My 3 year old daughter seems to have a lot of trouble with bowel movements. Any suggestions?

Question

SHe has had a hard time ever since she was a baby and the doctors cant seem to find anything wrong. When she does go it usually isn't really hard but it still seems to be very painful for her to get out. Has anyone else experienced anything like this with their kids?

Answer 1

Yeah. It's usually 2 year olds who go through a stage where they literally don't want to poop. Something about "it belongs to me, it's part of me, and you're going to flush it away."

Really.

If the doctor examine her rectum and their is no tearing, abrasions, or bruising (not necessarily signs of abuse - could be she itches and scrathes herself), she may just need a little help. You can buy suppositories that will melt in her rectum and help facilitate the poop to "come on down" (sorry, it's late. i get a little silly when it's late).

One step beyond that would be an enema. Not a lot of fun giving or receiving, but will really move the poop out quickly. It wasn't that long ago when "high colonics" were a weekly practice to "clean out the system".

If she is just resisting the poop cause she wants to, getting something put into the "exit" may help her decide she really doesn't want the nasty old crap anyway.

Lets end on a pun. This too will pass.

Answer 2

I am going through all that right now with my own 2 1/2 year old daughter. She was doing great with potty training then she had one painful bowel movement now she holds it in because she's afraid it's going to hurt again. This only makes it worse because when she finally does go it's as big as my fist and she screams in pain. We took her to the doctor and no blockages so this is what he told me. We use FiberSure soluable fiber and I sprinkle that in a lot of her food when cooking just to get that extra fiber in her diet. She enjoys prune juice but most kids won't (trying mixing it with apple juice). Also I got a prescription for Miralax which is a stool softener but it can take 3-4 days for results so the doctor recommended Milk of Magnesia (about 2 teaspoons a day). It's cheaper, always on the shelves without waiting for a prescription to be filled and works overnight (get the cherry flavor). He told me to keep her on that everyday for the next 6 months and then slowly wean her off of it for the next 3 months. Right now it's all phychological and she needs to get past the idea of it hurting. It's been a few weeks and she still doesn't want to go on the potty and cries but once she does it she says it doesn't hurt. I guess it's going to have to take a lot of patience and time and understanding to get past this. Good luck! I know what you are going through!

Answer 3

My daughter also did we had to cut out alot of carbs..like bread, noodles, rice & cheese as well as limit milk to 14 oz per day and increase fresh fruits and fresh or steamed veggies. Also her doctor had us add fiber powder (ask doctor 1st) to a drink a day as well as soup & yougurt (they make some that has no taste) It will take a week or so but should help.. If she still has this problem you can do what we ultamitly did which was had her bowels aligned by a childrens chiroprtor , labor can twist the intestines which can caus such problems that along with diet helped our daughter dramatically

Answer 4

I have! My middle son seemed to have trouble with his stools from birth. When he was an infant, I had to sometimes put a thermometer in there to stimulate him to make him poo ( per pediatricians request). We tried varios things but nothing really seemed to help, at least for long. When he was 4, he ended up with a prolapsed rectum..due to chronic constipation and straining. It was horrible. We finally found something called "myralax". It is a prescription and it really helped him to finally have normal stools. He is 10 now and as far as I know he doesn't have too much trouble...as he doesn't tell me if he does.
Have you tried any OTC things like children's senecot? That worked for my son for a while. I know they told me to make sure he drank lots of fluids and ate healthy foods. I was very scared to give him too much of anything for too long, as the body can become dependant on those and makes it HARDER for them to go without it. But the prolapsed rectum was terrible..and the myralax worked great..used it less and less and it has been quite a while since I have given him any.
HTH good luck! I know it can be hard to find something that works. I hope your daughter gets some relief! :-)

Answer 5

Try "taking her temperature" rectally. When my son used to be constipated on day 4, this labored like a appeal. Put a little bit lubrication, although it's just a bit child oil or petroleum jelly, to make it a little bit extra cozy. Hold her legs up even as you're taking her temp, so they're lightly urgent on her tummy. After approximately 30 seconds, dispose of the thermometer, and rub her tummy lightly. Hopefully, she's going to begin grunting and feature a couple of well bm's. If this does not paintings, you MAY have got to positioned approximately one million tsp of darkish Karo syrup with three-four oz. of both breast milk or components in a bottle and provide it to her. TRUST me, it's ok to do that. It used to be my pediatrician's healing elixir, and it quite does aid transfer matters alongside. To the JERKFACE who informed this girl to name CPS on herself...You realize what? I am certain if her daughter had a top temp and used to be listless and in misery, she do not have stricken sitting down on the pc and could already be within the emergency room along with her child. Some instances will also be helped simply by speakme to any person or a few folks who've already had a few parental enjoy. Call "Idiot Patrol" on your self, ya blankety blankety clean clean!!! (I bought your again, Little Mama!!! :D)

Answer 6

Yes I had the same problem with my step children- the only advice the doc gave me was no banana's (they constipate) and add more fiber into their diet- my kids did not eat the fiber and cried if I did not let them have banana's

but now they have that fiber that is taste and colorless that you could add into their oatmeal or milk or something she eats every day- after two weeks it should start helping- also they do make childrens stool softners, it is not a laxative, just makes the poop softer, but it is not for long term use either- but would help her discomfort while the fiber starts kicking in

Answer 7

My son also has a lot of problems but only since starting potty training. He holds it a long as he can and sometimes goes 2 to 4 days and than goes a large amount. I asked my dr. about it and she gave him a prescription for it. It comes in a white powder you can put in any drink. She also said at this age it is common for them to hold it because of a previous painful bowel movement and the pressure to potty train.

Answer 8

My three year old daughter also has problems, mostly because she seems intent to live on cheese. benefiber hidden in apple juice helps but the biggest thing is DRINK WATER!!!! alot time kids aren't active enough or getting enough water to properly hydrate their system. try to increase veggies and fruits when you can. (god knows I've tried, she never ate fruits or veggies as a baby mind you.) Good luck!

Answer 9

put her on a vegetarian diet, high in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, soy protein, and fiber.
lay off the cheeses and dairy.
and please don't let your kid eat fast food or tv dinner pre-processed foods.
replacing what you would normally eat in meat and poultry and fish replace that with black beans or kidney beans or tofu. they are all natural laxatives, where meats, especially red meat bind up your colon and intestines.

Answer 10

i used to have that exact same problem with my 3 year old daughter. just change her milk. my daught at first drank regular milk (red cap), then i changed it to the 2% fat (blue cap). my mother in law, who is a nurse, suggested it to me.