Bad Constipation In Toddler.

[Richb2004v2]

My son is almost two and is having bouts of great difficulty passing stools. He's been like it probably on and off for 6 months. We were so concerned one evening we took him to the hospital. They gave him laxatives which did the trick, but only for maybe a week or two and then it returns. We also took him to a 'Dr' but they did the same. It seemed to clear up for a while but the last few days it has been back. It is very upsetting to see as it looks like he is in some pain, and when it finally comes it is like a stone. We will take him to a different hospital tomorrow but I'm just wondering if we will simply get more laxatives. He eats a lot of fruit and fresh vegetables. There are no other symptoms of distress or illness, only this.

Apparently it is common in children so I just wondered if anyone else has experienced it and what was the solution.

Thanks.

[g00dgirl]

Make sure he drinks enough water.

Try to mix some flax seeds / linseeds into a natural yoghurt or porridge every day.

Eating dried prunes or drinking prune juice would also help.

Give more wholegrains as opposed to white bread.

[kdc1899]

Hello,

If he is still drinking formula you may have to change the (recipe).

If your in Thailand make sure he is not eating sticky rice or any white rice.

Don't feed him fruits or veggies that are concocted in china.

There are liquid vitamin options that have fish oil as an ingredient.

Try to slip some cold pressed virgin olive oil in his soups, poridge, etc.

avoid salts and diaretics.

[mkawish]

Richb2004v2

What kind of parents are you....?

....He's been like it probably on and off for 6 months....

GeeWeez....

It all got to do with what you fed your little pitiful boy.... man....

Like several already suggested....

Change his diet immediately.... if you were feeding him Formulae 4, lower it to Formulae 3 to soften up his stool....

and pls do consult with someone in the pediatrics for the best interests of your little boy....

Or else, I'll tell on you both.... when he grows up.... LOL

Wishing you the best and hope when he matures, he would run for PM.... to help you both becoming better educated parents.... and to help out many farang like so many of us....

Edited March 7, 2011 by mkawish

[kurnell]

Richb2004v2

What kind of parents are you....?

....He's been like it probably on and off for 6 months....

GeeWeez....

It all got to do with what you fed your little pitiful boy.... man....

Like several already suggested....

Change his diet immediately.... if you were feeding him Formulae 4, lower it to Formulae 3 to soften up his stool....

and pls do consult with someone in the pediatrics for the best interests of your little boy....

Or else, I'll tell on you both.... when he grows up.... LOL

Wishing you the best and hope when he matures, he would run for PM.... to help you both becoming better educated parents.... and to help out many farang like so many of us....

Yeah, very helpful, but not at all patronising right?

Lot's of kids suffer from constipation and there are a number of reasons, diet being the obvious one. Some of the above are correct that you possibly need to look at the formula you are using and change it. Some foods also cause constipation such as prawns, bananas. Give them fruit juice (prune) if they don't like fruits. A good paediatrician can advise. My 2 yo gets constipation also, expecially when we go on holidays and she cannot find a special place for her to poo, as she likes to do it on her own, usually behind a sofa or a curtain. If she can't poo in peace, she tends to hold it in, then it becomes a problem. As I said, the solution is not always the obvious one for the know it alls out there.

[mkawish]

Richb2004v2

What kind of parents are you....?

....He's been like it probably on and off for 6 months....

GeeWeez....

It all got to do with what you fed your little pitiful boy.... man....

Like several already suggested....

Change his diet immediately.... if you were feeding him Formulae 4, lower it to Formulae 3 to soften up his stool....

and pls do consult with someone in the pediatrics for the best interests of your little boy....

Or else, I'll tell on you both.... when he grows up.... LOL

Wishing you the best and hope when he matures, he would run for PM.... to help you both becoming better educated parents.... and to help out many farang like so many of us....

Yeah, very helpful, but not at all patronising right?

Lot's of kids suffer from constipation and there are a number of reasons, diet being the obvious one. Some of the above are correct that you possibly need to look at the formula you are using and change it. Some foods also cause constipation such as prawns, bananas. Give them fruit juice (prune) if they don't like fruits. A good paediatrician can advise. My 2 yo gets constipation also, expecially when we go on holidays and she cannot find a special place for her to poo, as she likes to do it on her own, usually behind a sofa or a curtain. If she can't poo in peace, she tends to hold it in, then it becomes a problem. As I said, the solution is not always the obvious one for the know it alls out there.

Even though I was kind of tongue in cheek, so to speak....

But I do tend to a boy about 1 yr and 2 mo who already climbs two meters ladder and stairs on his own to the frenzy of everyone around....

that is how I learned that if Makro or Lotus is out of the goat milk #1.... and we feed him the #2 instead.... we'll have problem on hand....

To date, he'll take everything almost.... except all meat products....

According to his pediatrics he is in excellent health in spite of his not taking in any meat per se....

He does ingest eggs though....

Surely, am not recommending this to every family though.... so pls don't shoot me down.... alright?

Edited March 7, 2011 by mkawish

[Forethat]

Rich,

Been there, done that...it's heartbreaking. The one thing that caught my attention was that your son is almost 2 years old.

It is most common that this problem occurs when the baby starts eating solid food, which is usually around the 6-8 month mark.

Just to give you an idea what is actually going on inside the colon; the task of the colon is to extract water from the stool. If your baby cant pass the stools more and more water will be extracted which eventually creates a situation where the stools are hard as rock (trust me, I've seen babies pass granite rocks while crying and bathing in sweat caused by the pain...). It's a negative spiral. Another problem is that white rice and bananas causes constipation, and that's usually an issue in Thailand...

The best way to correct this is to give your son's body a way to retain the water in the stool mass - or even reverse the process so that water is pulled into the stool. And the keywords here are LACTULOSE and SORBITOL. Lactulose can be prescribed by a Doctor (maybe you can buy this without in Thailand), but I don't like this at all due to the side effects (every time we have tried this it has caused gastric cramps).

My advice is to odd sorbitol to the food, this worked wonders for us. Sorbitol is found in fruit and vegetables such as: beans, peas, prunes, apples and pears. We also used a lot of pumpkin. Add this to your sons diet and he should have a good chance of rid the problem. If your son is already eating these, just increase the amount. Also make sure your son drinks a lot of water.

I know what your family and your son is going through, I feel for you.

All the best.

/F

Edited March 8, 2011 by Forethat

[gregb]

Rich,

Been there, done that...it's heartbreaking. The one thing that caught my attention was that your son is almost 2 years old.

It is most common that this problem occurs when the baby starts eating solid food, which is usually around the 6-8 month mark.

Just to give you an idea what is actually going on inside the colon; the task of the colon is to extract water from the stool. If your baby cant pass the stools more and more water will be extracted which eventually creates a situation where the stools are hard as rock (trust me, I've seen babies pass granite rocks while crying and bathing in sweat caused by the pain...). It's a negative spiral. Another problem is that white rice and bananas causes constipation, and that's usually an issue in Thailand...

The best way to correct this is to give your son's body a way to retain the water in the stool mass - or even reverse the process so that water is pulled into the stool. And the keywords here are LACTULOSE and SORBITOL. Lactulose can be prescribed by a Doctor (maybe you can buy this without in Thailand), but I don't like this at all due to the side effects (every time we have tried this it has caused gastric cramps).

My advice is to odd sorbitol to the food, this worked wonders for us. Sorbitol is found in fruit and vegetables such as: beans, peas, prunes, apples and pears. We also used a lot of pumpkin. Add this to your sons diet and he should have a good chance of rid the problem. If your son is already eating these, just increase the amount. Also make sure your son drinks a lot of water.

I know what your family and your son is going through, I feel for you.

All the best.

/F

Ah ha!

So now I understand why giving our babies apple juice always relieves the constipation. Sorbitol. Thank you for that education. Helps me to understand what is really happening.

To the OP, you say he has lots of fresh fruit, but what kinds? As Forethat points out, some are better than others. Have you tried giving your son several glasses of apple juice if he goes for 2 or 3 days without a bowel movement? Works wonders for our 8 month old twins. Unless your son has a digestive problem, I would imagine the same treatment would help just in larger doses. 39 baht per liter at Big C. Much cheaper than a doctor.

[bina]

actually the problem is usually more complex than just food issues;

some children, because theyve had hard stools several times, refuse to defacate becasue it hurts and therefore become consitipated again... an never ending circle;

in some places, potty training is started and this also has its own form of constipation (usually psychologically based but becomes a physical problem-- have a male nephew at age 9 still has issues that have become real health problems due to the original cycle )

here glicyerine suposotories (not sure the spelling?) are sometimes used to get the child used to poo'ing again w/o pain, while also being given dietary supplemants and instructions for what to eat, also helping psychologically (when u have to go, u have to go and if a child has issues with when and where then be sensitive to this issue (my son would go under the table, refused to go in his children's house/kindergarten, so would come home and then go back to kindergarten /children's house on the kibbutz);

here, orange juice fresh squeezed/fresh grated tomatoes served with other food, lots of water and fresh juices (not grated banana or apples as they'bind' with pectin); whole grain rice rather then white rice, add some bran to yougurt for proper intestinal bacteria -- here in israel there is a whole set of yogurts geared to toddlers with appropriate bacterias and not too much sweetners, and more liquidy meant to be drunk rather then spoon eaten in a child's size bottle, which promotes good stools-- maybe in health food store places in thailand?

also, being aware but not making a fuss about the stools/potty training/feeding habits which create behavior patterns... probably a lot of stuff on the net

iron supplements and formulas are often a main source of constipation problems; as can be milk (cows milk)... also, exercies i.e. not to be sedentary, but playng/climbing etc not watching tv, helps stimulate the intestines, but because of stomach pain the child often becomes less active therefore agan the magic circle..

bina

israel

[Richb2004v2]

Thanks for the advice , and the criticism .

After two or three days with limited movement we visited Bangkok Pattaya Hospital today. The Dr was very helpful and explained the situation very well. She said the same as has been said here and the same as I thought regarding the diet and environment as being the key. We are to continue with the same diet with the addition of some of the food stuffs mentioned here. We also have to administer laxatives twice per day for three days then once per day for a month. Then review the situation and reduce the dose. I think that as Bina mentioned we were caught in a cycle of constipation. We administered the laxative until it cleared, we then stopped the laxative immediately thinking all was well and the cycle returned. I was actually concerned that to frequent use of laxatives may be damaging. We should have continued with it even though he seems ok again. The X-ray showed a considerable backup, so even though it seemed that he was back to normal for a week or so at a time he probably wasn't. The Dr administered an enema to get things moving which it did. If things are not much improved in three days we are to go back for another to keep things going.

I feel much better about the situation obviously. We more or less got the same solution as the previous doctor gave except this time the Dr explained more and gave us a plan. The other Dr simply gave the laxatives without instruction other then to give them until he was clear again.

Thanks a lot for the help anyway.

The apple juice tip is a good one. I will try to switch him to drinking that from now on.

The Dr told us that she has one regular little boy that came in once not having a movement for 20 days!! He was admitted and given a serious enema.

Edited March 9, 2011 by Richb2004v2

[mkawish]

Rich,

Been there, done that...it's heartbreaking. The one thing that caught my attention was that your son is almost 2 years old.

It is most common that this problem occurs when the baby starts eating solid food, which is usually around the 6-8 month mark.

Just to give you an idea what is actually going on inside the colon; the task of the colon is to extract water from the stool. If your baby cant pass the stools more and more water will be extracted which eventually creates a situation where the stools are hard as rock (trust me, I've seen babies pass granite rocks while crying and bathing in sweat caused by the pain...). It's a negative spiral. Another problem is that white rice and bananas causes constipation, and that's usually an issue in Thailand...

The best way to correct this is to give your son's body a way to retain the water in the stool mass - or even reverse the process so that water is pulled into the stool. And the keywords here are LACTULOSE and SORBITOL. Lactulose can be prescribed by a Doctor (maybe you can buy this without in Thailand), but I don't like this at all due to the side effects (every time we have tried this it has caused gastric cramps).

My advice is to odd sorbitol to the food, this worked wonders for us. Sorbitol is found in fruit and vegetables such as: beans, peas, prunes, apples and pears. We also used a lot of pumpkin. Add this to your sons diet and he should have a good chance of rid the problem. If your son is already eating these, just increase the amount. Also make sure your son drinks a lot of water.

I know what your family and your son is going through, I feel for you.

All the best.

/F

Ah ha!

So now I understand why giving our babies apple juice always relieves the constipation. Sorbitol. Thank you for that education. Helps me to understand what is really happening.

To the OP, you say he has lots of fresh fruit, but what kinds? As Forethat points out, some are better than others. Have you tried giving your son several glasses of apple juice if he goes for 2 or 3 days without a bowel movement? Works wonders for our 8 month old twins. Unless your son has a digestive problem, I would imagine the same treatment would help just in larger doses. 39 baht per liter at Big C. Much cheaper than a doctor.

WHAT..... 39 baht per liter at Big C. Much cheaper than a doctor....?????

GeeWeez.... we must have been living in another world or another era....

We squeeze our own apple and other fruit juices and store them in our fridge for a few days at a time....

Personally, I surely won't want to feed.... 39 baht per liter at Big C. Much cheaper than a doctor.... to my baby....

however, I do drink those for myself but surely not for baby.... at least not for mine.... Perhaps, I am behind time....

[Forethat]

(not grated banana or apples as they'bind' with pectin)

Good point, bina:

There is a difference between apple and apple juice. The reason is that the flesh of the apple and the skin vs. the juice contains different types of pectin (soluble and insoluble).

Stay away from grating apples, only use juice.

[MisterMan]

White flour for anyone is like cement! Avoid white flour, crackers, cookies, panckaes, cereal.

Forumula has some shocking ingredients too.

[ableguy]

Richb2004v2

What kind of parents are you....?

....He's been like it probably on and off for 6 months....

GeeWeez....

It all got to do with what you fed your little pitiful boy.... man....

Like several already suggested....

Change his diet immediately.... if you were feeding him Formulae 4, lower it to Formulae 3 to soften up his stool....

and pls do consult with someone in the pediatrics for the best interests of your little boy....

Or else, I'll tell on you both.... when he grows up.... LOL

Wishing you the best and hope when he matures, he would run for PM.... to help you both becoming better educated parents.... and to help out many farang like so many of us....

Change diet for sure, there is also medication avaiable which is not a laxative but simply softens the stool I had surgery and had to take co codomol for pain which binds one up, the stool softner works a treat however not sure if good for a toddler, all the best hope you sort it.