2 year old hasn’t had a poo for 5 days

[dreamerkr]

Hey guys, my 2 year old DS hasn’t had a poo for 5 days, usually he does about 3 times a day so we are very worried. The GP gave a laxative sachet for him, we will be giving him once a day, it was the first day today of giving him. Does anyone else have any idea what we can do? He’s very irritable and he had a stomach ache last night. He has a lot of wet nappies. And he’s eating a lot like he always does, but no poo since 5 days. It’s so worrying.

What is the sachet? Movicol?

Is there any chance he's swallowed something?

Laxido

We gave it to him 3-4 hours ago, but it hasn’t done anything yet. I hope it does soon

What do you mean? No, I don’t think so? Someone is with him all the time so there’s no chance

Did he eat some new food recently?

Is he allowed lactulose?

Oh it will happen soon if it's going to work. It's quite strong stuff. Have you put towels down? Is he in nappies? If not it might be worth keeping him near the loo

Would a glycerin suppository be better? It gets to work more quickly and softens the bowel movement at the lower end which is likely to be quite compacted now I would imagine.

I don’t think so! Or maybe.. he ate chapatti (bread made from wheat flour) a few times in these last few days, I don’t know if that would have caused it? And also I found out I’m pregnant 4 days ago, I still breastfeed him at night and although he does still feed, I’m not sure if the milk has changed in any way? I have no idea!

I’m not sure tbh 🥺 the GP didn’t mention it

I only ask about swallowing as seemed strange he usually goes 3 times a day and suddenly not gone for 5 days. Laxido is effective...it might not be immediate though as it's a stool softener and so it needs to work it's way down to the bowel and retain water down there so it softens everything up. Make sure he has plenty to drink as this will help. It might be the case you'll need to give him a second sachet...but laxido (only in my experience with DS) is quite a lot more powerful than Movicol! Expect Poo-nami this weekend...but don't be afraid to give him another dose as it's best to pass the lot on the looser side end of the poo spectrum. Also get him to sit on the loo half an hour after every meal...with a tablet or something to help relax.

I really hope so, this is so stressful as it’s the first time he’s been constipated. He eats well, he drinks a lot of water, I have no idea how it happened 🥺 and yes, he’s wearing a nappy.

Maybe, but I’m not sure if I’m allowed to give him that? Does it need a prescription from the GP?

Could be caused by something as simple as a cold or virus...this is the typical cause in my boys. It can also be cause by with-holding...as well as dehydration, hot days...or pretty much nothing...some kids just have it a lot unfortunately.

Mine once went THIRTEEN DAYS.

We saw the Poo Nurse at hospital who didn't think that was crazily uncommon. As someone with irritable bowels myself I still can't bear to think of it for him. The answer was lots and lots of Movicol, I think we were supposed to be on over ten sachets a day, but of course he refused to drink it in virtually any form...

Solidarity. Plenty of fluids.

Thank you so much 🥺 do you think I should give him another sachet? The GP said to give him one a day, would it have a bad effect if I was to give him another one? He’s crying a lot today and so irritable, I feel so bad for the poor guy 😔 I will try making him sit on the loo after every half an hour or so, even though potty training isn’t going well at all right now

It definitely could have been caused by a virus tbh. The whole family was down with a viral infection around 2 weeks ago, poor DS only got better from it a week ago and he was in hospital for it too. This could be the cause? I don’t think he’s dehydrated as he honestly drinks so much water and juice all day

No I think you should give him exactly the amount the gp told you

Oh my gosh.. 13 days?! Is laxido similar to movicol? I really hope he’s able to have a poo today, he’s so uncomfortable poor guy!

Okay, thank you ☺️

Laxido says one sachet per day for a child aged 1-6 so no don't give him any more today. I would give him another one tomorrow until he poops...and he will :)

Movicol you can use a bit more freely but it's not as powerful. You may want to ask for Paediatric Movicol if you find constipation is more of an ongoing problem for him

Thank you so much :)

3 times a day actually seems more concerning than not for 5 days. Three times a day would actually make me think he has some bowel issues. It may not be unusual for a young baby, but for a toddler, might mean he has a bit of irritation or inflammation (I say this as someone with bowel disease myself). I absolutely wouldn’t panic and I wouldn’t go wild giving him too much extra stuff now. Plenty of water and just keep an eye on things, especially if he starts to seem unwell or in pain.

Tbh it’s usually twice a day, but he was taking antibiotics and medicines when he had a viral infection and ear infection 2 weeks ago, which made him have diarrhoea so he was going more when he had diarrhoea. Usually it’s about twice