Help with Constipation

I have an 8 year old that had that problem just last week. He was actually doubled over in pain and we took him to the emergency clinic and an x-ray showed his colon was blocked and prescribed for him Polyethylene Glycol for constipation. It has really helped. It is a powder that you mix with a drink like Sprite, juice, etc.

Miralax is a wonderful option here. It also helps with regularity. Also mineral oil - it taste terrible, but works.

My two year old daughter has been constipated since birth. You'd think after 2 yrs. of every method possible, we would have success & finally, we do. I wanted to start potty training her but about a month ago, she went 10 days w/o a bowel movement. I put her on Miralax & we've had GREAT success. Like you, my daughter is a great eater. She's almost 40 lbs. at 2 yrs. 9 mos. old! She'll eat veggies, oatmeal, apple juice, fruit, raisins, etc. & still can't go poo.

What happens is when she doesn't poo, the poo starts growing outward (horizontally) vs. vertical, the normal way. The poo then becomes too large to pass (thus brings blood & tears). Also, the dr. said it is a syndrome in which there isn't enough water carried into her bowels. The miralax helps do this. I will say she now successfully poos in the potty on a regular basis.

I know you may be skeptical of the word laxative but after 10 days of suppositories & everything else, we had to resort to some prevenative maintaince.

Hope to hear back from you. J.

My daughter takes Miralax and it works like a charm! It is available in drug stores. Ask your doctor about it first. My daughter started taking it when she was 4.

When my four year old was about one, she used to get really constipated too, our Dr. told me to give her metamucil wafers, they come in a box with each one individually wrapped. She loved them and it took about one day for her to be regular again. Dont use applesauce for constipation, it will bind her up even worse than she already is. Applesauce is part of the BRAT (Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast) diet for diarhea, so use it when she is in the opposite predicament.

You should get some of the little baby lax gylcerin liquid suppositories. They work awesome and are very inevasive.

Try Miralax. It's available over the counter, and dissolves completely in juice, soda, water, etc. It's pretty much tasteless. Give her half the adult dose, which I believe is 8.5 grams (or mg, can't remember). It's pricey stuff, but it works well, and you should only need a small bottle if this doesn't happen often. Give it to her once a day until she's regular again.

Also, try sprinkling some baking soda or epsom salts in the bath, to help soften the skin around her bum.

My son also has been on Miralax since he was around your daughter's age (he is four now). It works great! One thing other responses have not said is that although you start out with half the adult dose dissolved in 4 ounces of liquid, you may have to adjust this. If her stools are too runny, cut the dose down a little until you are happy with the results. A little change goes a long way, and will take several days to see a difference. My son even now will be doing great, then start straining again, and we have to up his dose a bit until it become easier for him. Good luck, and feel free to e-mail me if you have any more questions. I am a constipation expert (not a title I ever wanted)!

Perhaps a gentle type suppository would be best. Glycerin is what I used for my son.

more water,and if it continues my daughter ended up having to have colace drops. It isn't a laxative, the Dr. explained her last intestine took out too much water and these drops would help and it did.

Our ped. told us on our son to give him exlax and an inama. They make them for kids. He went to the bathroom with in about 10 - 20 min. of sitting on the pot. Let me no if this works.

Hey,

In case you have not already found a solution...my daughter has been chronically constipated since she was about 2 months old. We use a regular source of juice, and the for bad cases we use a liquid glycerine suppository. It is painless (just a bit uncomfortable) and works very quickly. You can find them at any walmart or drugstore.

Hope this helps!

Hello M.,

pears have lots of fiber (baby food would be like having apple sauce). Also prune juice. (I like giving my kids pears ---baby food) prunes can make them gassy and give them a bellyache. also 1/4 tsp milk of magnesia is can help a lot.

Milk of Magnesia
read the instructions for dose. "magensium hydroxids" = magnesium w/ water. we pay attention to how much calcium we consume and ignore the need for magensium and phosphorus in order for our bodies to use the calcium we're consuming.
1 tsp milk of magnesia has 400 mg of magnesium. do check the magnesium requirements for 2 year old.

extra vitamin C will also help w/ bowel movement. increase water intake. milk CAN constipate.
~C.~

I've had the same problem with my four year old. Give her a jar of baby prunes or a couple of dried prunes. I have done this a number of times with good results. With the dried prunes if you don't get the desired results you can just increase by one prune until you do. I hope this works for you, but if it doesn't ask the pharmacist about supositories. Then work much faster but are not nearly as easy to use on a two year old.

try a couple of tablespoons of Kayro, works like a charm!

There are fruits that cause constipation, and I think apple sauce is one of them......but my daugther is going through the samething, and every monday we use milk of magnesia. it works like a charm. Also, there are some great tasting fiber cereal. All brane makes the best variety. One bowl a day could significantly improve matters. (just like alergies, you need to start finding out what foods are stopping her up). Constipation is the sign that her body is just not ready for certain foods...not that in the future she won't beable to eat them, just that her body is not ready yet. (how much milk does she drink, is she lactose intorerant)? I hope this helps any.
good luck

T.

Good morning M.. I have 2 year old twins and believe me when i say the first 6 months we were in the hospital with my son for everything. The doctors told me to try caro and everything else and nothing worked. My mammaw had answers to everything home remedy and never steared me wrong. There is a liquid called fletcher's castoria, in the pharmacy area, not to be confused with castor oil. If you use about 10 drops in their bottle or sippie, just once a day, for a day or two they will be pooping by morning. This works for me everytime.

My 2 year old is just going through the same thing, I just found out that the chocolate makes toddlers constipated and we were giving her a little chocolate in her milk without knowing that. Applesauce can make her constipated as well as banana's rice and breads. Those are the foods used in the brats diet to help with diareha. They do have baby laxatives and suppositiries made by Fleet called pedi-lax which we just used the laxitive last night. So we will see what happens this morning. Another great natural thing though is pear juice.

When my 3 year old was about 15 months old, he started having chronic constipation. Gerber makes a prune-apple juice that little ones find pretty tasty and it is inexpensive enough to keep on hand and give daily or weekly. Apple juice is actually beneficial with relieving constipation. As others suggested, apple sauce is helpful with the other extreme. The pedi glycerine suppositories are also safe to use. Use laxatives as a last resort only (after more natural methods are exhausted) and only under a doctor's care. Also keep in mind that bowel habits change and some people do not have one daily. Be watchful for abdominal distention/pain, and nausea/vomiting and visit your doc. if they should occur.

Fletcher's liquid children's laxative should help remedy the situation pretty quickly. You can find it at any drugstore or grocer.

You may also wish to consider a daily supplement. My son takes Yummi Bears Fiber. It is a daily fiber supplement in gummy bear form. He loves them and thinks they are a treat, but they are actually keeping him regular. I get them at the Vitamin Shoppe.

Hi M.!
I'll keep this short since you've had so many good responses! I too have used Miralax with my daughter, it does work well. However if you'd like to try something cheaper first that you might already have at home use the Karo Corn syrup!! I've used it many times, the light colored works for us. Mix a good 1-2 tbsp. with anything your daughter will drink. Repeat if necessary.
Good luck!

miralax mixed with gatorade usually does the trick. Good luck

I have to give my 20 month old Miralax everyday. She has been on it since she was 12months and it works wonders.

My mom swears by dark Karo syrup and water. Warm a teaspoon of syrup and mix with water

Mix a little prune juice in with her orange juice every day. It will make her stool softer and she will be able to go regularly.