I daycare a female infant "Zoe". When she was 4months old in October, I spotted one strange gray-green pastie stool in her diaper. I informed the mother. Then since the first of November, Zoe has had three more of these stools; the last one actually changed by her mother today (Nov. 25).
Because Zoe has been appearing listless this month and has gone back to the 'balance' of a 3-4mos old baby along with other symptoms, I encouraged the mother to get to the pediatrician. She did, the pediatrician sent her home with med to clear Zoe's ears and said that the green diaper could possibly be the result of recurring colds.
This does not respond to the key problem of 'overheating': Zoe actually gets red and hot and is cooled down by placing a cold pac wrapped in a towel on her back.
In all of my 57yrs of caring for newborns and infants, I have never experienced this type of stool, and, the redness of her body with heat but "no temperature" (by the time she's finally 'seen' at an ER...).
The baby is fed Enfamil. And, only this week have I learned that the parents have been mixing this with tap water (our townhouses are old and the water pipes are iron) instead of distilled water since the middle of October.
The symptoms of a cold has been curbed several times yet the 'heat' and the gray-green stools has me confused. I brought her to my bed to quiet her during one of these spells and when I layed her down she looked her normal coloring. However, in a couple hours when I decided to change her wet diaper, she felt to my touch as if she'd been laying on a heating pad and had the color of it as well.
I immediately got a cooling pac wrapped it in a towel and applied it to her back and neck. She cooled down. All the previous times she 'overheated', she'd been in a bouncy seat or a stroller and I caught the symptoms prior to them getting this red-hot and cooled her down immediately.
We have given her some pain reliever recommended to the mother which has no anti-inflammatory in it. This seems to give her some relief, longer when the cooling pac has been applied.
Needless to say, having this age infant look so 'sunburned' which also causes her to feel stressed so that her little arms, hands in fists and legs get a purple-red color with cold hands/feet is distressing.
I'm looking for some suggestions. The parents are afraid that they'll have the baby taken from them ~~ but as a mandatory reporter, I see no obvious mistreatment of the baby other than their telling me that they had been using the tap water.

I daycare a female infant "Zoe". When she was 4months old in October, I spotted one strange gray-green pastie stool in her diaper. I informed the mother. Then since the first of November, Zoe has had three more of these stools; the last one actually changed by her mother today (Nov. 25).
Because Zoe has been appearing listless this month and has gone back to the 'balance' of a 3-4mos old baby along with other symptoms, I encouraged the mother to get to the pediatrician. She did, the pediatrician sent her home with med to clear Zoe's ears and said that the green diaper could possibly be the result of recurring colds.
This does not respond to the key problem of 'overheating': Zoe actually gets red and hot and is cooled down by placing a cold pac wrapped in a towel on her back.
In all of my 57yrs of caring for newborns and infants, I have never experienced this type of stool, and, the redness of her body with heat but "no temperature" (by the time she's finally 'seen' at an ER...).
The baby is fed Enfamil. And, only this week have I learned that the parents have been mixing this with tap water (our townhouses are old and the water pipes are iron) instead of distilled water since the middle of October.
The symptoms of a cold has been curbed several times yet the 'heat' and the gray-green stools has me confused. I brought her to my bed to quiet her during one of these spells and when I layed her down she looked her normal coloring. However, in a couple hours when I decided to change her wet diaper, she felt to my touch as if she'd been laying on a heating pad and had the color of it as well.
I immediately got a cooling pac wrapped it in a towel and applied it to her back and neck. She cooled down. All the previous times she 'overheated', she'd been in a bouncy seat or a stroller and I caught the symptoms prior to them getting this red-hot and cooled her down immediately.
We have given her some pain reliever recommended to the mother which has no anti-inflammatory in it. This seems to give her some relief, longer when the cooling pac has been applied.
Needless to say, having this age infant look so 'sunburned' which also causes her to feel stressed so that her little arms, hands in fists and legs get a purple-red color with cold hands/feet is distressing.
I'm looking for some suggestions. The parents are afraid that they'll have the baby taken from them ~~ but as a mandatory reporter, I see no obvious mistreatment of the baby other than their telling me that they had been using the tap water.
Not knowing how this actually works, I don't know why I have been sent to this box. I simply want a reply as someone can share what they may have experienced or knowledge they may have with the concern.

The parents are afraid that they'll have the baby taken from them ~~ but as a mandatory reporter, I see no obvious mistreatment of the baby other than their telling me that they had been using the tap water.

This statement worries me. If they have done nothing wrong, there would be nothing to be worried about. But that could also be my inner skeptic talking, too. :p

My first thought was allergies. Is the baby being fed solids? If so I would recommend they stop them immediately.

I would also seek a second opinion from a different pediatrician. Green typically means infection (green stools, green snot, etc..).

And I would not give tylenol anymore. Stop that immediately. Giving medications only masks the symptoms and does nothing to treat or diagnose the illness. It's also VERY hard on the liver, and if there is a serious underlying condition having a compromised liver can end up being very dangerous.

Thanks for the reply:
FIRST and most important, I agree that green is a sign of infection! That's why I am erk'd with the medical response to this baby's parents.

Second, the medication we were given is NOT an anti-inflammatory such as Tylenot or Ibuprofen -- that was the only thing so far I believed they were given good advise. This med is strictly to help the baby cope with pain.

Third, I should not have brought up the parents fear about being reported for child abuse; it was only to say that they are young parents who have experienced, been exposed to child abuse in their youth and absolutely don't want to experience it happening with their baby.

Thank you for your assurances. The investigation goes on. Since they are neighbors to me, I will encourage them to seek a 2nd opinion on this matter.

Second, the medication we were given is NOT an anti-inflammatory such as Tylenot or Ibuprofen

Tylenol is not an anti-inflammatory. Tylenol is an analgesic (pain reliever) and antipyretic (fever reducer). Ibuprofen is an NSAID - non steroid anti-inflammatory drug. They have totally separate drug classifications. I don't know what "pain reliever" a doctor would give a baby that is not acetaminophen based, or in other words, the generic form of Tylenol. In either case, ALL of these drugs are HARD on their systems.

NSAID's have blood thinning properties and can also damage the stomach lining. They are hard on the kidneys. Acetaminophen is cleared by the liver, so either way, they're all potentially very dangerous, and with an unknown underlying condition, those are major organs to be putting a lot of stress on.

I don't use Tylenol or ibuprofen. Babies don't die of pain, but they can die of liver toxicity. And I definitely wouldn't use a pain reliever to hide the symptoms of a troubling and undiagnosed illness. Pain is the body's way of helping you heal. If you are in pain you are less likely over exert yourself. Not to say you should never treat pain, but if this baby is in pain it's important to find out why, hence the second opinion.

The first thing that came to my mind is it could be some type of liver or organ failure or problem. Green does not always mean infection in nasal mucus, but there is still something going on. How confident are you that these parents are taking care of her? Could they be harming her in some way? Ds did have a few green stools when he was BF, but I was told that meant he had gas or something I ate did not agree with him.
What concerned me was that you said she was listless. This is dangerous. I would tell her parents that she needs some testing done, and that you are scared something could be very wrong.

Green does not always mean infection in nasal mucus, but there is still something going on... Ds did have a few green stools when he was BF, but I was told that meant he had gas or something I ate did not agree with him.

Green poops in a breastfed baby are almost always, unless because of infection, from a for/hindmilk imbalance. The lactose (milk sugar) causes green poops.

The original poster's baby is being formula fed and could be lactose intollerant, but I've never heard of a formula fed baby getting the green gassy poops that a breastfed baby gets.

And green mucus usually does mean bacteria of some sort. The colour comes from puss, which is dead white blood cells being sent by the body to attack the infection, which then gets dispelled in the mucus.

Okay, I was just told yesterday by a doctor that green mucus really doesn't mean any different than clear or yellow, but whatever, you seem to know more. I know that she said the baby is formula fed, but green poop can be a lot of things from formula too. That's what I meant.

Okay, I was just told yesterday by a doctor that green mucus really doesn't mean any different than clear or yellow, but whatever, you seem to know more.

I'm not a doctor, so I don't know more (but I am married to one :p ). He is right though, green mucus does not always mean infection, though it is, more often then not, a good indication that the body is fighting and expelling harmful bacteria. You can fight bacteria without getting "sick" (flu like symptoms), but you don't produce green mucus for no reason.

I understand what you were saying about the green gasy poops, I was just thinking aloud about the original posters baby. I honestly have no clue if a formula fed baby could get green poops from being lactose intolerant. Though green poops in a BF baby don't mean lactose intolerance, it does mean there isn't enough hind fat to counteract the sugar. It's food for thought. I hope the OP keeps up update, I'll be interested to see what it is.

Because Zoe has been appearing listless this month and has gone back to the 'balance' of a 3-4mos old baby along with other symptoms, I encouraged the mother to get to the pediatrician. She did,

just wanted to say this seems another key part of the problem. if my child went backwards in his development (which it sounds like you are saying)i would not stop till i was listened too. but then again maybe thats just me as it is what i had to do when pregnant -keep nagging something is not right -thank god it saved our lives then.
sometimes i think parents settle for answers that they are not happy with from doctors with limited or no specialised experience many generalists will not have specific skills or knowledge in every area of medicine. sorry but no answer or ones i am not happy with are not accepted by me.

sometimes i think parents settle for answers that they are not happy with from doctors with limited or no specialised experience many generalists will not have specific skills or knowledge in every area of medicine. sorry but no answer or ones i am not happy with are not accepted by me.

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Has your child been tested for any digestive disorders, food allergies, cystic fibrosis. Guess what would concern me would be if your child isn't growing (failure to thrive), possibly gets below the 50th percentile...