Your guaranteed 2-3yr old constipation remedies please...

[Millionprammiles]

We've tried fruit juice, oranges, pears, grapes, lots of water. Nothings shifting it. We're now on day 4 of rank wind but no poo. Dd flatly refuse to drink prune juice.

Dd doesn't seem uncomfortable but tummy seems bloated and I'm dreading the poonami. Hopefully it will happen at nursery.

Is All Bran ok for a 2 yr old??

Not sure about all bran but we blitz up a tin of prunes and then freeze them in ice cube trays. Defrost one as needed, works amazingly. You could try lactulose too to soften the poo.

Apple puree

raisins, prunes, orange juice, lactulose (you can buy it from the pharmacist).

things may start to move but be very hard. I still shudder at the memory of having to manually extract a compacted poo from DD's bum. Word to the wise, Vaseline or Bepanthan around the area and a pair of latex gloves makes the process slightly less horrendous...

I gave my dd all bran at that age with hot milk. I also took her to docs with concerns about constipation and was told because she's going at least once a week and eating and drinking that she's not constipated but that doesn't seem regular enough for me. I did try prune juice but she didn't like it so just stuck to oranges and orange juice. Maybe try a little tummy massage too in a clockwise direction around the belly button

Syrup of figs.

I used to rub the back as well when they were trying to go. Push down from mid-back to bottom.

GP. Lactulose. Failing that, Movicol.

Don't leave the constipation untreated just because you'd prefer to fix it with "natural" remedies (I see this a lot on MN). Sometimes kids just have sluggish bowels and they need more assistance than fruit and liquids can offer.

Also, you don't want to go down the route of withholding and pain and anal fissures, which is awful.

Thanks all. Will try syrup of figs and all bran as have tried all the others (apart from lactulose which I feel a bit wary of...).

Will inform dp he needs to get hold of latex gloves and vaseline as I'm definitely not handling that bit!

Don't give her All Bran. Bran isn't great for children because unless they drink gallons of water it sets in the gut like concrete and makes things so much worse.

Why are you wary of Lactulose? It's only a stool softener. Don't make your child suffer!

Now am confused.... Dd did have a tiny bit of All Bran a week ago as she helped herself to my breakfast before I could stop her and then did 4 poos in one day. Which maybe isn't good either!

I thought Lactulose was a laxative, I've generally steered clear of laxatives as a GP advised (me not dd) that they can make the bowel firstly dependant on them and then not respond to them, so ultimately make constipation worse. So I've always tried to treat constipation through diet instead (which has worked better for me).

I'll give a tiny bit of All Bran and syrup of figs a go and if still nothing in a day or two will get some Lactulose. Do you know if I need to get it on prescription or is it over the counter?

You can get lactulose over the counter. It's an osmotic laxative which means it makes the poo absorb water, so easier to come out. My baby is on it all the time now and we've given her prunes today as she was struggling and screaming just to do a hard poo.

lactulose makes them very windy indeed. Our consultant advised senna, as it causes bowel spasms and helps teach them when they need to go and how to go, as opposed to Movicol which is quite literally the devil's drug - it liquefies the poo so they can't hold it in should they wish to - and that's what makes the bowel lazy and distended so they then can't go. Senna will keep it all good and toned - its a very old fashioned approach and has no big drug company push behind it (like Movicol) so is not a common approach, but it certainly worked for us

You can get Ella's pouches that have prunes in. My LO will eat the purple one straight fromthe pouch but failing that the brown one (which has butternut squash and carrots in too, IIRC) can be made into an almost toxic chilli!

Porridge mixed with steamed mashed apple, squirt of honey, dollop of jam on top. My DD wolfs this down and it works a treat at clearing EVERYTHING out.

Red grape juice (Sainsburys is nice & sweet and always works for DD)

Seven seas syrup of figs - works every time and tastes sweet - they only need a spoonful.

Kiwi fruit. Not the skin! Nice and ripe. One a day should do it.

Watermelon juice. Unbelievable results.

YY kiwi.

Well having bought syrup of figs turned out dd had already done some mega poos so wasn't needed. She now seems to have gone to the other extreme...can categorically say she had no difficulty in getting it out!

most important thing is encouraging her to sit on the loo at a regular time every day (e.g. after breakfast). some kids (like mine) get too busy with other fun stuff to go, and then get all blocked up. regular poo-times has done much more good for my DDs than diet or medicines.

Parietal - I agree. It noticeably gets worse when routine changes/lots of new activities eg on holiday. It seems a bit feast or famine at the moment.

A year of Movicol here.

Kiwis also helped a bit, as did getting her to drink more - easier said than done though!