Hi mamas.
My 2 year old (27 months) son was a regular "go-er" up until about a month ago (2x a day, 1 in morning, 1 in evening) when we switched him from the polyviflor vitamin drops to the polyviflor chewable vitamins. They have the same ingredients and no extra iron...but for some reason, his bowel movements got irregular. He has been going 2 days here and there with no poop - and when it comes, it's the constipated poop (dry, small, hard - sorry guys)...and he's straining and upset. Then we'll go a few days when he's totally normal. I can't figure it out - but we maintain a very healthy diet for him (as best we can - he goes to daycare 5 days a week) - loading him up on good organic fruits and veggies (prunes, apples, pears, bananas, blueberries, mango, strawberries, raisins are his faves - plus good veggies and lots of water, yogurt, watered down apple juice...) and tons of whole wheat/whole grains breads, pastas, crackers...+ fish, chicken, turkey..super healthy.
He's not milk-intolerant.
I went on the Pedia-Lax site to just look for alternatives - and they have these products that they assure provide a kid-friendly quick, gentle relief thru saline laxative or senna (a natural vegetable based lazative used for centries) that doesn't give painful cramping like laxatives do (on the site they compare these products as favored by Moms over Miralax). They also have a "Fiber Gummie" that is a sugar-free daily fiber supplement to help kids stay regular.
Anyway - anybody out there try these products and can give me some reviews of how it worked for their little kiddos? And - how long did you use them for?
Please let me know - just want to get my little one regular again.
Thanks in advance!
Have you tried Senna? I have - it is a very powerful laxitive and not recommended for kids.
We use prune juice. She likes the taste and after a day or so she's all better.
Has your son hit the picky eater stage? Or is the daycare provider giving him a lot of crackers and refined grains? My 4 year old has this problem at least one week out of the month! We struggle most to get her to drink water. We have used benefiber to some success, but mostly water water water helps! (And she hates it :/ )
Good luck!
My daughter had the same issues when we switched her from the 3y to 4y vitamins. How odd!
We tried the Pedi-Lax, but the flavor is fruit punch and can be tasted in the drinks. She does not like it. I have used their pre-filled suppositories with good results, but that is only for extreme cases like 4-5 day issues. I haven't tried the gummies because my daughter likes gummy bears and I didn't want her to mistake them.
We've found that Miralax in orange juice works the best. Using apple juice or grape juice and you can usually taste that something is in it.
M.
UPDATE: This is why I say Miralax should be pulled off the shelves..............
http://www.mindfully.org/Plastic/Polymers/Polyethylene-Gl...
Polyethylene glycol is what Miralax is. It is also known that extended use of this stuff will can cause the intestine/bowels not to be able to absorb water on their own which will cause them to become weak and dependent on laxative type products.
I've never tried the Pedia lax but yes, anything that is vegetable base would be the way I would go with one of my kids. Plenty of water, grapes and apples would help too.
Stay away from anything like Miralax, that stuff shouldn't even be allowed to be sold anymore it's so nasty!!
Good luck
S.
My son has chronic constipation, I think he was born with it honestly! We had problems when he was an infant, they got better though. Then as a tolddler his allergies and asthma got bad, it is under fantastic control now but the allergy medications are drying, causing more constipation. We tried benefiber and fibercom tablets with minimal results. He is now on Miralax daily, he only gets 1/4 of the cap and it works well. We tried the generic and had to use a full cap to get the same results so it really didn't save any money. My son's pediatrician and pedicatric pulmonologist say that it's safe. He has never had any stomach cramps from it. It mixes in well with his am chocolate milk. Good Luck!
My daughter is about the same age as yours (26 almost 27 months). She has problems with constipation since before she was on any solids. I used Pedialax for about the last 6 months, sometimes several day in a row. After some trial and error we are now using benefiber almost every day with good results. We have used the pedialax glycerin enemas on occasion as well and they do help.
My daughter's doc recommended giving her Crackin Oat Bran cereal. She loves it. She eats it as a snack (cookies she used to call them) and not as cereal in a bowl w/ milk.
I have no idea why the first poster says that things like Miralax should be taken off the market. I am wondering what she bases that on...
Miralax is not like other laxatives. It is not a stimulant, and as such, it is not habit forming, like other stimulant laxatives can be.
As described by my son's pediatrician, Miralax is not stimulant based, in that it does not stimulate to bowels to move, which causes the bowels to become lazy, in essence, requiring the stimulant to get moving. Miralax is designed to pull more moisture into the stool (sort of like a stool softener, but still different but I can't remember why), making the stool easier to pass through the bowels. It does not contain any stimulants.
Miralax is supposed to be safe even for babies, as I have friends whose peds prescribed it for their 6 month old. And I'm also told that you can't really overdose it, as it is not harmful in large quantities. In fact, they sometimes recommend giving large doses in the first couple days until the bowels are cleared out, then returning to a normal dose for maintenance.
My son started taking it everyday at about age 3. We used less than half the recommended dosage, and it was enough to keep him going regularly, and easily. They say that the stool should be the consistency of soft serve ice cream, and that dosage is what accomplished that for my son. It has no adverse side effects, like gassiness, like some laxatives do. And it can now be bought over the counter, and most stores sell generics of it too.
And, we've mixed it with just about anything... it dissolves completely, and it is tasteless and colorless, so it's very easy to mix.
If you are looking for something to try, I'd definitely recommend trying this before you resort to any laxatives that are stimulant based.
My 2 year old(almost 25 months) has been going through the same issues. We were trying Karo syrup and putting in her juice which helped alittle but when they cry cause they can't poop you have to try something when you have changed their diet etc and nothing else is working. We ended up buying Pedia Lax today and she went twice within the hour. The pharmasist recommended also buying some KY since it is a suppository to help as far as lubrication. I'm hesitant of what I give my child too but this was well worth it cause it really cleaned her out.
Good luck!
Try Ultimate Aloe Juice. I take this for this problem and all my kids are on it for acid reflux. It's awesome. I use strawberry kiwi and the kids love it. Tastes like a freeze pop. Stay away from ones that have lanoline or you'll then have the opposite problem. :)
Let me know if you want some info no the one I use. I tried others that didn't work as well.
I have used both the Pedia-Lax and the Fiber Gummies. They have been a God-send for us- we were dealing a bout of Encopresis (http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/conditions/encopre.... Unlike the other OTC laxatives, they do work much gentler and my son enjoyed the flavor far better. Because of the severity of what we were dealing with, our son was on it for about 3 months. Once some stability and regularity started occurring we were able to switch to just using the Gummies. Another wonderful (and healthy) aid is Activia yogurt. I still give my son some everyday. There are also little hidden things which can cause constipation, like applesauce (due to the gelatin in some brands) also watering down juice can dilute the good effects it can have. Citrus can also be a culprit. It sounds like your doing everything right so far- the fact that your taking a pro-active stance on his BM regularity is also equally important. I would recommend Pedia-Lax to just about anyone- Best of luck!
