Severe Constipation in My 3Yr Old

I used a bit of white corn syrup (karo syrup) in warm milk.
It was a tablespoon in a cup of milk.

Softened the bowels, added flow.
Also
feed her applesauce.

My kids didn't have a severe problem with constipation, but when they were constipated, we gave them pear juice. It worked great. Good luck to you!

prune juice and be careful of how much fiber is in the foods you're feeding her. Fiber may seem like the answer, but it can actually cause/worsen constipation.

Good luck-

try mixing molasses in her milk..worked for my daughter-and i would go get a 2nd opinion-maybe something more goin on than meets the eye...good luck..water isnt always the trick to this problem...

I don't know if you tried this already, but have you given her a lot of fruits, veggies and whole grains? My daughter would get a little constipated (although not as severe as what your little girl is going through. Poor thing!) and giving her prunes daily or every other day seems to help keep her regular. I still give her the pureed kind even though she has been on solids for quite awhile. We also eat lots of raw veggies and citrusy fruits because they tend to help my kids stay regular.
Our nurse also suggested sitting in warm water baths and then afterward stimulating the rectal area gently with a rectal thermometer and lubricant to help ease pressure and encourage bowel movement. That was helpful too.
Good luck to you. That has to be one of the most uncomfortable feelings to have. I hope she gets better soon!

A.

My pediatrician said fruits will "p" will make you poop. I gave my son Pear juice- Gerber is the only brand I have ever found and is in the baby section- my son is nearly 10- and if his tummy hurts he will ask me for pears. But I am guessing that if enemas aren't working nor miralax- it must be something more severe- and would suggest a stomach specialist

As a soon to be graduated medical student(in May) who just spent a few weeks in the pediatric GI clinic, I have a few things to say, as this type of constipation we saw all the time. I think the naturopath approach, and the fruits, especially prunes and pears, can help. However, what happens is that when a child has difficult poops, they hurt, which makes them less likely to go, which makes it hurt more when they do go, and they can get small tears in the anus called fissures which lead to blood on the tissue when wiping. Anyway, what needs to happen is to clean her out of all the poop, and then keep her regular after that. You can keep going up on the dose of miralax to get the poop softer, and can use an enema, but that really only loosens the lowest part of the descending colon. I think a visit to a pediatric GI is in order here, especially if your doctor doesn't know how to use more miralax properly or how to do a bowel clean out. It is also possible that there is some kind of malformation or dysfunction of the gut, so I think a pediatric GI consult is in order at this time, to rule those things out. Feel free to PM me if you have other questions that I might be able to answer.

Ouch! Poor thing. As other people have mentioned, typically Mirilax needs to be given EVERY single day. Also, at this point she could be so constipated her stool is impacted and that can be terribly painful. If that is the case, it's really important to seek medical attention for your child. You really need to bring her back in to her regular Dr. and tell him/her that Mirilax as prescribed is not working. Did she have these problems at all before June? Can you recall any significant changes that happened in June? Good Luck!

milled flax seed.

i dont know what you know about fiber, but fiber is what makes stool soft enough to pass. that, mixed with water, makes "good poop" that is easy to pass and passes within 24 hours. milled flax seed can be put on just about anything, but too much can cause things to go too quickly, and diarhea can result (although this might help you clean her out?? i dont know! stay home near the toilet or diaper!)

you can put it on anything; it has no flavor besides maybe being a bit crunchy.

other than that, normal bowel function is dependent on regular movements. irregular movements can cause the intestines to stop sending the impulses to the brain that she needs to go. it can also weaken or stop the intestines from flexing properly. i dont know how to reverse this, but perhaps if the milled flax works, you can try to start restarting the process by taking her to the bathroom after 24 hours and a meal... also walking/exersize helps move things along.

gosh. this sounds horrible. you need another doctor i think too, someone who might know more about it. ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist, or another doctor or just see another doctor in general.

do what you have to do. :( :( this sounds aweful. but hopefully you can find a specialist or other doctor who can solve this problem

Hello S.

My son had problems with constipation and went to a specialist and she recommended a stool softner called Kondremul. You can get it at the drug store but have to go to the pharmacy for it. You do not need a prescription for it. It helped him a great deal. It was something that can be used everyday

S. - how much Miralax are you giving to her? My daughter has the same issues but we have overcome and Miralax is part of her regular diet. We use 1/2 to 1 tsp daily in juice/water daily as part of her normal diet to keep her regular. We were told to get her to have 4-5 bm's daily to get her cleaned out but no matter what we do (like you said, suppositories, enima's, water, etc it doesn't work). We have been approved to see a well known specialist here in the Denver area but can't afford it.. We have also used OTC Fletcher's laxative for kids for immediate relief prescribed by her pediatrician. You can also you the chocolate chews (not sure the brand name) but need to get the proper dosing from the pharmacist or the pediatrician). I hope this helps. If you have more questions, send me a private note and I will see if I can help further. I know how frustrating and heart breaking this can be... Good luck to you.

Oh, poor thing...

I would try giving her Shaklee's Optiflora (TINY pearl that slips down with juice or applesauce) to help her build up the good bacteria needed for digestion and immunity. Also HerbLax - - it's not a laxative that forces the contents out, it sort of massages the muscles to keep things moving.

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I have a friend her daughter had to lean back so that she was able to go so the dr had to check all the plumbing was lining up right. they too used mirilax too and it didn't work either. good luck .

As an adult, I sometimes have constipation. In the morning, I add 1-2 drops of real lemon juice to a cup of WARM water & drink it quickly. Then I go lay down 1/2 an hour. By the time I get up, the stool is soft & comes out without any problem. I have to be very careful not to use more than 2 drops because this can cause diareah right away. Then I have to take my yogurt pill to swing back the other way. I would think this method would work for children too, at a lower dose. I got this tip from a Gaylor Hauser book back in the '70s & it works like a charm. You can buy small "lemon" looking bottles of the juice at the grocery right cheap. Other warm juices (slightly acidic) may also work.
I agree with the probiotics & fiber, but these don't always work.

Dr Oz had a show about this very problem today. He said that tightening the muscles in the rectum can cause constipation. Show your child relaxation methods so she can tell if she is "holding it in". He recommended that you try to go after every meal.

I wonder as well how much Miralax you gave. My daughter is almost 4 and takes a full adult does (one capful) per the advice of a Pediatric GI we saw for her constipation. We ended up in the ER of our local children's hospital and had to have a enema done (some pink stuff? I don't remember the name) that cleaned her out, then saw the GI to get a few tests done (celiac and thyroid discorder to see if something like that was contributing to her constipation, an abdominal ultrasound was done too) who when everything came back normal started her on the Miralix dose. Also, we were told the Mirlax won't work instantly when we first started, to start and keep going a few days, then she will become more regular, which she has thankfully now. Before all this she would go 5-7 days and would cry and have a very hard time having a BM so your situation sounds similiar to ours. Good luck!

S. - Ask your doctor to do a flat panel abdominal x-ray. It will show how much stool is in the colon/intestines. She may need to be "flushed" out via nasogastric tube in the hospital (using Go-Lytely). I dealt with this for 7 years with my son. We had every test under the sun done and went in to the hospital every 3 months for a "cleanout". In February he had surgery (ACE/MACE procedure) and we flush him at home every other day now. He still takes two capfuls (adult doses) of Miralax each day on top of the flush where we insert a catheter and flush him with 32 oz of saline, 4 caps of miralax and 15 ml of glycerin. His is an extreme case but we have solved it! I'm happy to discuss further with you. But, an xray will show the docs how much is in there. She may be so impacted NO amount of anything (miralax, fiber, water, etc.) will remove it. It can be quite painful. And, she likely has no control over the "streaks" in the undies. If her colon is stretched she can't control it....and the newer loose stool (from the miralax) is running around the bulky blockage into her undies. Best of luck to you. Demand an xray.
J.
p.s. sticky stool can be a sign of Hirschprung's Disease. If the xray shows she's impacted demand they start doing some tests.

I battled with severe constipation my entire life; my daughter has been battled with it for ten years. What finally made the difference for me was going to see a naturopathic doctor and being tested for food allergies and intolerances. I also discovered I had severe heavy metal toxicity, severe malabsorption, several severe nutrient deficiencies, moderate adrenal fatigue, and a virus that was hiding inside the body. Through a combination of taking several supplements daily, drinking more water than you can ever imagine (most of us don't drink nearly enough and are in a chronic state of dehydration), drinking 2-5 cups of green tea a day, eating all organic food, cutting out those foods I am allergic/intolerant to, getting enough sleep, and drinking a raw vegetable/fruit smoothie nearly every morning, I can now have a daily BM. That's after 40 years of, if I was lucky, having one BM every two to three weeks. And they hurt! I'm now three years into "regular going."

My daughter, on the other hand, continues to struggle with going number two. Mainly, because she won't drink enough water, won't drink a raw vege/fruit smoothie every day, and continues to eat carbs like they're going out of style. Like your daughter, she used to "soil" (when you get poopy streaks in the underwear), and she took Miralax like it was going out of style. Didn't really work for her. She drinks 100% juice every morning; doesn't seem to help. We're looking for something that will help her, but haven't hit upon anything yet. The key is that it needs to be done EVERYDAY. I do put extra fiber in her water, though, every day.

I had her to Pediatricians and other specialists, but none of them were helpful. I'm getting to the point now where my health is finally stabilizing and I'm feeling better; I need to take my daughter in and have the naturopath do some extensive testing on her so we can pinpoint what she's deficient in/why her body is unable to eliminate, so we can help her.

It is UNNATURAL for the human body to not eliminate every single day. Elimination is what gets the waste and all the toxins we take in and breathe in everyday.

Like you, I'm concerned about my daughter as well and will continue to work with her until we discover something that works. Unfortunately, it's not a one-size-fits-all answer; each person's body and physical makeup is unique, and the reason why one person's constipated and another isn't, or the constipation of one person vs another's person's constipation, is going to be different depending on the underlying problem.

Good luck. I feel for your daughter, as I went through the same thing, and now so is my daughter.

Poor little thing! My 4 y/o daughter had something similar at the same age, but very intermittent and only for a couple of days. I would get a referral for a pediatric GI, just to make sure there are no polyps or anything else blocking the pathway. And, if you haven't tried it yet, lots of really ripe fruit, or a "compote" of stewed fruit (raisins, prunes, apricots) might help a little to soften the stool. Good luck! How miserable for her...

My daughter had to see a behavior therapist for this. It took long term miralax (about 5 years of mostly full strength, every time we dropped gradually dropped down to 1/2 back to the beginning), change in diet, routine and the BT before she overcame this. We had to sit her on the toilet for 10 minutes within 30 minutes of everymeal. Switched to whole grain bread, pasta. Pasta and rice stop up so limit that and just do the brown. Push the fruits and veggies (but not the binding ones!) We always had between 30-40 pairs of panties - no joke! And on many target trips would have to buy more! I feel your pain and hers!

S., question for you... does your daughter have tiny tears in her rectum?? I cant remember the name of what its called, but a friend of mine has a daughter that is 4yr and was suffering the same thing. She would say it hurts and she doesnt want to poop. I asked her to get her doctor to see if she had tiny tears down there. The next day she called to say that her little girl does and that she had to take some stuff in her milk and water to heal the tears to allow her to poop. Find out if it is, and if it is email me and I will email you back with the name of the stuff. Also give her some apple juice in her water or a little bit of prume juice to soften her stool up.

My daughter has battled with constipation her entire life (she is now almost 3). Mirilax really does work. Plus it is safe to take. The doctor probably prescribed a certain dosage, but the good thing about Mirilax is that it really doesn't have any side effects. You can take as much as you need to make it work! Has your daughter had a test to see if she has any sort of blockage? We did it all with my daughter. Starting at about three months of age, she would go a week easy without having a BM. We tried it all as well, changing her diet, giving her more fiber, adding things to her bottles, suppositories, EVERYTHING. Finally, our doctor referred us to a pediatric gastroenterologist when she was about 18 months old. Comes to find out she has a VERY COMMON birth defect (especially common among girls) (that doesn't require surgery). It's called (and with you being a nurse, I'm sure you won't get grossed out by this) an anterior displaced anal opening. All this means is that her "anal opening" in slightly off from where it normally should be and it creates a "shelf" type situation in there. The bowel basically builds up on this shelf and gets stuck until there is so much that it HAS to come out, and then there's pain and of course it's hard as rocks. The key is to give as much Mirilax as SHE needs to be able to go every day. It's when it builds up that it makes this "shelf" even more pronounced. The doctor even said that my daughter may need to take Mirilax off and on until she's seven or eights years old, until she's able to find a position on the toilet to help her go comfortably. Interesting, huh? Who knew!!! Lol. Just a thought! Maybe you could ask your doctor about this? If it's as common as the GI doctor said it was, maybe it's a possibility your daughter has the same condition! Good luck to you. Until you've experienced one of your children with a constipation issue, you really have no idea what that other mom is going through. It was one of the worst things I've experienced as a mom thus far. The many days I would watch my daughter scream in agony as she tried to go to the bathroom and couldn't. Moms just know when something isn't quite right....
To add on to a previous comment about fiber: YES fiber can cause/worsen constipation. The GI doctor told us that fiber actually only produces more stool!! What the heck, huh?! LOL.

Hi S.,

Any luck? Have you also added fiber into the water? Possibly an x-ray to see if there's any blockage (toy, cloth,...). As a last resort, a capsule of Hyssop essential oil will make things move. www.youngliving.org/407018.

Our little girl had a tough time getting the bm's to start. It all works out though.

Last week I took my 8 yr old son in for his well child check, the Dr was doing his feel check all over and asked my son if his stomach hurt. The Dr said my son felt as if he were constipated. My son said he wasn't but the Dr said he still reccomends Citricil (or generic form) once a day. Also dehydrated prunes he said were great. I discovered my son loves prunes and he is going at least once a day now.

Hi S.
Have you tried taking her to a chiropractor? My daughter also suffers from extreme constipation so when I know it has been a while or she starts complaning about her tummy we go to the chiropractor and with in a half hour of being adjusted she has a massive BM. The chiropractor also told me to give her magnesium citrate to help keep her more regular

What other dietary changes have you made? My understanding is that fiber from food acts differently than fiber supplements. You may want to reduce meat intake and replace it with legumes for a few weeks--chick peas, lentils, black beans--which are chock full of fiber. Fresh winter fruits like pears and apples, and berries, also have tons of fiber. Finally, someone else mentioned probiotics--this would be a long term preventive solution to keep the gut healthy and functioning. If she has been on antibiotics recently, she would need to have a supplemental dose, but if not, then just yogurt (I recommend Stonyfield Farm, as it has less sugar and more probiotics). Good luck. Sounds like a painful situation for daughter and Mom! :(

Hi there. We went through this with my daughter as well. Mirilax didn't work at all for us. We did baby enemas twice a day until we got some out and then we used the Kiditx from www.drnatura.com > I take the adult verson as directed by my doctor. It has been a life saver for our daughter. Hope it gets better and I know it is a nightmare. Also, mineral oil worked for us as well so she couldn't hold it.

If she is having that much of a problem, and miralax isn't helping, and your dr. isn't giving you more help or actively attempting to find the problem, it's time to see a specialist. Not going for a day or two is normal for some children, but for that long and with her having pain, I would certainly consult someone other than your regular ped.
Good luck!