Constipated 5 Year Old

There is a great product at Wal Mart you might want to try called Ready Fiber. It is a colorless, tasteless liquid the might just add enough fiber to her body (and stool) to form softer movements. It is about $10.00 for the smaller size bottle which will last quite a long time. Each child is different. I had one daughter that drank apple juice with no problems and another that got bound up severly from it. I just smell a banana and I get bound up. I don't have much of a problem with anything else. If she is eating apples or bananas try eliminating them (or their juice)for a short time and see if that helps also. The daughter that got bound up was recommemded a powdered vegetabble laxitive that I would add to her formula bottle by our pediatrician. It stained her clothes and was difficult to regulate so as not to cause the trots. I wouldn't really recommend it. Good luck.

I feel your frustration! I had this issue with one of my sons. Bananas and peanuts can be problems for some people. My niece had problems with those & dairy - she can't handle ANY dairy. My son had problems for a while too & I had to limit the amount of dairy for him - especially cheese. I also got a liquid calcuim-magnesuim supplement from the natropath to give my son daily to keep him going (magnesuim gets things moving) because he started trying to hold it in all the time after a while even when he felt like going. You might look into that to help until you figure out what foods are bothering her. And the dried fruit is great - especially plums if she likes them! Eventually once my son got used to going regularly where it wasn't too hard for him he was fine. He's almost 5 now. I'm amazed at his change in attitute as well when he isn't "backed up."

I have no personal experiance with this but my 6yr niece has pooping problems where when she finally gets to go her little but bleeds. her doctor told my sister lots of fruits & veggies no diary though it makes the problem worse. so they use alot of soy It is worth a try. hope it helps

Hello K., Boy do I know what you are going though.My daughter just turned 5 and has the same problem but she brings it on herself. She does not like to poop at all because it hurts. Her doctor told me to put her on Miralax once a day. This seems to really help her. I know you don't want to try over the counter drugs so I also have her taking Fiberbears. You can get them at a healthfood stores. They are great tasting gummy bears that are just enough fiber your daughter may need. Hope any of this helps.
About me- I am a SAHM with a 5yr old girl and a almost 3yr old boy.3

dairy and juice/juice packs constipate. eliminating them from diet would be a good idea. so do bread and cereals. (which happen to be kids' favorite foods, of course) white bread is a big offender, as are kids' cereals. i think tweaking her diet would take care of the problem long term.
i have an autistic son who had tons of constipation problems, he would go DAYS without going and in fact would "hold it in" because he didn't want to go! when times got rough and something HAD to be done because it had been a week without a BM and the doctors treated it like it was NO BIG DEAL (GRRRR) i bought children's suppositories. this softened the stool and helped eliminate by giving you the desire to go to the bathroom within an hour of insertion. now he's 18, he has a great diet so he goes daily without any trouble for 14 years now but it was agonizing seeing him when he was little and having to drop everything i was doing and literally run to the bathroom with him when he was red faced trying very hard NOT TO GO!
good luck. suppositories should not be used regularly, but rather for times when it's been a while, the child is scared of pain and/or the BM is too hard and passing it is difficult.
a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice in the morning and laying on the right side for 10 minutes in a fetal position right after can help. also a healthy oil, like flaxseed. healthy oils help move bowels, they soften the stool.
hope this helps!
:)
Ileana

Use a product called Balnoel on her bottom. Tucks is to harsh. You can get this at a Walgreens. Her soreness will go away overnight

I would say.. try KARO light syrup. IT helps for CONSTIPATION. Believe or not, but it works really good. If you dont believe u can search about KARO syrup you will see. Good luck