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Original poster

Toddler with constipation and cystitis

23 replies

GillL · 04/12/2007 09:24

My 2.8 yr old has constipation. I got some califig for her last night and gave her 5ml. It doesn't say how frequently to give it though. She seems to have been straining for a while this morning and hasn't complained as much about the tummy ache and her bum hurting so I assume it's doing something. She's been eating weetabix and rasins but is there anything else I can give her to help or anything she should avoid eating? She's also got cystitis so that's making thing worse. I'm trying to get her to drink more but she's not interested in drinking even when she's well. I've had to resort to keeping a nappy on her today as she's refusing to go to the toilet and wet herself 3 times last night while running to the bathroom screaming

Any advice? Thanks.

OP posts:

bozza · 04/12/2007 09:29

Has she been to the doctor re the cystitis?

TinyGang · 04/12/2007 09:31

Poor poor baby

You can buy bottles of prune juice which are very good. It tastes quite nice and sweet too.

Have you been to the doctor though for the cystitis? I had a terrible bout of that last week - she has my endless sympathy - she may need some AB's. If the constipation is too bad the doc can also prescribe Lactulose which worked a treat on dd recently. She only need a tiny spoonful and it worked fast.

Hope she feel better soon.

TinyGang · 04/12/2007 09:35

Also lots and lots to drink for the cystits (and helps constipation too).

raindear · 04/12/2007 09:37

It sounds like she may have a urinary infection. Take a clean sample in a jar or something to the doctor's and the nurse can test it there and then. Also you can give her lactulose for the constipation. It's available over the counter.

Original poster

GillL · 04/12/2007 09:40

I took her to the doctors yesterday and she's got some anti-biotics for the cystitis. I've given her loads of extra milk on her weetabix this morning as it's a good way to get fluids into her.

Do you get prune juice from the supermarket?

Thanks.

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Original poster

GillL · 04/12/2007 09:42

The doctor gave us a bottle for a sample. She hasn't told me she needs a wee yet this morning (She can hold it for hours) but I'm going to try to get it later on.

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TinyGang · 04/12/2007 09:50

Yes, I bought it in Asda. It's with the fruit juices and in a bottle (Sunsweet I think).

Once she's ok again I wouldn't drink gallons of it though. I thought it tasted nice and had a couple of large glasses....big mistake. It certainly keps things err.. moving shall we say

dustyroad · 04/12/2007 10:01

Umm about the loads of milk thing - fluids are very very important but is better if they are water/juice-based rather than milk - milk is obviously part of the diet at this age so not saying you should cut it out, but not lots of extra IYKWIM as it can actually make the constipation worse. As can bananas (in case she is eating lots of those too!)
My DD has had chronic constipation for a couple of years and we give her those innocent smoothies for children and they really help. Fibre such as the weetbix is good too.

Once the antibiotics kick in you might find it does the trick anyway with both problems.

Original poster

GillL · 04/12/2007 13:25

Thanks TinyGang.

She hardly has any milk these days dustyroad. She probably has about 2 pints per week and generally only with cereal. I've stopped the bananas (something she loves). I'll try the innocent smoothies. She'll probably like those.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

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curlywurlywee · 04/12/2007 14:14

My dd had constipation very severly for two years and we tried everything on the food and drink line but nothing really worked. She also suffered from recurrent bouts of urinary infections, not cystitis. I think it's quite important for you to find out whether it is cystitis or infections because if you don't get antibiotics into her, her kidneys may take a bit of a hit. Don't worry bout that too much because my dd had about 5 bad infections and suffered no kidney damage. Does she get temperatures with the the cystitis and does her wee smell really strong?

The constipation and infections are linked which we found out when we went to see a Consultant. I don't know if it's a coincidence but we took her for some homeopathy and this seemed to sort her out. She was also on lactulose and had a couple of sachets of a children's laxative, can't remember the name now. There's also a really good book about it called "Constipation, Withholding and Your Child" by Anthony Cohn. What happened with my dd is that she then began withholding the poo because she was afraid it would hurt. The book describes stuff you can to make pooing more fun!!! Like putting a stool under their feet, getting them to blow bubbles, putting a little table in front of them with toys on. I found that bribery worked really well. If you do a poo on the loo, you can have ....

Sorry this is a really long reply but I really feel for you because it's hell and we went through it for a good two years.

Good luck and hope you get it sorted out.

Original poster

GillL · 05/12/2007 10:24

Hi Curlywurlywee. The doctor said he thought it was cystitis. He gave us a bottle for a sample to send of to the lab but so far she has refused to do a wee in the potty. She's still saying it hurts to wee but she's not screaming as much as she was on monday. Fortunately she did 2 quite big poos yesterday. They were quite hard but I didn't know she'd done them so they couldn't have been too painful for her.

I'm not sure if I should carry on with the califig or leave it to see what happens??

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Original poster

GillL · 05/12/2007 10:36

Forgot to answer one of your questions. She had a temperature last Wednesday but I didn't know that it was related. She wasn't herself on Thursday and Friday, and Friday evening was when she started saying she needed a wee but couldn't go. The pain started on Saturday. I had noticed that her wee smells strong.

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Notquitegrownup · 05/12/2007 10:44

Aw bless. I had cystitis as a child and it dragged on for years. Orange juice and similar acidic drinks made it worse. You could try her on squash instead of juice to see if that helps - especially Robinsons orange barley (don't think the supermarkets do own brand barley juices) as I was told that the barley in the squash helps to carry the infection through the system.

Stewed apple is really good for a pud, for constipation - just cook cooking apples, and mix in a bit of sugar with it before serving.

Marne · 05/12/2007 10:46

Hi GillL
My dd suffers from constipation and cystitis, the only thing that hepls her constipation is apple juice, she eats alot of fruit but also loves bananas. Dd had cystitis a few weeks ago, i think she gets it as she holds her wee in for hours. She had to have 2 lots of Anti-biotics before it cleared. Keep giving her fluids and try to encourage her to wee. I hope she feels better soon

Original poster

GillL · 06/12/2007 10:28

The constipation seems to have cleared now as she did a very soft poo yesterday morning and hasn't complained of tummy ache or her bum hurting since. She's still saying it hurts to wee so I'm hoping the anti-biotics will start to kick in soon. Anyone got any experience of when the pain goes away after starting the medication?

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PTA · 06/12/2007 10:35

Can't help with when the pain goes after the meds but if she gets constipated again then lifting her legs up while she is passing a stool should help with the pain. Try to get her into a sort of squatting position to help open up her back passage a bit.

If she is going back to nappies to poo in, if you catch her in time, try lying her down and putting her knees to her chest. My ds2 is much younger that your dd and this is what the physio told me to do when he was constipated.

TinyTimsGangGawdBlessUs1andAll · 06/12/2007 10:42

Sorry to hear she's still unwell. A hot water bottle wrapped in a soft towel is lovely on your tummy or wherever it hurts for cystitis.

Also, always wipe from front to back after going to the toilet. That can go some way to keeping cystits away.

NotquiteChristmasyet · 06/12/2007 12:18

Agree with the warm hot water bottle thing. Warm tights helped me too, although you are supposed to try to keep the area well aired and cool. Trial and error will show though.

Salt in the bath is supposed to be good too, although some medics say this is a myth, others swear by it.

Original poster

GillL · 06/12/2007 13:51

Thanks, I'll see if I can borrow a hot water bottle.

Is that one of the causes for the cystitis TinyTimsGang? I'm forever telling dd to wipe the front first but very often she will wipe the back and then the front before I can stop her.

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NotquiteChristmasyet · 06/12/2007 15:53

I'm not sure that there is one cause of cystitis, Gill, but wiping front to back can certainly help to keep bacteria out of the urinary area, so help to avoid infection. With mine, it was almost certainly too much acid in the urine. I remember it sooo clearly. It dominated life for me for a year or two.

BandofReindeerwaitingontheroof · 06/12/2007 15:56

The constipation can actually cause the cystitis/urinary infection. As can holding wee for ages.

luciemule · 06/12/2007 15:59

My DD has chronic constipation and because it wasn't spotted soon enough, she has been on Movicol paediatric sachets for over 2 yrs.

If you don't catch it quick and it gets worse, the back passage dilates and takes a VERY long time to go back to its original size so if it becomes a regular thing, you should really ask to be referred to a constipation clinic.

Original poster

GillL · 07/12/2007 10:37

She does that too BandofReindeer. A few weeks ago I started having to bribe her to go to the toilet, otherwise she would leave it until she was desperate. She can hold it for between 3 and 6 hours.

We had a breakthrough this morning. She told me she had done a wee and it didn't hurt

I'll have to start working on trying to avoid both of them now.

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