constipation in 2.4yr ds - advice please

[weewilliewinkie]

My poor ds is so lunged up, he's writhing around screaming in pain. He's been constipated for a couple of days, although he did manage to poo yesterday - sorry if tmi, but they were totally compacted, really hard and obviously really hurt him to get out.

He hasn't been eating properly at all, I think because of the hot weather - all he will drink is milk. I managed to get him to drink some water yesterday but none today.

Does anyone have any home remedies they can suggest to help him? He's such a poor wee soul. I don't know what to do. I've been rubbing his back and tummy to try to soothe him but he's clearly so uncomfortable.

[threebob]

flax seed oil helps them slip out (you take it orally).

Ice lollies?

[sugarfree]

You really need to get some fluids into him.
Will he drink half water/half fresh orange juice?
What about ice lollies made of juice/water?

[yawningmonster]

my ds never eats when constipated as he just doesnt feel up to it. Natural things you can try is brown sugar in water, just a teaspoon dissolved in a cup offered a couple of times a day. If this doesnt work try putting 3/4 prunes in cup, pour over boiling water leave a couple of hours and see if you can get him to drink the juice. Try giving him a bath then rubbing his tummy in a clockwise rotation and cycling his legs if he will let you. If he keeps having trouble you may need to get some meds as they very quickly learn that it hurts and thne they hold on and the whole situation keeps getting worse, there is a med called lactulose which is essentially just sugar so pretty harmless.

[yawningmonster]

As sugarfree says keep trying with the fluids as lack of them will make it worse and lead to dehydration to boot.

[weewilliewinkie]

thanks...he's just crying all the time now and REFUSES to drink. Might try the ice lollies. I don't have any flaxseed oil - can I give him any other type of oil? He's refusing point blank to have anything except milk but I don't want to keep giving him that in case it's part of the problem.

[yawningmonster]

tbh I think I would get him seen, we have had many many troubles with constipation and if you cant get fluids in then personally I would be concerned.

[threebob]

Can you water the milk down without him noticing.

Any oil will make you more runny - but it doesn sound as if he has gone beyond that and needs clearing out medically first.

[weewilliewinkie]

I'll give it an hour and call the doctor if nothing happens. I relented and gave him warm milk with brown sugar, he's wolfing it down! and I think he's started farting, which might be a good sign...?

BTW - he's not dehydrated - all his nappies are wet, so I'm not too worried about that.

[sugarfree]

Any luck?

[reiver]

Although milk can contribute to the problem I think it's more important to get fluid into him. If that's all he'll drink then I would water down each bottle/cup (small amount of water at first then gradually increase so he doesn't realise) so he's getting more water. You don't want it turning into a battle over drinking.

Lactulose can help (you can get it from a pharmacist without prescription) but it takes several days to work and requires a certain fluid intake to be effective. We've had more success with another medication called Movicol Paediatric Plain which comes a sachet which you mix into a drink.

It is miserable for them and for you - hope he's 'sorted' soon.

[weewilliewinkie]

Thanks for all your messages - I ended up taking him to the doctor who gave us Lactulose. Also managed to get some watery juice into him and have watered down his water. And he's managed 2 painful poos! Think he's feeling a bit better at the moment.

Still can't get him to eat a thing though!

[sugarfree]

Hooray for two poos!
Don't worry too much about food,just concentrate on fluids.(Don't forget milk is a food)