4 Year Old Constipation Help?

Flax oil. 10 or 15 drops once a day will do the trick. Regardless, my daughter recieves this in her breakfast and she is always very regular.

Have you tried Miralax? Half a cap full in about 6 oz of juice every day has worked great for my daughter.

Are you giving her any omega fatty acids such as fish oil or using chia seeds or anything like that. Omega fatty acids and especially those found in chia seeds can be extremely helpful and have very little taste and can be mixed in applesauce. Here is a website with more info miracleseeds.lifemax.net. They work wonders in kids. I give them to mine. I'm a pharmacist and an herbalist.

I've been dealing with constipation issues myself in my 6 year old and what I have figured out so far is this: if I can get enough fiber and liquid in her during the day, she does pretty well. She doesn't drink enough on her own and it is a challenge to constantly remind her to drink, so she still has days she doesn't go, but it seems to be 2 days at most. I have had her on Miralax for extended periods of time and that didn't do anything for her so I stopped and have had the most success with the fiber and drinking. There are a ton of fiber granola bars, pop tarts, breads, cereals and drink mixes that taste pretty good too. Kids their age need around 11 - 13 grams of fiber per day and one of the granola bars has 9 grams in it. Fruits and veggies are always a good way to go as well.

Good luck to you! It's not a fun battle.
S.

Avoid banannas and give her oranges, grapes, strawberries or any other juicy fruits. Make sure she drinks pleanty of water and try pear juice. It worked for my daughter and it tastes better than prune juice. Also, it might be related to stress from moving to a new place. Try and relax about it (the poop)and focus on getting settled in and enjoying yourselves in your new home. Let her decorate her walls with some of her best drawings or something to help her feel at ease. She will relax and then ... you can too! Good luck

Sorry I couldn't respond to this sooner, as it is somewhat of an urgent matter, but I only checked my email today & saw your request. I am a massage therapist and I used abdomin massage on my child from the age of 1 to current (6yrs) to help him with this problem when it arose. The DIRECTION of abdomin massage is the MOST IMPORTANT part of this. Try lying your daughter across your lap, maybe even if you sit indian-style on the floor, with her belly up. Start massaging/rubbing in a CLOCKWISE circular motion over her belly, the direction of her intestines, in a large circle, using her belly button as the center of the circle, rubbing around it. Start gently and slowly, and as her ab muscles relax, you will be able to rub deeper. Keep a slow pace. You may even be able to feel the tightness or stool hardened in her intestinal tract. Continue this as long as possible, up to a half-hour. It may seem painful to her at first and she may try to get up but calmly talk her through it and into staying lying down on you. This helps actually physically move any stool in her intestine in the direction of her colon and will stimulate her gi tract to release it. This worked wonderfully for my son, better than any laxative, suppository, or juice did! Plus, it's all natural and harmless! He would usually be able to poop within 15minutes and was so relieved! I hope it works just as well for your daughter! I know it's painful to see them in pain from this kind of thing. Have a great weekend!

J.

Is she getting enough fiber? Whole grains, other fruits like apples (for pectin), and lots of water? You might try flax seed, ground up and added to yogurt.

Our daughter had a similar problem, and our doc said that you do need to take care of it, because eventually it can cause problems. We also tried all the food methods you listed without much success (you can only give out so many raisins!!). We use Miralax everyday now, as recommended by our doctor. It is over the counter, and not addictive like a stimulant laxative can be. It has to be every day though, or our problem comes back. So far so good. I'd talk with your doctor again - frankly, I am surprised that they didn't recommend something else if you are resorting to enema!

My favorite product is Dr. Christophers Kid-E-Reg. It helped us when nothing else did and it is a dropper so it is easy to give.
Bananas can plug kids up too...fair warning...and what about helping her eat greans and fiber? There are fiber options that you can stir into juice.
Good luck

My son has the same problem and I have a list of things that I am going to try so I will pasds it on to you in hopes that you find something that will work for her.
Dark Karo Syrup- 1 tsp. (can dilute in water)
Powdered Probiotic (PB8)
Miralax- 1/2 tsp.
Phillips Milk of Magnisium
Mineral Oil- 1 tsp.
Benefiber
Chiropractor adjustment
Good luck, I understand where you and your daughter are comming from.

Hi JS
Our 4 year old has had this issue as well. We have done the prunes and prune juice but I think one of the best helpers for us has been almonds and lots of water. I do have a difficult time trying to get her to drink enough water (though that's whats served at most meals) We've had some success with Dates as well though she doesn't care much for them. Raisins and of course grapes are natural laxatives too. Best wishes, L.

I have a daughter with cerebral palsy, which causes frequent bouts of constipation. No Fun! For difficult times I give her flax seed ground up in her cereal, or in anything I can put it in. I also give her a higher than normal dose of viatmin C. Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin and any excess is excreted in the urine and as diarrhea. The toxicity of vitamin C is low and there is no risk to health of a high intake. I use an E-mergency package of vitamine C and give her about 1 tsp. This usually does the trick. If it doesn't just add a bit more until you get diarrhea. Sometimes it makes my daughters bowel movement a bit "hot" and it gives her a little burning rash on her bottom, but not often, and this has always been quick and easy to treat.

Miralax. It's the wonder drug. No cramping, no dehydration, etc. It's the only thing I use, and its pediatritian recommended.

Try using probiotics, they will encourage a healthy digestive system. I like to buy drinkable yogurt that has probiotics and prebiotics in it, I can't think of the brand name though... Activia is good too, it has twice the active cultures as most other yogurts, and again, the active cultures help you have a healthy digestive system. Ground flax seed is great too, you can add it to lots of foods and your girls will not even notice it, two tablespoons of flax has as much fiber as 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal, and it had omga 3 fats. Try to serve only whole grain breads and cereals, and try giving her more fruit with smoothies, frozen berries mixed with activia and prune juice, with a sprinkle of ground flax seed, would be good as a smoothie.

Another great idea is abdominal massage, I am a massage therapist and I have used this for my kids and some of my clients, it can work wonders. Use some pressure, don't just stroke lightly, and make clockwize circles on the adbomin, it is really important to go clockwize. If you want more detailed instructions on some other methods send me a message. Good luck!

Hi JS

My son will eat a ton of raisins and those dried cranberry's those seem to help plus when backed up we eat watermelon and grapes and cantaloupe all of that seems to get him moving. Popcorn seems to work and of course apple juice and apples and tons of water. Good luck.

Hi JS,
We have been battling with consipation with my 2 year old daughter for quite a while now (and sadly to say, also myself) and I have done a ton, I mean a ton of research. Here is what I have found...
If you are very constipated, dried fruit can actually constipate you even more. Because the fruit is dried, it draws the water to the fruit to moisten and loosen, water that is in your stool needed to help make the stool softer, then constipates you further. What you can do is take dried fruit, rinse it, then boil water and add to the fruit, cover the fruit over night. In the morning, the fruit is nice and soft and if your kiddo won't eat it that way, you can blend it up in a smoothy.
Berries ( any kind ), melons, pears are great for constipation. If your daughter will drink water with lemon, try a nice warm glass of lemon water first thing in the morning, that helps a ton. Also, the benefiber works great, just make sure she drinks lots of fluids with that as too much fiber with not enough water can be constipating.
Sparkling mineral water with low sodium is also great for consipation. Just make sure the mineral content is high, if you look on the bottle, some say low mineral, some say high mineral. The magnesium in water is helpful in producing a bm. However, if your daughter isn't used to carbonated beverages, it may seem "spicy" to her.
I hope some of these tips have been useful. I know how you feel and it is so stressful not being able to know what to do to fix your kids!
M.

Miralax. I've tried it all and my daughter (now 7) has been on Miralax since she was 4. You can get it over the counter now (WalMart, Costco, etc.). One capful a day mixed w/juice, water, lemonade, anything but milk.

Have you tried Miralax? It is a grainy type powder that dissolves totally and undetectably in juice, milk, etc. It holds moisture in the bowels so the stool is softer (and depending upon how much you give, it can make it impossible to withhold bms). We had great success with this, and it doesn't have lasting effects - if you want soft stools, you have to take a dose.

We had BAD advice from our pediatrician for years regarding my son's constipation -he basically said the same thing yours did. The problem wasn't solved until we went to a GI specialist who said we needed to take control of the situation with an agressive plan. By then my son had learned that pooping hurt, so we really had a battle, and he was poooping his pants occasionally up until 6 y.o!!

I don't know where you are, but we have loads of Miralax left over that we no longer need. (It is now sold over the counter). Let me know if you want it - it's not cheap!

My son who just turned 5 had that issue last year and it was so painful he would hold it. The doctor prescribed Miralax after we had done all the above (took out dairy, fruit, fruit juices, prune juices, etc.) Miralax is a powder. We actually mixed it with apple juice and it helped him after a few doses. He is now regular again. Hope it works. It can be grueling for the child.

Chiropractic! Chiropractic! Chiropractic! I work in a chiropractic office and have seen children treated for this very thing. Sometimes a pinched nerve can block off nerve messages telling the body to have a bowel movement. It works! Google one in your area.

I would talk to a gastroenterologist at this point.

Good luck!

My son had a problem with this around that age. Our DR. said to give him Benefiber (or the like). It mixes right into drinks and you don't even taste it. Don't forget lots of water too. Just because she is 4 doesn't mean she can't carry around a fun sippy cup with her all day. Good Luck.

You may want to try a chiropractor. My son had problems with constipation on and off and I finally took him to a chiropractor and he adjusted his hips. Made a huge difference. Just a thought.

Our pediatrician says always treat constipation from above (orally) instead of from below (anally) because it's less traumatic and less invasive. He (and I) recommend Miralax because it's a non-stimulant and just helps your body add moisture to the stool, making it easier to pass. You can add it to beverages and it's completely flavorless. It's also available over the counter. It might take a couple days to kick in, but it's a great help.
Chronic constipation can lead to encopresis, which is really unpleasant and harder to treat. Avoid making poop a central issue in your home so that it's not associated with unpleasantness forever. . . .

Blueberries, grapes, homemade bran muffins, grapefruit, watermelon---all work for us.

two suggestions.
one - p for poop...pear, peas, prunes, peaches, etc.
the second is anecdotal...my cousin bought fiber one bars (the granola like ones covered in chocolate). she told her kids they were healthy candy bars. well, her 4 year old ate four of them about an hour before going to a movie - her words were "it was a very moving movie!
good luck!

What about mixing BABY prunes into other things - applesauce, yogurt, hot cereal, mix it with jelly for toast? My 4 year old (almost) would not eat prune fruit but give her a spoon and a jar of baby prunes and she devoured it!
Good luck!

J S,
You stated this has been happening since you have moved, out of curiousity have you moved close to a chemical plant, waste, where there is more toxins in the air or a place that has a lot of rain. My husband and I help people to eliminate toxins and get better nutrition, you see, we had many problems with our children in different areas. Formaldahyde, Chlorine, Ammonia, Phosphates and so much more toxins in the air can cause these problems and more: ADD, ADHD, Cancer, Nausea, Constipation, Luekimia, Fibromyalgia, Dizziness, Kidney & Liver Damage, Phsychological Disorders, etc. It cost us over 60 thousand dollars for the doctors to say what was wrong with him and treat symptoms and only $29.00 to find out the natural way to fix it. If you use any cleaners, bath products like Johnson and Johnson, that contain any of the above, try to put them in the garage and not use them for 2 weeks, try alternatives, we can show you some good ones, also her daily vitamins, see if they are soluable in 1% ph acid level (stomach)or 7 % ph acid level (intenstinal), vitamins that are only 1% are generally crystalizing and isolating which causes free radicals that are very harmful causing diseases, sickness. The bottle should have it labeled. You can email us at ____@____.com if you have further questions or look on this site gotgreennow.fourpointwellnes.com

Just a couple of ideas: Have your tried mixing a 1/2 tsp of mineral oil into her yogurt? Also, there are chewable fiber tablets by Fiber Choice that my kids think taste like smarties.

Light corn syrup helped our son when he was on drugs that caused it. Also worked for our other son after having a test run that stopped him up. The big plus is they both loved it. You can add it to drinks, too, and stir it up. GL!