Can you talk to me about toddler constipation... lactulose versus fruit juice

[TheLemur]

My DS (2.5) has had on and off constipation for a while. On a good run, he's a 'once a day in the bath' kind of chap. On a bad run there's nothing for 3 days then night waking/lethargy for a day then 15 mins of crying until he poos.

Whenever he seems to be getting bunged up, I'll give him lactulose from the big bottle he was once prescribed... maybe 5ml every day for 2-3 days then 2.5ml then 2.5ml every other day to 'wean' him off it (not sure I need to do this but still, I don't really want him to be dependant on it all the time)

Recently he's been getting into fruit juice (orange and apple) which I give him smallish quantities of, undiluted. I'm not sure how advisable this is in terms of sugar/teeth etc but I remember hearing once that juice is good for constipation. And it seems to me that it is making things, erm... softer. Now is this an affect that other people have noticed or is it a coincidence?

As DS is at nursery full time I find it pretty difficult to monitor what's going in/coming out!! You never know if he's doing rabbit droppings at nursery and it seems a bit gross to ask specifics so I'm not sure if more juice = less constipation.
If I could use juice instead of lactulose to keep things flowing, that would be great (I think?)

I would worry that his teeth will be absolutely rotten if you continue with the juice. Maybe you need to regulate the use of lactulose and give it to him daily regardless. By giving it one day then not again or reduced quantities, his body doesnt know if it's coming or going. I know from personal experience that I have to take the meds daily as missing just one day will result in severe constipation 3 days down the line and once I start taking it again it takes ages to get back in sync.

I have been giving dd2 a smoothie (1 a day) to help her go, she was really poorly since last week and went 6 days without going, she's also taking lactulose which doesn't always do the trick.