I have a 4month old taking amoxicillin for strep throat, she now has diarrhea, is this normal?

17 Mar 2011

Yes, this is normal. Anytime someone takes an antibiotic you could kill some of the good bacteria in the stomach. When this happens you can get messed up bowel movements.

Unfortunately, I am not comfortable making recommendations for infants.

Talk with the pediatrician they may be able to recommend something like yogurt. I am not sure at which age this would be appropriate.

Also, make sure the baby stays hydrated.

Brian PharmD Candidate

17 Mar 2011

Yes, diarrhea is normal when taking an antibiotic. With babies this small you must be vigilant that they do not get dehydrated. Make sure they are drinking plenty of fluids. You may want to alert their pediatrician. A baby this young can get dehydrated very quickly. He/She may want you to give them some pedialyte or something like that since juices and formula can make the diarrhea worse. Be very gentle with the baby wipes when cleaning the stools. The stools can be very irritating to the skin and wipes can further irritate causing a raw diaper area.

17 Mar 2011

If the babes develop much redness in the area covered by their diapers, I can make a couple of suggestions that worked for my daughter. Use some liquid mylanta ( antiacid) on the spots once they are clean and dry it a bit by fanning it with another diaper. It neutralizes the acid nature of the #3( diarrhea) on the skin. You might also try some miconazole if it looks really bad. We all have yeast in our gi tracts and sometimes with #3, it also can burn or further irritate the skin. My daughter was born with group b stress and had alot of IV antibiotics and the doctor had us apply the mylanta to her bottom to help with the irritation. Hope your Babes are better very soon.