Question
A two-month-old female infant has recently developed loose stools, which are thin and resemble egg white in consistency, with a fishy odor. Since birth, the infant has often had over-feeding (overfeeding) phenomena, sometimes with a large amount of over-feeding (overfeeding), resembling spurt, like tofu brain.
Answer
The characteristics of diarrhea include an increase in stool frequency and changes in stool consistency. Common causes of infant diarrhea include indigestion and enteritis. If there are bubbles in the baby’s stool, it usually indicates indigestion, with an excess of food residue that undergoes fermentation by intestinal bacteria, producing gas that mixes with the stool. Additionally, foamy stools may also be caused by the baby crying for a long time and swallowing too much air. If the baby is accompanied by vomiting, with acidic vomit or undigested milk clumps, or if there is abdominal distension, with stools containing bubbles and no mucus or pus, an increase in stool frequency alone, with stools appearing yellow or slightly greenish pasty (paste-like), or foul-smelling, it may be due to indigestion.