My daughter's constipated ALL the time. She's 3 and her doc says there's nothing to do since she holds it.HELP

Question

She's been doing this since she was about 6-8 mos old. They 're HUGE...like a man poop, and it hurts her soooo much...Milk of Mag...DOESN'T HELP. It is sooo stressful, and I can't hardly take the pain on her little face. She eats anything we put in front of her( just not a ton of it). Her fiber probably needs a boost, but it can't be just that.

Answer 1

I'm sure your doc has told you this, our pediatrician as well as our urologist gave us these suggestions, but just in case... cut back on dairy products, especially cheese, cut back on bananas and apple juice, give lots of "P" foods like prunes, peaches, plums, pineapple, grapes and raisins are good too, and try to get her to drink more water. My daughter has had constipation problems since she was born and has a urinary condition as well. The things I recommended to you have helped my daughter but not to the extent that she has a bowel movement everyday. She's almost 4 and goes every other day at best. I think it's just the way her little body works right now. Good luck.

Answer 2

Mom I know your pain because I too have experience this problem with my 3 years old son. Your baby holds it in because she's trying to avoid the pain. I found this very successful. For immediate results try giving her a children's enema. This will flush it out in less then 5 minutes. Also try giving her a children's laxative every other day. This will help her be regular and also it soften the bowl so that it won't hurt when it comes out. I also realized that whole milk also caused that constipation because of the high iron level. I now use the 2% milk and that helps a lot. Since I've changed the milk and started giving him the children's laxative he has not experienced any constipation problems in the past four months.

Answer 3

Poor dear. She's in a terrible cycle that often results in kids standing with friends playing and suddenly having diarreah run down their legs. This happens because the distended colon no longer signals through nerves to the child that a movement needs to take place. Often kids are blamed for this, but it stems from the terrible pain of constipation and resulting loss of bowel control. They literally don't know until everyone else does.

This is what we did for our son, which i learned from the Medical College of Virginia website. We picked a set time for him to sit on the potty, every day whether he went or not. We gave him a gentle children's liquid laxative every day for about a week. I assume because the doc's involved, he's sure there's no blockage in the tubes themselves - this advice is only for the constipation. Much more important than her eating fiber to make sure she gets enough water. The only things she drinks should be water and mommy's milk if she's still nursing and she should drink as much water as possible. Sneak it in in watermelon and popsicles if you have to, or virgin pina coladas and such.

Your patience, love, and understanding will help her through this tough time and teach her a lot about her bodies. Definitely get illustrations targeted at kids of her internal system - she can learn a lot and it will help her not feel to blame.

Answer 4

Cut back on cheese.... Increase her fiber, water and fruits and vegies, This will not only be healthy but should get rid of the constipation. Also avoid too many bannanas as they are very rich in potassium and can stop diareah but cause constipation! Good luck!
Check with your dr before you give a childrens laxitive every other Day! that is not natural and itcan cause heart problems with long term use!!! Thats what killed Karen carpenter

Answer 5

baby girl, I know how you feel. My son (3 years old) have this same problem and has since about the time your daughter has. We go through the same thing. The walking on his toes and not going because it hurts so bad and the face of pain they make. Trust me, it's the exact same thing. I actually had to BEG my son's doctor to do something for him. They told me the same thing that alot of the people here are telling you. But there IS something that you can see if your docotr will give you a perscription for. I dont know about the stuff you can buy right from the store. Like Flower said, it is odorless, colorless, and tasteless. You can put it in ANYTHING that your daughter is drinking, even water and she will not beable to tell the diff. I dont have the name right now, but as soon as i get hime, i will give you the name, just make sure you check the answers again by tomorrow. Like I said, it was a prescription, so insist that your doc. gives it to her. Make them fully understand how much pain she is in, No matter what you do. Tell them you have tried increasing her water intake as well as her fiber intake. I dont know if her ped. is like my son's ped. but it seems as if they hate to prescribe anything for children. I promise I will get the name back to you asap.

Answer 6

First off I would change my doctor, perhaps go to an actual pediatrician. I had constipation problems in school because I held it and it turned into a very big problem. My whole small intestine was impacted I had to take 3 enemas and 3 suppositories and pills every day for about 3 weeks. Please don't let it get that bad. There are plenty of things you can do to help suppositories are good to get started but definitely talk with a pediatrician. Also we found that graham crackers and milk every day, which tasted very good as well, helped to loosen it and just made me regular. Good luck with your little one!

Answer 7

IF she holds it, reward her every time she uses the restroom. She needs to know now that its a good thing to go poop. As for diet maybe slip some prunes in there or something like Metamucil (a fiber drink, that can be bought at walmart or any drugstore). Good Luck!

Answer 8

constipation usually means that there is not enough water in the system and fiber. give her water or fruit flavored water, prune juice, and you might want to try that new fiber sustance that has no taste and put it in her food like Benefil. fruit is good also but no bananas; they will stop her up. cheese will too. if that doesn't work, you may get another Dr opion or get some glycerine suppositories at the pharmarcy

Answer 9

There is this new colorless, odorless fiber from the store. It is in powder form and you can put it in anything you make. Just sprinkle it in. You could try some of that to get more fiber. I think Metamucil puts it out. She is afraid to go cause she knows its going to hurt. Try some more fiber and see if you can soften it so she is not so afraid. I'm sorry, this must be tough.

Answer 10

I had the same problem with my daughter. She would hold it until she couldnt any more and it would be huge! I would sit her on the potty everyday, even if she said that she didnt have to go. I would tell her that it would get bigger and hurt if she held it. I also used those fleet babylax and they would work almost instantly. Here is some info on them.

http://www.phosphosoda.com/consumers/products/babylax.asp

My daughter would refer to them as "butts" and I hated doing it, but when I would see that she was holding it, I would tell her that she needed to go poop or I was going to have to use a "butt" so she would go on her own. It was all in her head.. as soon as I got her into going to the bathroom as soon as she felt the urge the problem went away, now shes five, and shes fine.. she still says, "oh.. I have to go to the bathroom before it gets too big." I really feel for you, its so hard to watch you little one be in so much pain, but if you really make her go to the bathroom.. sit her down daily.. and if she wont go on her own, use the fleet babylax.. and keep on top of it.. explain to her that if she doesnt go then it will get bigger and hurt.. and do this daily.. she will learn that it doesnt always hurt to go to the bathroom, and the problem will fix its self.. just look for clues that she has to go, and as soon as you see them get her on the toliet. good luck.