My son has had some slight of and on rectal bleeding for 3 months. About 2 months ago I took him to the emergency room because there was
larger and darker blood after he went number 2. They said it was just cuts from hard poops. I am getting him into the doctor but the earliest I can get is not until September. Meanwhile he has some large amounts of blood that have dripped down his leg and on his pants. Also with the latest episode I noticed something sticking out of his butt, it looked like a little piece of skin and it was hard like muscle. This caused him discomfort which was the first time he said anything hurt. We got a warm wash cloth to clean the area and the little piece went back into his butt. I am not sure what to do but I am freaking out.
I was able to get him into urgent care he has hemroides. With a change in his diet and some ointment should help. It just concerned the doctor that we have already been giving him fiber gummys to help with his poops. We brought in a stool sample and they said the size was unusual for his size but it was not hard. So we are still monitoring the situation and hoping for the best. Thank you all for your help. It was very helpful to have a reassurance of what I had already thought.
Get a doctor who can see you NOW. Do not wait until September (?!). There is PLENTY of space to write more than what you wrote, and you wrote that you cannot see a doctor til September, which makes no sense.
GO to another Dr NOW
Geesh
I am praying that this is not a real situation, and that you are just trolling here. Your profile says you're a first time mom, but this child has been with you for 5 years. You should know if he's chronically constipated. This kind of bleeding hemorrhoid doesn't just pop up over night. The description of your son bleeding for this long and saying an ER told you it was "just cuts from hard poops" defies common sense. If he were chronically constipated, you should have been working with the doctor for months to get this under control.
You are asking us how to treat him. You need to be asking your doctor. Educate yourself on feeding your son a healthy diet and get the doctor to give you medicine for your son that works for children. Even if you have to change your own diet and get rid of junk in your frig and kitchen, do it.
And find another pediatrician instead of waiting to be seen in September. This is not a well visit.
The earliest you can get your child to the doctor is September? I don't understand that! You tell them that your child is bleeding from his behind and you need to be seen.
The little girl I nannied for had some serious bleeding, straining, hard poops. She was getting anal fissures, which is EXTREMELY painful.
Warm compress on his butt should help...but you need to demand that your child be seen by the doctor. And if the doctor says you need to wait 2 months then you need to find a new doctor.
You need to call the doctor and tell them what you have told us. If they still can't see you until September, find another one who can see him ASAP. I have moved several times with kids and this needs to be your priority.
He might have something more serious, like irritable bowel syndrome or even a rectal hernia (the bit about something hard sticking out and being able to be pushed back in sounds like a hernia). A former co-worker of mine has a daughter who would get fistulas in her anal area and it really hurt. I wonder if your son has any of these things. I would go to a pediatric gastroenterologist rather than a pediatrician, so this is immediately addressed and no more time is wasted -- assuming your insurance allows it (some insurances require referrals to see a specialist, while others don't). I think that with the degree of blood (blood running down his leg, rather than just a few spots when wiping after a bowel movement), if my pediatrician were turning me away, I'd try calling several of the other hundreds in town, or going to the urgent care. I would not wait until September.
OMG/get/another/doctor/NOW!!!
It is absurd that your pediatrician will not see a child with bloody stool and dripping blood until September. Call another pediatrician or get a referral from your insurance company. Advocate for your child and do not take "8 weeks" as a given!
A hemorrhoid is a varicose vein in the anal/rectal area. That's what's going back in when you push on it. With straining due to constipation, these protrusions can bleed. The bleeding isn't as much a risk as the open cuts in the area loaded with bacteria.
You don't go the ER for this - you go to a pediatrician and possibly (from there) to a gastrointestinal specialist. I get that you saw a lot of blood, but you'd had signs of this for months.
Your child needs fiber and tons more water. He needs to cut way back on cheese and dairy (milk, pizza, ice cream...), and increase fruit and veggies and bran. No fruit juice - orange segments or clementine segments. Water water water. And did I say "water"? Cut back on everything in the BRAT diet (bananas, rice, applesauce, toast). All sandwiches should have high fiber bread. If you do pizza, add veggies. If he balks at them, grind them up in a food processor and add them to the spaghetti sauce. No "white" foods - white bread, white pasta, white potatoes, white junk cereal. Go to the "colorful" version of each one (high fiber bread, whole wheat pasta, sweet potatoes. It's summer, so grill veggies if you can - sweet potatoes, zucchini/yellow squash, red/green peppers, and more. Go to the farmers market and pick out stuff together.
Also do some warm and relaxing baths - it makes a lot of kids poop. And 5 year olds (and 3 and 8...) often hold their poop - it's hard and they know it's going to hurt, so they hold it in until it's sheer misery. I still remember my 8 year old stepdaughter lifting herself off the toilet in agony after a week of not going. Her mom never dealt with it and we had to cope with a massive problem.
I think your child should probably be x-rayed to see if his feces are impacted. So talk to the doctor about that. Your new doctor. Not the one who won't see your child.
My nephew had a similar issue. They finally figured out he was eating the stones when eating cherries. He stopped doing that and the bleeding stopped.
First - fire your doctor and get another pediatrician who will see him NOW.
He's had this for 2 months, is losing blood, has a possible rectal prolapse and they can't see him again for another 2 months?
Outrageous!
A pediatric gastroenterologist would be good to see too.
If he's constipated a lot then push the prune juice.
Cut out anything that's constipating (no bananas, rice, applesauce or toast).
Ask the doctor first before trying any sort of stool softener and/or hemorrhoid cream.
He'll need to sit in the bathtub a few times a day (think sitz bath)
http://www.livestrong.com/article/32990-home-remedy-inter...
Additional:
Did you know that rectal bleeding can lead to peritonitis?
That's the same deadly situation that arises from a burst appendix.
When blood can come out a broken blood vessle, e-coli and other bacteria can come in.
Rectal bleeding for 3 MONTHS - that's what you said.
Well moving and new insurance certainly takes time but will that excuse make you feel any better if your child s health takes a serious turn for the worse?
Do what ever you have to do to get him to a doctor asap.
The longer this goes on the worse it's going to get.
We're not saying this to be mean or place blame - we just don't want you to have to suffer through burying your child.
I'm sure you can get your son to a pediatrician before September. You need to start with that, this week - waiting til September is ridiculous.
Secondly, yes, most likely it's hemorrhoids. HOWEVER, you DO need to have him checked by his doctor. In the meantime, and as a general way of life, you need to make absolutely certain that he is eating enough fiber and staying very well hydrated with WATER. It may be as simple as drinking more, but your doctor may also recommend a daily dose of Miralax.
Good luck!
When one of mine had some issues, we immediately did a stool sample and dropped it off at a clinic, and we were able to do this pronto. It wasn't even through our doctor. We just took it to a drop off place for a lab. You're going to want to rule out other things - that's the first step (or it was in our case).
If they've already told you it was from cuts (fissures) then I'm sure that's what it is. Running down his leg ... that's pretty severe. My concern would be more that must be painful. I'd take him back to urgent care if that was the case - if you can't get in to see a paediatrician.
Usually it's an ointment you use - I suppose if I had no other option, I'd talk to a pharmacist and see what they would recommend. Not my first choice - but if you are completely stuck, they do deal with this all the time and are quite knowledgeable.
As for diet - I would definitely avoid common foods that are contipating - on top of keeping up with the fiber and water. Restoralax is what our doctor recommends. It draws water in and makes it much easier to pass.
Check for parasites
Tapeworm
You can get a tapeworm by drinking water contaminated with tapeworm eggs or larvae. Raw or undercooked meat is another way these flatworms can find their way into people.
Tapeworms embed their heads into the intestinal wall and remain there. From there, certain types of tapeworms can produce eggs that migrate to other parts of the body.
A tapeworm looks like a long, white ribbon. They can grow up to 50 feet long and live in a human for up to 30 years.
