Sometimes I get emails like this that just rip my heart out:
“I am reaching out to you desperately seeking answers for our 6 month old grandson. He has been unable to poop since birth. He needs help although he has regular diarrhea. He also has a prolapse outside his anus which is often ulcerated or cracked. I would also like to know if your FissureHeal is suitable for a baby and if it is available in the UK. He also has an allergy to milk proteins and is intolerant to MOST foods! He can’t even eat pureed carrots or other vegetables or fruits because they almost seem to “ferment” inside him (you can feel thousands of tiny bubbles in his stomach area after eating them). This is followed by severe diarrhea, which, however extreme, he cannot even overcome without help.
He saw a surgeon who ruled out Hirschsprung’s disease because he said that while it could cause restricted intestinal motility, it would not respond to food the way his intestines do. He has intermittent band-like stools, suggesting Crohn’s disease, but wheat is one of the few foods he can tolerate, along with rice milk, specialty milk and baby rice. But soon his body will need more substantial foods than this to thrive, so we are very worried about him. No one seems to know what’s going on, but he has been on constant painkillers most of his life and is in constant pain from his anal prolapse, fissures, bleeding, etc. It looks so sore and painful, God bless him.
If you have time to read this I would be SO grateful. The whole family is helping his parents explore his issues and any advice would be wonderful. I realize how busy you are and I wouldn’t be asking if he wasn’t so helpless and if we weren’t feeling so lost as to how we can help him. I would also like to say that through your videos you helped me with some problems I was having. Thank you so much and I hope you can help me with something.”
So while I can’t give anyone personal health advice, I can share my thoughts and also what I would do if this were MY baby…
Since this baby is only 6 months old and eats wheat, rice milk, formula, and “baby rice,” I am assuming that he has not been breastfed or perhaps only been breastfed for a short period of time. I also don’t know if this baby had a vaginal birth. But either way, it’s probably safe to say that he doesn’t have good, healthy gut flora from day one. His mother’s intestinal flora is probably not good either.
So not only did he start without protective, good bacteria, but he also took painkillers that cause ulcers, damage the intestinal flora and often cause constipation or intestinal spasticity (alternating diarrhea and constipation).
Grains (rice, wheat) also exacerbate the problem, and the sugar feeds the harmful bacteria and yeast in his gastrointestinal tract. Although they are the only things he can tolerate at this point, they will not help him heal and are actually part of the harmful feedback loop he finds himself in.
If this were my baby, I would do ALL of the following:
1. Find a breast milk donor who does not consume cow’s milk (I would visit the mother at home with intuition on) and take him/her back to life exclusively breastfed.
2. I would mix Natren’s Life Start goat milk based (or vegan if needed) probiotic into each bottle of breast milk.
3. If I couldn’t find a supply of breast milk, I would get a supply of raw pasture-raised goat milk or a supply of raw pasture-raised camel milk and add the probiotics. Again, I would ONLY feed raw goat or camel milk and probiotics until his intestines healed, bowel movements were normal, and the prolapse healed.
4. At the same time, I would administer daily probiotic retention enemas with Life Start via a baby enema bulb. I would do this VERY carefully, using lots of vitamin E oil for lubrication and using the tip of the bulb to gently push the rectum back in.
5. I gave him an intestinal massage several times a day, making sure to touch his stomach very gently and ask permission first. Here is an instructional video, or you can download my Baby Fart Aerobics DVD (for babies with colic) where I demonstrate my 8 week old daughter Zara:
In Baby Fart Aerobics I talk about how bathing a baby and giving them a colon massage is a great way to encourage bowel movements in a very relaxing and easy way. This baby’s cells, tissues, and muscles probably need to be re-taught how a bowel movement can be peaceful and relaxing. I would make the water as hot as is comfortable for him. He may need to do this once or twice a day to heal the prolapse.
Because of the prolapse, I wouldn’t sit him upright to poop. I would make sure he leans back and has his legs stretched out in front of him. Or on his back with his legs raised so that his knees were close to or higher than his hips. Or he may lie on his left side and gently lift his right knee to his stomach, etc. I would find ways to relax the colon/rectum but at the same time release the puborectalis muscle to allow the rectum to straighten. I would watch my constipation videos for ideas!
6. I would rub his prolapsed tissue with pure comfrey ointment and clean him with only warm water and tissues – no baby wipes of any kind! No talcum powder, petroleum jelly or anything else that is not plant-based and 100% natural. I made a “baby powder” with equal parts elm and marshmallow root and sprinkled it on his bottom after every diaper change. I did this with my other babies too and just put it in an old talc bottle that I emptied. OR find a 100% natural diaper cream that contains these herbs (and/or calendula).
7. At the same time, and with great compassion for myself, I would take a look at the family dynamics surrounding my baby’s illness. I would recognize that children are our greatest spiritual teachers and that I need to recognize the greater meaning/teaching here to facilitate my baby’s healing. I would look at unhealed wounds or patterns from my own childhood.
8. I would take him to craniosacral therapy (Upledger Level 2 or higher) or an osteopath with advanced craniosacral training. And I would also seek out a spiritual or energy healer who speaks to me – both for him and for me.
9. After 6 months of this insane pressure and struggle, I would ask for help and support so that I can do something to promote MYSELF at least once a week. Whatever makes me feel cared for, free or loved. Maybe that’s a massage, an art group, a book club, or 2-3 hours of being home alone (my helper takes the baby out) and relaxing in a bubble bath and then reading in bed, etc. If I can take a nap every day or rest or go for a walk in the fresh air (without the baby), that’s ideal.
When children or adults go on an elemental diet, we are essentially going back to breast milk. This provides intestinal rest and also the nutrients needed to heal the intestines. If this baby can return to an exclusively breastfed diet (or raw goat or raw camel milk), this may be the fastest route to gut healing. The probiotics then stimulate the good, protective flora so that normal bowel movements are possible. In the meantime, the family is seeking energetic (Reiki, Pranic Healing, EFT, etc.) or spiritual healing for both the baby and the parents so that this disease can be cured at the root and not have to manifest again in another form!
Note: I also have an article about intestinal problems in toddlers (diarrhea or constipation) in case you are reading this and have an older child with these problems.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert in natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s disease and has been medication and surgery free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcasts, TV and radio shows in the US, UK, Canada and Australia, giving people hope and vision on how to heal their colitis, Crohn’s disease, diverticulitis and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) using all-natural methods. Her books on natural healing of digestive diseases have been sold in over 80 countries worldwide. Jini is married and has three children, nine sheep, 11 horses, a cat and three dogs.
