4 year old goes 7 days without doing a number 2

[pairsinparis]

... and then when he does need the loo, he gets a sore tummy, and it can sometimes be a three day thing before he actually manages to go, with lots of tears in those three days.

The doctor hasn't been able to help, had a feel of tummy and said there's no blockages, and that we can give lactulose if we need to.

He's on day 7 now and starting to feel like he needs to go, and I know it's going to be three days of trying and poorly tummy's and sore bottoms now.

What can we do to help him? He has a good diet, is active, and in all other respects, healthy.

Poor kid sounds rotten. Have you seen the Eric website? It’s great has loads of info on constipation how to manage it and when to speak to a doc there’s even a link to the NICE guidelines on managing constipation.

How’s his diet? Does he get enough fibre and water? Is he comfortable sitting n the toilet? Using a stool so his feet are supported is really helpful.

Are the tears because you’re forcing him to sit on the loo and keep trying?

Check out the ERIC website. We have a 6 year old with chronic constipation and ERIC really helped.

All helpful, thank you. Tears are because he says his bottom and tummy hurts

Regular movicol everyday to keep things moving, my dd has 2 sachets a day. Don't wait until he's backed up to give something.

That said, gp should have given much better and more thorough advice, I would try to talk to another one today. Constipation in kids can become a real issue if you don't attack it hard.

Eric website is very helpful, I had not seen that before. Thank you.

I'm going to call Drs again this morning when they open and try to get some laxatives prescribed for him.

That sounds awful, poor lad. My daughter had a bit of constipation earlier this year and we tried the Optibac probiotic sachets mixed into her yoghurt, those definitely seemed to help.

Dd had the same problem aged 3, it's very distressing for them (and you) She got to 11 days one time and eventually laxatives worked. But other times, a deep warm bath often relaxed her enough to do it....

I had this with my daughter. She had a little tear or piles, it became sore and she just wouldn't go. Held it in as long as she could. It became backed up and then a bit of a psychological issue - ended up in tears every time she went. We used sachets from the GP to get it moving, lots of rewards and encouragement for going and cream on her anus to stop it hurting. I have to feed her lots of fibre (lentils in stuff particularly good!) to keep her regular but it did sort itself eventually. You need to tackle it now!

I'd also say regular Movicol is so much better than lactulose for kids.

Mine had this and it turned out she had an undiagnosed under-active thyroid.

The doctor was a help. They suggested a treatment! Its probably worth doing that.
I agree movicol is better and obviously the usual- plenty of water, fruit and veg etc

As everyone’s said the sachets are what you need. Just wanted to add - getting the amount right was the trial and error for us. We started on low - might have been half a sachet once a day - to give just enough to get things moving.

Once they start going with a little more frequency the pains go, the fear of going goes too and the problem seems to go away. My son was the exact same OP. Once a week, but off his food for the last couple of days as his stomach was obviously hurting him and needing to go. Good luck!

I've called the Eric helpline a couple of times and they've been excellent. A million times more useful than my GP even after years of trying to tackle it with their 'help'. I would definitely recommend calling them, it can be a little tricky to get through but it would be so helpful.

My son was like this. For us what usually shifted it was beans for tea, grapes for dessert and as much liquid as we could get in him all day.