Constipated toddler

[naturelover]

DS aged 18 months has been constipated on and off for two months. It's breaking my heart seeing him cry with the effort.

I took him to the doctor a month ago and was prescribed Movicol. It helps a bit but at the end of the day I'm not happy to medicate him forever.

As far as I know, his diet is good but I'd appreciate any tips you might have to improve the situation.

He is breastfed twice a day, has unlimited water (I urge him to drink at every opportunity). Fresh fruit after every meal and as snacks, wholemeal bread and cereal, veg/soup at least once a day. No dairy or eggs (he's allergic to them).

His nappies are really wet and his urine is pale so I can't imagine he's dehydrated.

I avoid giving him rice cakes, white bread, breadsticks, bananas etc. I cut out soy yoghurt because I thought that was making him constipated but actually there is no real improvement since I stopped it.

He gets acidophillus powder on his cereal (to compensate for not being able to eat live yoghurt).

Is there anything else you think I could try?

Many thanks

Hi Naturelover. It sounds like you are doing every thing right. He could be constipated quite "high up". Have you done the week clear out on the movicol? Maybe he needs a complete clear out and then start again?
You could try ringing your GP to discuss it further.

Prunes helped mine.

My dd1 has allergies and also suffered from constipation as a toddler. She is nearly 5 now and it rarely bothers her.

The paed told us that a lot of children with food allergies suffer from constipation.
Sometimes it is not diet that is the cause. DD was also breastfed and had plenty of fruit, veg and water yet it didn't make a difference.

She was on Movicol for over a year and it really helped.

Our paed said it was important for her to consistently have soft bowel movements so the fear would go. He said the fear of it hurting leads to children witholding and this can lead to long term problems which can actually be more difficult to treat than the constipation.

How much Movicol is your DS having?

I had constipation once when pregnant and it was horrific - there is no way I would want anyone to experience it.

You neeed to speak to your GP to get this sorted as quickly as possible, as the longer it goes on, the more complicated it can get.

Basically, as they associate passing stools with discomfort, they start 'putting it off' which can obviously worsen the problem as the stools harden. They also 'turn off' the receptors in their brain that give them the urge to go. This in turn can mean that the reservoir of poo, so to speak, enlarges and then needs to be fuller before they have to pass teh stool, making for larger and more uncomfortable stools. A viscious circle if ever there was one!

Softening the stool can work for some, but sometimes it just results in duller 'urge' signals.

You should speak to your GP about treating with a combination of stool softener and bowel stimulant.

kiwi fruit are even better than prunes (or can have for variation!)