Need advice - constipation in toddler

[SleepForTheWeak]

My 2 year old started with constipation just before Xmas - she's always had firm poos but they've never caused her much bother.

After 2 bouts close together and ALOT of tears, we finally got it under control with Lactulose (we were prescribed Movicol too but she wouldn't take it 🙄). We were advise to gradually wean her off the lactulose once we had a regular pattern.

We have been on 2.5ml a day for the last few days and yesterday was the first time she didn't poo, since just after xmas.

Today she has been straining and crying constantly. I have given her an extra 5ml dose of lactulose. She's had 1 large soft poo (not runny) and 2 much smaller ones and yet she's still pushing furiously, sweating buckets and clearly in pain.

Could there really be a blockage after one day? Could it be something else? Should I give her more lactulose or will that give her more cramps??

Feel so helpless, her bum (front and back) are red raw. I've given her some ibruprofen and plan to give her calpol before bed to help.

She's in such a sorry state 😔

Bump

I don't really have the answer but bumping for you as I am sure someone will come along.
Sorry she's having a difficult time. My friend swore that using chocolate soya milk helped her constipated toddler. I know that it's very important to make sure they are having lots of fluids.
Hope someone can give you more advice

We mix the movical in milk, DD wouldn't drink it mixed with water. Works a treat, lactulose did nothing for her. Maybe try the movical again?
Also a warm bath often helps get things moving.
Good luck, it's so distressing to watch them in so much pain.

Hi OP - I feel your pain (and your daughters). My daughter has suffered from bouts of constipation from being around 1. She has been prescribed lactulose in the past but is now on movicol - I dissolve it in the minimum amount of water and then top it up with her bed time milk as a disguise, she now drinks it. It has really helped the situation.

However if you really don't think you can get her to drink the movicol then I'm sure you can up the dose of lactulose. I used to give my DD 5mls every night hope you manage to get sorted

Search Amazon for pediatric liquid glycerin. V gentle and helps bring everything out with no pain.

Thanks everyone. It's so strange, like she's getting the urge to push but there's nothing actually there? Her face goes bright red and she actually screams - it's awful!!

Will definitely try the Movicol again 👍🏻. She was on 2 x 10ml a day with lactulose when it was at its worst last month, I've maybe taken her down the doses too quickly.

But intimately, I would really like to find out what's causing it, I'm worried it's going to cause a standing issue with her going to the loo.

We went through this with dd as a toddler. It turned out she had had a tear as a result of constipation and wasn't straining but was holding. It was a difficult time we tried juices, prunes and so on. She was on duphalac (lactulose) and we're told to keep upping the dose age til her poo was the consistency of toothpaste.

Her poos today were very soft, not runny but definitely mushy (sorry tmi!!). It's strange as last time there was definitely a blockage which took days to clear (had to pin her down and push her legs against her chest to help her pass it) but this seems different.

Her bum is sore, when I wipe it she's crying with pain. Her front bum also looks red and irritated?

We've had such a hard day today, DD has been in so much pain from constant straining and pushing. We've been told to up her lactulose to 10ml 2x a day and that should shift whatever is there within the next 2-3 days. Don't know if we'll cope with another 2-3 days!!

My 18 month daughter has been suffering too. Luckily she took the Movicol (in squash) and it helped her out.

Has she been eating more dairy products than usual? My daughter gets constipated when she's eaten a lot of cheese or yogurt (I don't buy yoghurt anymore).

I really hope your daughter feels better soon. It's really horrid when they are in obvious pain, sweating etc. ❤

Pear purée. Honestly. Tastes far nicer than prunes and works just as well. Whole pears even better as it's the skin that helps particularly
I give mine pear purée most mornings on porridge
Also need to make sure enough liquids in general, should be around 800-900ml a day at 2 years ( just under a litre). And avoid too much bread as bungs them up

I hope she's been better today OP

Lots of water, exercise, fruit. Cut down on dairy. Depending on her tummy, you might want to try increasing or decreasing fibre to see what affect it has on her movements.
I wouldn't reduce the lactulose at all and just keep her movements very soft. We do this with movicol.

Miserable for your daughter OP. You might find useful information/support here www.eric.org.uk/

Thanks everyone. DD managed to got to the toilet yesterday afternoon and again today - both times were a bit of a struggle but she's feeling a million times better and almost back to her cheery self.

Going to keep her on 2 x 10ml lactulose for a while - also gave her 1/2 teaspoon of syrup of figs yesterday (she HATED it so unlikely she'll take it again 😂) so I if that helped move things along.

Will start to keep a food diary to see what affects her - she does eat a lot of cheese and she has 2 beakers of cows milk a day. Only has yogurt maybe once a week.

The problem we have now is her bum is all blistered from constant small bits of poo coming out for a couple days 😥. That's causing her as much pain as anything - have just bought some metanium so hoping that will clear it up

I try and give 19 month old DS Greek yoghurt on most days. I'm certain the probiotics help him go.

Drapolene is our favourite for sore bots here. Dd1 chronically constipated since forever, now she's 6. If you have another blockage I recommend glycerine suppositories. Not the highlight of anyone's day, but pop them in, TV on (sit them on a towel...) and 30min later bob's your uncle

Some diet things we've tried over the year is a limit on bananas and babybels as more than one a day seems to spell trouble. Corn on the cob good for monitoring rate of transport

Not yet found what causes it for dd1 but currently trying lactose free on pediatricians advice.

Milk can you get the suppositories over the counter?

I'm now almost certain she's holding her poo in, probably due to the trauma of the last week.

Her bum looks marginally better and she's not wincing as much when I clean her and put cream on.

The poos she is passing are soft, but taking A LOT of effort, which I think is because the effort is actually her holding it in

I got them from gp but probably can get from Chemist direct. Make sure you get child size

Oh also you can't hold in and blow bubbles at the same time, so bubble mix also a good purchase for loo time.

Kiwi fruit really works for us.

Poor DD :( I know just how you feel, it's awful to watch, we deal with recurrent constipation as well and it makes me feel like a crap mum ...

Hi all, first of all I'm not a doctor but have 2 older kids and then 14 years later had my son who is now nearly 2,, he was born early and after 10 weeks of constipation, screaming, that cry where I felt so helpless because I couldn't help .. well I was advised he was to not have anything containing dairy.. as some babies can't digest the proteins etc he has since been on neocate and now soya milk.. but as trying to cater for the whole family it has been and still in a challenge because a lot of foods contain some form of milk whether skimmed, powder form etc the problem now is I'm also having them awful nights of screaming and then settling then screaming settling I've ruled out teething from watching his legs and movements ... it's definitely his stomach and he's again constipated ?? I've dosed with lactulose but where does this end... I personally feel that movicol.. lactulose etc are all a shortcut to what the problem could be ?? I do agree they help but also know if your not filling your child up with double the amount of fluid.. then they can be dehydrated and then dry nappies 😩 I've only just got son back to an energetic baby again... I'm thinking to cut out on eggs and bananas for a while ? The way I'm goin I'm really struggling with what to be trying next there has to be a better way than giving a baby laxatives his bowel has not even developed yet... please any ideas would be fantastic 😊 A tired mummy who is going round in circles

Both my kids are lactose intolerant and their main symptom was constipation. We were given movicol for our eldest without any consideration of a dietary cause.
I'm lactose intolerant so I removed it from my DDs diet and she's been fine ever since.
My DS was born and was struggling so they gave him lactulase, worst thing he could have had. So again took out the lactose and again fine ever since.
This may not be the issue with your DC but may be worth trying and there's lots of lactofree products now so it's easy switch to make.