Child with severe constipation/impacted bowel

[Laskaland]

Quote:
Well Schneck! Now I gotta tell my pediatrician that she is WRONG. Well, it wasn't the only thing she's been wrong about either. Wonder if I should get a new one? LOL
Thanks Wild Lady. I think I'll still let the kids think it helps them go... they drink it and go potty reguarly anyway... Could be the Castor Oil Root Beer stuff too or just a mental thing...

Hugs and thanks
Christina

 

[OHMYCHICKIES]

My goodness this brings back memories and my 7 year old still remembers and sometimes holds it but she now knows the solution. She explains to me the problem. She at one time had a very hard poop and from there on she was scared to poop. We dealt with this for several years. Constant being there for her and working with her has helped tremendously. I went to the ped. and he gave her laxatives. Everything I heard about it from parents, they said don't do laxatives for then after you're done with it, they don't know how to do it themselves.

I used kid herbal laxatives, only when necessary, backed up for 2 days. Everyday I would work with her, explaining how if she goes more often, it won't stay there and get bigger. I would massage her abdomen so movement would be easier.

Now she holds it when she can't find a bathroom and then gets scared because it might be big, but I give her some carrots and out it goes. I think in her mind she associates fiber with easy poop and just suddenly it happens when she just eats fiber.

I don't envy anyone going through this, this was definitely tough.

 

[Wildsky]

Quote:
Well Schneck! Now I gotta tell my pediatrician that she is WRONG. Well, it wasn't the only thing she's been wrong about either. Wonder if I should get a new one? LOL
Thanks Wild Lady. I think I'll still let the kids think it helps them go... they drink it and go potty reguarly anyway... Could be the Castor Oil Root Beer stuff too or just a mental thing...

Hugs and thanks
Christina

Good luck, ped's don't like being told they're wrong. they're gods you know!

You'd have better luck getting the kids to drink fruit juice of pretty much any kind (ok avoid those from CHINA), My hubby and I drink soda, but we really don't want the kids getting started on it. My son is 9 and will not go NEAR soda anything - its a good thing!

Tell em a crazy woman on the internet told you that Apple and Orange juice mixed works like a CHARM!

 

[whitecra]

My son did this and I keep telling him if he didn't hold it in and just go that it wouldn't hurt so much. It wasn't long until he believed me. Just keep telling her that.
Chris

 

[MandyH]

My child has had this problem since she was 2 months old and I am a nurse and have ried EVERYTHING possible. PlumSmart is a plum juice and is easily mixed with other juices because it is not so strong. No amount of fruit, grains or anything worked for my child, I finally HAD to take her to the doctor when she was 2. They put her on Lactulose but it was too harsh on her little system. I got Miralax as soon as it was over the counter and used that and now she hasn't had to have any meds in over 4 months!!!!! THE best thing is to reduce milk intake, sweets intake, and anything known to cause consipation such as peanut butter, cheese, etc. The one thing that helped her out more than anything was eating nuts. She loves peanuts and cashews so I let her have them at least once EVERYDAY, oh and corn too. Good luck.

 

[I have WHAT in my yard?]

Hey outathebag!

I told my 6 year old with the problem about your daughter and she was VERY sympathetic but she said to make sure to tell you that the only thing that got her liking the prunes was to buy the canned ones. She likes the Sunsweet canned prunes they are soft and juicy and very sweet. She no longer has to take the Miralax, she just eats two prunes a day and now it is with no problem- she loves them.

Well, I told her I would pass that on!

 

[gumpsgirl]

I really hate that I didn't see this post sooner. My daughter had the same exact problem at the same age. It got so bad and she cried about going to the bathroom so much, that we finally took her to a pediatric gastrointestinal specialist. He said that about 75% of the kids he see come in for the same exact problem. Constipation because they are scared to have a bowel movement and hold it. He prescribed Miralax at a rate of 1 cap full every morning to soften things up so she would learn that it doesn't hurt. We also were to put her on the potty for 15 minutes after every meal to try and retrain her to use the bathroom. Another thing was to give her lots of food that was high in fiber and lots of water and juice. Eventually the lights switched on and she announced that it didn't hurt anymore!

Try doing these things for your little one and see if they don't help.

 

[bantymum]

Im so sorry to hear about your little girl.

I dont have any advice sorry but I do know that the same happened to me when I was very young and I was hospitalised after my parents tried different methods.
They chased me around the house though to force laxatives into me and it really gave me a rebellious attitude, even now!

Whatever they did in hospital sure worked. I hope your daughter gets through this very quickly. Hugs to you both.

 

[MamaDragon]

Went thru this as well, and all our kids have had varying degrees of impaction.

Enemas are more hurtful than helpful to small children! Add to that that enemas can be painful, SCARY, and stressful.

The doctor's at Children's Hospital here had us use Glycerin Suppositories (just plain vasoline bullets). Less stressful to the child AND the parents. The suppositories allow the movement come out easier, with less friction-pain, and lubricate the bowel, making it a quicker passage. The body doesn't become dependent on laxatives, and learns to "self-regulate".

The two largest factors that affect bowel movements in all of us is the amount of physical exercise we get, and most of us don't drink enough Plain WATER. (The sugars in Juice and such can actually compound the problem.)

We had a wonderful Family Doctor, who believed in using "home remedies" before resorting to prescriptions. He had us do something that is SO simple, and once you stop and think about it, actually makes sense. Allow your kids, especially toddlers who are still "mouthing" everything.....play in a Warm Bubble Bath until they are tired of it, and want to get out. SMALL amounts of soap (Ivory, baby shampoo, glycerin or castile, even plain dish-soap, - NOT soaps with fragrance, additives, etc) like chewing on a washcloth while bathing, Soap-bubble beards, and so forth. It isn't harsh on the systems, doesn't kill off the necessary organisms, lubricates the intestinal tract, also helps keep more water in the bowel tract, softening the movements. The warm water relaxes the muscles of the abdomen, and de-stresses the child. After about a week of nightly bubble baths, our kids would get out of the tub to go poop, and then climb back in to finish playing.

We also had to Teach them to go regularly. Children should have at least One movement Every Day. (Adults can go less frequently, but not kids) Find a time of day that is convenient to THEIR schedule: after breakfast and before school, after baths at night, whatever. And just as we have to remind them to go brush their teeth, start reminding them to go Poop. Once their body gets into the habit of going at regular times, the frequency of them being constipated will decrease, or go away all together.

There IS a laxative that is safe to give 6-week old newborns even, and has no dependency effects. Polyethy/Glycol. It required a prescription, comes in a powder than mixes with milk, juice or Kool-aid, is tasteless, and works within 12 hours. It was the ONLY laxative our Family Doctor would allow our kids under 4 to use. Fletcher's Castoria was his choice for the kids 4 and up.

 

[Barnyard Dawg]

Cascara Sagrada - Rhamnus Purshiana