Has weekly bowel incontinence episodes that are always fluid. She also has dementia, HBP, diabetes and dysphagia (swallowing problem) so foods/meds need to be soft &/or grinded down. Thank you.
Chris is this a new problem for Mom? At 94 you might not want to put her through extensive investigations which might be worse than her current problems. By all means talk to her Dr but at the same time make a note of the foods she eats the day before she has her diarrhea. Possible triggers may be fats and milk. Once you have a pattern to guide you it may be possible to exclude some foods and keep her comfortable. Only a Dr should advise on specific medications that may help her. Some OTC meds may not mix well with some of her prescriptions. Try and manage this with the least possible intervention.
forget the doc& the yogurt, these both can aggravate the situation... is she at home with you? avoid the foods used to relieve constipation, such as sweet potatoes, peas, beans,bananas, and beef... once I removed these foods from my 92 yr. old mom,s diet and checked her meds for side effects, the loose stools stopped... with a little research, you can solve this problem without the stress of a doctor visit.
Consider probiotics, particularly if she has taken antibiotics recently. They usually come in capsules, but if you search, you can find powdered or liquid forms. These replace or increase the good bacteria that may be missing. This helped my 95 year-old mother. Yogurt provides similar benefits and is also easy to eat, but probiotics contain a huge amount more of the good bacteria. Can't hurt and is really beneficial for elderly gut health.
If you have home healthcare, call the Physician and he will come to your home with a test kit. Place a small sample of the stool in the kit and the Dr. can send that off to the lab. The results will come back, and the Dr. will know the best way to treat the diareah. This saves your Mom allot of embarrassment and transportation to and from a Specialists office. Easier on you, and much less stressful for her as well.
In third-world countries a tablespoon of rice flour in four to six oz water is used. In areas where dysentery is prevalent, or when very young children have both vomiting and watery stools, it's a common practice to avoid dehydration. Soft stools should'nt be a cause for alarm, it's the watery that will irritate the rectum and does need to be looked into. The answers above for the fecal test and Dr. alert are great. Follow those. Also porchpickles has a valid option. All great info. Keep in touch - we'd like to know how things are going, what worked and so on.
One more thought, I would also not put mom through rigorous testing, and I like the rice powder hint and the care team person coming to the house for a stool sample. That can allow testing for a specific bacteria cause and Dr will know how to medicate if that is an option.
My mom with dementia has had chronic D for as long as I can remember. She is now on a probiotic that helps, sometimes too well. I had to take her to the ER for a bowel obstruction about a year ago. Then this last fall seemed like the same symptoms but I will be da##ed, she was constipated but should not have been. When she goes it is like turning on a faucet, I even think that sometimes she does not know to push since she has never had to. If she is slow eating her breakfast those are days that we skip the probiotic as she may be starting to get stopped up.
Using Ensure?
Looks about the same coming out as it does going in….
lovbob
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