-inflammatory drugs. When treating any pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, a diet should be followed.
The principles of proper nutrition
Common to all types of diets are the following principles of nutrition:
- products must be carefully processed: remove coarse parts, films, seeds, peel, stalks;
- you need to cook food only in a certain way: steam, boil, bake or stew (in no case should you fried);
- exclude alcohol and smoking;
- introduced into the diet a large number of fermented milk products enriched with lacto- and bifidobacteria;
- eat in small portions 5-6 times a day.
All of the above activities contribute to the elimination of the causes of the appearance of undigested food in the feces of adults.
Indigestion in children
If deviations of this kind are found in a child, then this may alert parents. In fact, it all depends on age. During the first year of life, food may not be fully digested due to the fact that the gastrointestinal tract is not fully formed. This is the reason for the incomplete digestion of food, even by very young children who eat exclusively milk and mixtures. With the introduction of a new product into the diet, the likelihood of undigested food in the stool in a child increases.
Age features of the structure
In addition, the gastrointestinal tract of a child is much shorter than that of an adult and the food stays in it for less time and simply does not have time to be digested completely. Pieces of food in a baby's stool can be seen with the naked eye. These can be whole vegetables, fruits, etc. And in other cases, such fragments are found only in a laboratory, during a study. For example, this is how lactose deficiency is detected, in which undigested carbohydrates and lactose are found in the feces of children. The detection of whole pieces of food in the feces of a child should alert if this is accompanied by symptoms of dyspepsia:
- bloating;
- intestinal colic;
- impurities in the feces (mucus, etc.).
Why there is undigested food in the feces is interesting to many.
Dysbacteriosis
The above symptoms indicate an imbalance in the intestinal microflora. It is impossible to ignore dysbacteriosis (it will go away on its own), it must be treated, otherwise the violations will be aggravated more and more, and complicated by the addition of other diseases. In addition to the imbalance of microflora, the cause of dyspepsia may be an intestinal infection or an improperly selected diet. In order to prevent such phenomena, new products are introduced into the child's menu gradually, one at a time. Naturally, all products must be fresh. Eggs need to be boiled for a long time, and milk should be boiled.
Meat and fish products must be mashed, this reduces the content of muscle fibers in the child's excrement. Vegetables and fruits should be washed and rinsed with boiling water. Products of plant origin should not have any damage: darkening or soft spots. If, despite careful observance of all these rules, particles of food are still found in the child's feces, then the pediatrician must be informed about this. He will assess the degree of danger and, based on the accompanying symptoms, will determine further actions.
How to treat an ailment so that undigested food remains in the feces no longer appear.
Treatment
First of all, as we have already said, it is necessary to establish the cause of this phenomenon. If it is errors in nutrition, and there are no symptoms of inflammation (fever, chills, the presence of blood in the stool), then the treatment is reduced to the correction of eating behavior and the consumption of large amounts of water. Other reasons due to which undigested pieces of food are found in the feces of a child and an adult can be understood from the coprogram. Such a detailed analysis can reveal the presence of the simplest organisms and bacteria, which cause the infectious process. In this case, the doctor prescribes the treatment, based on the data obtained during the examination.
Often, new parents can be caught off guard by undigested pieces of food in their baby's stool. This does not always indicate any digestive disorders. However, undigested food particles can appear in the stool as a result of intestinal infections and other gastrointestinal diseases. According to pediatricians, the severity of the problem should always be assessed taking into account the age of the baby.
Causes of undigested food in the stool in a child
There can be quite a few reasons for the appearance of unassimilated residues in the feces of a child:
- individual characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract;
- disturbances in the functioning of some digestive organs;
- improper diet, overeating, insufficient chewing of pieces of food;
- poor quality or age-appropriate food;
- infectious diseases of the digestive system;
- dysbiosis.
In newborns and children of the first year of life, the immaturity of the intestinal microflora can cause temporary difficulties for mother and baby in the form of colic, bloating and undigested lumps of food. The gradual formation of the microflora of the baby by colonizing the intestines with the necessary bacteria improves the digestion and assimilation of incoming food. With the introduction of complementary foods after 6 months, undigested food in the feces of the baby can also be observed, this is quite normal.
In children who are on breastfeeding, as a rule, digestion improves faster. Artificial or mixed feeding can provoke difficulties in the assimilation of the mixture. Undigested fiber in the feces of a child appears due to the predominance of plant foods (vegetables and fruits) in the diet. All this is considered physiological processes and normalizes as the baby's gastrointestinal tract adapts to nutritional conditions.
Macroscopic studies
Such an analysis consists in determining physical properties feces, such as color, texture, smell, the presence of additional impurities. There is no single norm of indicators for all ages.
The properties of bowel movements change with the growth of the child, as well as with the variety of food taken. Carrots, beets, green vegetables and fruits can stain the stool in the appropriate color. Some foods can cause disorders in one child, constipation in another. Everything is very individual and requires the attention of parents to the peculiarities of the digestion of the baby. However, there are some manifestations that indicate pathological processes. Depending on the type of undigested particles and additional symptoms, provoking factors can be determined:
- Undigested particles in the form of cereal curd. Often this is not a pathology, but signals overeating. It is enough to slightly adjust the diet and the problem will go away without intervention.
- Fat inclusions or feces of a gray-yellow color, sometimes accompanied by a specific smell of bitterness. These symptoms may indicate diseases of the pancreas. You should consult a doctor and conduct a diagnosis.
- Grayish white stools with lumps of undigested food. Sometimes indicates a lack of bile. Required additional examination to make a diagnosis.
- Mucus in the stool of a child. In small quantities it is the norm, in large quantities it indicates diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Blood during painful bowel movements. It is necessary to get qualified advice, as the problem may be cracks in the anus or the development of serious intestinal infections.
- A stool resembling tar in consistency and color. In preschool children and school age is a warning sign and may indicate internal bleeding.
- Greenish foamy stool. In some cases, it indicates the inability of the gastrointestinal tract to digest lactose (milk sugar).
Change in stool in a child with age
Consider how a child's stool changes from birth to adolescence:
- Meconium. Appears in the first days after birth, consists of amniotic fluid and always has a dark or completely black color, tar-like consistency, normalizes after a week.
- Intermediate chair. Unstable bowel movements that form as lactation or artificial feeding is established.
- A mature stool is established with a formed diet, its frequency does not depend on feeding. When breastfeeding, the lack of bowel movements can be normal for up to 7 days. Feces change color and smell depending on the mother's dietary preferences.
- 1 year is the age at which bowel movements become more or less regular, have a slightly pronounced odor and a well-formed consistency.
- At 3 years old, the frequency of a baby’s stool can normally be up to 3 times a day, which is not a pathology if you feel normal.
- Closer to adolescence, starting at age 10, bowel movements can be reduced to 4 times a week and this frequency is not considered constipation.
If any disturbing symptoms in a child associated with the intestines and stomach appear, it is advisable to contact a specialist for additional research. Such manifestations as a sharp decrease in appetite, severe and frequent belching, general weakness of the body, elevated body temperature, and incomprehensible impurities in the stool should alert.
Microscopic analysis
Undigested food in the feces of a child is not always visible to the naked eye. A pediatrician or a doctor of a narrow specialty, if there is a suspicion of disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, may prescribe a coprogram. Stool collection is carried out at home. There are no special rules for preparing for the analysis, but it is necessary to collect the sample in a sterile container. The results of the coprogram reflect the functionality of the pancreas, show whether the enzymes cope with the digestion of incoming food.
The quality of digestion is evaluated by a number of indicators. Normally, the following picture is observed:
- muscle fibers in a small number;
- traces of neutral fat, fatty acids;
- lack of connective tissues;
- a small amount of soap;
- the presence of plant fiber and cellulose;
- the absence or small amount of starch;
- lack of iodophilic flora;
- the presence of leukocytes, epithelium and mucus in a small amount.
Muscle fibers are of an altered type and unchanged. In diseases or temporary problems with the intestines, an increase in altered fibers in the feces is often determined. The presence of unchanged fibers in large volume indicates problems in the stomach.
Vegetable fiber is part of many vegetables and fruits and is very useful for the digestion of children and adults. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that the fiber itself is not able to be digested, but it helps the intestines in the promotion of processed food. In the feces of a child, a small amount of digestible fiber and any amount of indigestible fiber is allowed.
Treatment and prevention
Treatment depends on the diagnosis based on the results of all the necessary tests and examinations. The intake of drugs must be carried out under the close supervision of a pediatrician, gastroenterologist or neonatologist.
If a child under one year old develops a fever against the background of vomiting and diarrhea with lumps of food, doctors will insist on hospitalization. Because with intestinal infections, a small organism is threatened with life-threatening dehydration. With minor digestive disorders, it is permissible to treat at home. In this case, it is recommended to restore the water balance with special solutions for oral rehydration. When dysbacteriosis is detected, accompanied by insufficient digestion of food, probiotics and enzymatic preparations are included in the treatment regimen. Therapy can last up to six months.
Enzyme deficiency is primarily treated with diet. The doctor will help you adjust the diet according to the age of the baby. Until six months, you can not give the child any products other than breast milk or an adapted formula. Vegetables should be introduced into complementary foods after 6 months and separately. And when the baby gets used to some products, you can mix them together.
It is important to ensure that meat dishes are low-fat and varied. Dairy and sour-milk products are desirable to use from the category of baby food. They are the safest, as they have undergone heat treatment and have an optimal percentage of fat content.
Doctors do not recommend the use of foods containing whole cow, goat milk and mango. The protein contained in this food is poorly digested by the child's body and can cause allergies, as a result of which lumps in the stool can be noticed. If you provide the baby with good nutrition, regular walks in the fresh air, optimal for age physical exercise, then it is quite possible to quickly get rid of gastrointestinal problems.
Our children are our everything! Good digestion of the baby is the key to his health, proper growth and development. Every caring mother carefully monitors proper nutrition your child. And every mother understands that undigested food in the feces of a child is a signal that something is wrong with the tummy. It is important to identify the cause in time and eliminate it. To do this, you need to pass an analysis on the digestibility of food. This analysis is called a coprogram. It includes macroscopic and microscopic examination of feces.
Macroscopic examination of feces
Macroscopic analysis of feces allows you to evaluate its main characteristics with the naked eye. Visually, you can determine the amount of feces, its consistency, shape, color, the presence of visible remnants of digested food, pathological impurities (mucus, fat, blood, etc.). Also, the main characteristics include the smell of feces. To understand if the stool is broken, the mother needs to know how it should be normal. "Normal" for each age has its own. Consistency, shape, color and smell change not only with age, but also with food. Greens, spinach color feces greenish, beets reddish, carrots orange. However, too green color feces may indicate dysbacteriosis. Green frothy stools occur when there is a lack of lactase in the child's body, which is needed to absorb the sugar in the composition of milk and dairy products.
The very first "achievement" of the intestines within two days after birth is the passage of meconium, it is black and does not smell. Meconium is mainly intestinal cells and amniotic fluid that the baby has swallowed. In the baby, i.e. a child under one year old, feces gradually change their characteristics. The transition from meconium to mature stool is called intermediate stool. As soon as the function of milk secretion is established in the mother, a mature stool is formed. In a breastfed baby, the frequency of stools usually coincides with the frequency of feeding. Mature feces are mushy, the color is light yellow, and the smell is “sour”. At 4 months, the first complementary foods of the baby usually begin. As soon as an artificial mixture is added to the baby's diet, the feces begin to "smell badly." The frequency of stool should be at least 1-3 times a day. A chair less than once a day is constipation.
In babies aged after a year of life, the feces are already quite formed, have a brown color, and an unexpressed fecal smell. Feces should not be liquid, it should not contain undigested food. Undigested pieces of food in the stool are a sign of indigestion. In a child of 3 years, stools can be frequent - 3-4 times a day. This is not a violation if you feel good. At 10 years of age, stools can have a frequency of 3-4 times a week. Often this depends on what kind of food the child prefers, and can also be the norm if there are no complaints. At this age, a violation of the stool should be said if it has become frequent and too liquid, moreover, with various impurities.
Microscopy provides information on what exactly the undigested pieces of food in the feces consist of:
- muscle fibers (normally should not be present in feces with good digestion),
- neutral fat (traces),
- fatty acids (traces),
- connective tissue (absence),
- soap (minor presence),
- vegetable fiber or cellulose (a small amount of digestible fiber in the feces is acceptable, and undigested fiber in the feces of a child can be in any amount),
- starch (its absence or slight presence in feces is considered the norm),
- iodophilic flora (normally absent),
- leukocytes (1-2 in the field of view),
- mucus (in the feces is acceptable in small quantities),
- epithelium (1–2 in the field of view).
We will tell you more about some elements of food origin. Muscle fibers in stool can be undigested (unchanged) or incompletely digested (changed). Altered muscle fibers are found if the source of the problem is “below” the stomach, and unchanged ones are found if the food has not been processed in the stomach itself.
Plant fiber is carbohydrate. Namely, cell wall plants, hence its name - fiber. It is rich in vegetables and fruits, such as apples, carrots, potatoes. Vegetable fiber (vegetable fibers) in the body is practically not digested, because there are no necessary enzymes for its breakdown. But the child needs it in order to mechanically irritate the intestinal walls. At the same time, the intestines begin to contract, and food moves forward. Fiber also feeds on the “good” bacteria of the intestinal microflora. There are two types of fiber in feces. Indigestible fiber is often found during teething.
The appearance of indigestible fiber in the feces, in combination with other symptoms, may indicate dysbacteriosis. Digestible fiber, despite the name, is not digested by the body, but in the stomach, its cells are separated under the influence of hydrochloric acid. Such fiber in the feces increases with rapid bowel movements (diarrhea), a decrease in the acidity of the stomach, if the function of the pancreas suffers, or there is ulcerative colitis.
Often you can find detritus in a coprogram, and the question arises: what is it? Detritus in the feces is detected with microscopia. These are small undigested particles of food, as well as microparticles of destroyed bacteria. These particles are waste.
If there are a lot of these particles, then your child's digestive system is working well. An increase in detritus in the feces in the absence of other changes is the norm.
Causes of pieces of food in the stool
Consider the reasons why undigested food appears in a child's feces. Eating in feces can be the result of many factors:
- features of the digestive system and dysfunction of organs,
- malnutrition (frequency of meals, quantity of food and its quality),
- infections and inflammation of the digestive system,
- dysbacteriosis.
The newborn has all the enzymes necessary for digestion, but the activity of the glands that produce these enzymes is low. In children of the first months of life, hydrochloric acid is practically not produced. Therefore, proteins are not completely broken down, and for the breakdown of fats, the lipase enzyme is needed, which in an infant comes mainly with mother's milk. The intestinal microflora is formed gradually.
Intestinal colonization with bacteria is called bacterial infection. This is a natural, normal process, but if there is more bad microflora than good, then the child develops dysbacteriosis, toxins accumulate. It is important to note that the formation of toxins in the intestine is facilitated by particles of undigested food by the body.
Undigested feces may have different kind, which depends on the cause of the digestive disorder in the child. If poorly digested food remains are found in the feces, and the stool itself has become unstable, then the problem is usually related to the stomach. Fecal analysis reveals intact muscle fibers as well as intracellular starch, connective tissue and undigested fiber.
If you find fatty spots on the feces or notice a shiny, plentiful greasy feces in a child that is gray-yellow in color, which smells like rancid butter and does not wash off well, then you need to urgently contact a gastroenterologist. Possible cause - problems with the pancreas. In the microscopic analysis of feces, a huge amount of fat (neutral), altered (digested) muscle fibers, and starch will be revealed. Additional tests: Ultrasound of the pancreas and the level of amylase (pancreatic enzyme) in the urine.
If the stool has acquired a grayish-white color and a greasy sheen, it means that little bile enters the intestines. In the analysis of feces - a lot of soap and a large amount of fatty acids in the form of crystals. Additional analysis - determination of the amount of stercobillin in feces. Stercobillin is a processed bilirubin that comes from bile.
If you see blood in the stool, pay attention to whether the child has pain during a bowel movement, especially rhythmic. Causes: from a banal anal fissure to a serious intestinal infection.
Tar-like stools (in children of preschool and school age) indicate bleeding from the stomach or duodenum.
What does stool with mucus indicate? If the child has little mucus in the feces, then this is considered the norm. Due to intestinal spasms, mucus may increase in the feces, but its large amount is a sign of inflammation of the colon mucosa.
To be healthy, to have excellent health and a slender figure, you must always monitor the correct functioning of your stomach and intestines. You can do this not only by your feelings in the relevant area, but also by the appearance, color, consistency and smell of feces. Young mothers usually do this especially carefully. After all, for example, undigested food may appear in the feces of a child or some other components unusual for the mass. It will be useful for all other patients to learn from mothers. This will allow you to notice the beginning of the development of numerous health problems in time.
In a healthy person, the feces should have one color and be uniform, without any lumps, seals, blood, mucus, large particles of undigested food and all the extra inclusions. Should be evaluated regularly appearance when visiting the toilet.
If pieces of undigested food appear in the stool in the form of small particles of foods such as nuts, fruits or vegetables (for example, pieces of peel or seeds), then this is completely normal. This is especially true for plant foods. This also includes mushrooms. The main thing is that at the same time the patient does not feel discomfort during the bowel movement and any other ailments. In this case, the phenomenon under discussion does not require any special treatment.
And if the remnants of undigested food in the feces are very large and visible even to the naked eye when visiting the toilet, this phenomenon is already a cause for alarm. Perhaps this indicates some health problems in humans. To find out the reasons for such a change in the composition of feces, you should seek advice and help from a specialist.
Causes of undigested food in stool
As mentioned above, such a phenomenon can be observed if plant foods predominate in the human diet. In our body, nature does not provide for the presence of a special enzyme that could completely break down fiber. Therefore, for the most part, it comes out in its original form. This is one of the reasons why kale is an undigested food.
It can also be caused by a malfunction prostate. This is already a serious problem for every patient. Therefore, in this case, one should not turn a blind eye to the fact that pieces of undigested food are present in the feces. This will require appropriate treatment.
A few other great reasons:
- low acidity of gastric juice;
- accelerated elimination of undigested food from the intestines.
It is also worth noting that if particles of undigested food appear in the feces due to a particular disease, then this phenomenon is likely to be accompanied by various additional symptoms. For example, diarrhea, bloating, weakness, general malaise and even pain in the stomach and intestines.
Only an experienced competent specialist can accurately determine the cause and how dangerous it is for the patient's body. The results of the corresponding analysis will help him in this. If no serious cause is found, and the person feels good, then even a lot of undigested food in the feces is the norm. Probably, the basis of the patient's diet is simply fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, seeds and nuts.
In any case, if the patient is worried about his health, then it is better for him to consult a doctor and pass all the relevant tests.