Why Baby’s Poop Smells Like Vinegar?

One day when you change your baby’s wet diaper, you detect an odd acidic smell, similar to that of vinegar smell or sour cream. In addition to being put off by that awful scent, you immediately worry about your baby.

Keep your eyes open as we explain the changes in babies’ poop, what they mean, and what is creating the foul smell.

Things you should know about baby’s poop

You may occasionally be frightened by changes in your baby’s poop, especially if you’re a new parent. And sure, we completely understand your concerns because we have experienced them ourselves.

Every day, your baby’s poop is different. As we will soon cover, there are numerous causes for these shifts. Learning about a baby’s normal bowel movements is necessary before you can determine when there is an issue with their poop.

Baby poop color

The food your infant consumes has a significant impact on the color of the stool. In the early postpartum days, the baby’s bowels are sterile. But as your child gets older, their bowels naturally get populated with a variety of bacteria.

Thus, a baby who has been nursed would have different feces than a newborn who has been fed formula. Additionally, depending on what Mom eats, the breastfed baby poop color would change!

Consistency of poop

Also variable is the consistency of newborn poop. Therefore, the poop may be soft and mushy and fill the entire diaper. Alternatives include tiny pellets.

Or perhaps just one sturdy stool. Of course, dietary considerations also come into play here. You might wish to rule out constipation if you have a firm stool that hurts. And if the issue persists, consult with your doctor.

The smell of baby poop

How long the excrement was in the baby’s stomach can be determined by its smell. The amount of bacteria and bad odor that the excrement generates depends on how long it stays inside.

Babies that are breastfed typically have odorless poop. Additionally, formula-fed infants have a faint odor. And as soon as you start the baby on solid food, everything changes.

After taking care of the fundamentals, let’s talk about the stinking issue.

Why baby’s poop smells like vinegar

• Allergies to foods

Babies’ stool may display signs of formula intolerance or food allergies. Changes such as a foul-smelling poop or vinegary smell, mucus in the stool, or even minute amounts of blood in stools or bloody stool, may be apparent. Food allergies irritate the vulnerable lining of a baby’s digestive tract, which results in odd-smelling poop.

• Lactose intolerance

Milk and dairy products include a form of sugar called lactose in milk. Your kid may develop sour-smelling poop if you are using a milk-based formula or consuming milk while you are breastfeeding. Babies who have lactose intolerance may also experience many loose stools per day.

• Food allergies

Food sensitivities don’t always mean an allergy, although some foods can be difficult for a baby to digest. They may also aggravate intestinal discomfort, resulting in babies having poop that smells like vinegar smell and changing the appearance of their excrement. The most frequent offenders are typically dairy given too soon, eggs, nut-based items, and gluten from wheat.

• Malabsorption

Baby poop that has a vinegar-like smell may contain nutrients and food that were not absorbed into the bloodstream through the intestinal or stomach walls. Unabsorbed nutrients have the potential to ferment in the digestive system and give excrement a sour odor. The causes of malabsorption can include inherited malabsorption syndrome, parasites, and viruses.

• Crohn’s illness

Babies and small children can develop Crohn’s disease, albeit it can be challenging to detect in the early stages in infants. Bowels affected by the illness swell and become irritated. Although Crohn’s disease currently has no known etiology, researchers do think it is both hereditary and autoimmune in nature. Stools may smell sour or like vinegar if the intestines are inflamed and unable to adequately digest food.

• Cystic Fibrosis

A hereditary disorder known as cystic fibrosis, also referred to as CF, affects the quantity and quality of mucus in the body. If it is not treated appropriately and there is no cure, it can be fatal. Food digestion is difficult for babies and kids with CF because of pancreatic insufficiency.

The intestines cannot absorb nutrition when the mucus and fluids in the digestive tract are too thick. Patients with CF frequently have light, greasy poop that can smell really bad.

When should you worry?

If the smell of baby poop bothers you, it might just be transient and harmless. If this just occasionally happens, it’s probably only temporary. Is this happens repeatedly during the day or over a period of days or weeks, you should probably be examined.

It’s okay to have one or two episodes of filthy, loose stools. When diarrhea continues and has an odor, you should determine whether your child is dehydrated. If your baby exhibits any of the following signs, you should take them to the doctor:

• Fever
• Baby fussy
• Stomachache
• Vomiting
• 6 loose stools in six hours or 10 loose stools in 24 hours

Contact your baby’s pediatrician as soon as you observe any of the aforementioned symptoms or discover sour-smelling diarrhea. Visit the emergency room straight away if your baby is under three months old.

Treatments for baby’s poop smells like vinegar

• With doctor’s approval, you may occasionally administer an electrolyte solution to assist flush out any harmful compounds. Never feed water to newborn babies, and call your doctor before doing so.
• Challenge Formula: Your doctor may urge you to perform this test if your baby’s feces smell like vinegar and he or she suspects a formula sensitivity. Typically, a doctor closely supervises this procedure. The doctor might do this even in the hospital. It is required to administer electrolyte solution over a 24-hour period, then gradually resume formula to see if the symptoms have returned. You’ll probably switch to a new formula if they do.
• Breast feeding Challenge Diet: In order to determine the culprit, this entails removing any troublesome foods from the diet and gradually reintroducing them, one at a time.
• Quickly Treat Infections: To do this, intestinal infections must be treated with antibiotics. Supportive care is necessary for viral infections as they develop through their full cycle. Examples of supportive care include relaxation, electrolyte solutions, and the BRAT diet (Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast).
• Malabsorption Supplementation: Doctors may prescribe supplements to help treat malabsorption syndrome in babies. This issue can be helped, and the odor can be lessened, by things like vitamin supplements, specific formulas, and digestive enzyme supplements.

Faqs:

Why does my baby have green stools?

Meconium causes a baby’s first excrement to be green; if breastfed, it eventually turns mustard yellow and tan-brown (if formula fed).

However, if your baby’s excrement smells like vinegar and green baby poop color, it may be a sign that they are allergic to a food that is present in breast milk or formula. Other signs of food intolerance in a baby include agitation after feedings.

What does it mean when your poop smells fermented?

If you don’t have enough lactase or don’t generate enough of it, the bacteria in your large bowel cause the ingested lactose to ferment or produce foul-smelling gas and stools.

Reduce the discomfort (and smell) by consuming fewer dairy products, lactose-free alternatives, or lactase supplements.

What bacteria make your poop smell?

Stools with a bad odour could potentially be a sign of an intestinal parasite, bacterial illness (such as Salmonella or E. coli), or viral infection.

These illnesses can develop as a result of consuming contaminated food or water (which can also happen when swimming)

Is watery baby poop normal?

Newborns frequently passing watery stools is normal. Because the intestines of newborns do not absorb food efficiently, a lot of it is expelled in the feces. Absorption improves within the first few months, leading to bulkier, less frequent stools.

Final thoughts for baby’s poop smells like vinegar

You will naturally worry whenever your baby doesn’t feel well or seems “odd.” Try not to panic if you find that your baby poop smells like vinegar; it’s probably just a result of dietary changes, either yours if you’re breastfeeding him or her or, depending on the situation.

It is best to call your healthcare provider if, however, you find that the odorous bowel movements are accompanied by additional problems. As with anything else, a professional will be pleased to respond to your inquiries if you are extremely worried or scared about anything involving your newborn.

Hopefully, you now feel a little more at rest and have some answers about why babies’ smelly poop like vinegar. Since we love hearing from our readers, please share your thoughts or inquiries.