Constipation in 3 yr old dd - doesnt want to poo

[lavenderbongo]

My poor dd is very upset and i think she is "holding her poo in". The last bowel movement she had was a bit painful (hard and compacted I think) - and now she doesnt want to pass any solids.

I am rather worried about her and will take her to the doctors tomorrow but I just wondered if their is anything I could feed her that might get things moving. I understand she has to eat lots of fruit and I have a vague feeling that someone told me prunes were a good idea. Is this true? Or does anyone have any other suggestions. All help gratefully recieved. Thanks.

Ice cream does the trick in this house!

if you do a search there are lots of threads on this subject. I think in this sort of weather it is really important to keep up the fluids - lots of drinks needed as well as the usual fruit/fibre advice. It was this time of year that my DD had probs and she is always worse in the summer.

Thanks gagarin and maisykins i will have a look and do a search.
Is the ice cream as a bribe or is it all the sugar that does the trick?

I used to give them diluted prune juice.

Orange juice is usually quite good.

Avoid things like bananas, eggs until things are moving again.

Doctor may prescribe lactulose

At the risk of being laughed at, my ds had this problem, it was more the fact that he had had a "hard, painful" incident than the fact that he was actually constipated .... we had a toy dolphin, so would sit him on the toilet and say that the dolphin wanted to see the poo - it worked!!! Mind you the dr had given us some cream as well to make his bottom less sore - but i am sure it was the dolphin that did the trick

We have just gone through this with DD2, aged 2. She had been potty trained but really struggled with pooing, One night she was screaming and hysterical, as she was desperately holding on incase it hurt.

We now give her lactulose twice a day, and were told to carry on with this for a couple of months.

She also has at least 5 lots of fruit and veg a day, whole wheat bread and cereal, but she doesn't drink a great deal. Apple juice is fantastic for them as it contains a large amount of sorbitol and this really helps, more so than orange juice, unfortunately DD only likes water.

We also had a sticker chart for poo's done in the toilet, as once she actually started she would go anywhere except the loo. This took a week or so, but touch wood, it worked.

Thanks for everyones suggestions - in the end went to the pharmacy this morning and was given suppositories . I live in belgium and this is apparently what they tend to suggest over here.
dd was obviously very uncomfortable and has been for days so I used one this am. It has done the trick and dd is now a lot happier.

However I think if this happens again - and to prevent it - I am going to follow your suggestions and up her intake of apple juice and prune juice (if i can find it - what french for "prune"?). I also like Mummy2TandFs suggestion of using the dolphin who wants to see the poo and charts.

Thanks again for all the advice.