Severe Constipation

Mindy - posted on 06/21/2010

We have been dealing with constipation with my daughter since birth. In the begining I would ut the Karo Syrup in her formula. It is sweat like molassas so milk is a good way to give it. I would give about 1 tbsp per 4 oz. After seeing a few pediatricians we now use Miralax powder (17 gr in an 8oz milk or juice) daily. 1/2 Children's Glycerin Suppositories every 1-2 days. and Pedia-Lax Ennemas about once a week. There is one more that the pharmacist sugested was an over the counter called magnisium citrate. Get the lemon flavored and put about 4 tbsp in 4 oz or so of lemon lime soda...it makes it taste more like flat soda, but she thinks it is a treat to get pop and it will help naturally. One last thing that I have found extreamly helpful was to create a "poop" diary. I posted mine on the refrigerator. It really did seem to help me mostly remember when, how much, consitensy etc.

Danielle - posted on 06/19/2010

the things i use in my house for my 3 kids are prune juice, kyro syrup(its sweet and in baking isle) acts as a laxative. my son is 2 and i usually give him about 1 oz in his drink and about 1/2 medicine syringe the kind you get at the pharmacy when he was under 1yr or use Vaseline with a rectal thermometer to help coax it out. I try to avoid anything that is not natural as my oldest son had chronic constipation and with all the prescriptions he became dependent and had a hard time moving his bowels without them.

Yhomaira - posted on 06/15/2010

My advise is do take her to a doctor dont know if they will help though because when mine had constipation they didn't give me anything. She had stood over a week with constipation.

Vivianne - posted on 06/14/2010

keep up da water it helps alo especially be4 meals. it will help. try to also give tomato soup. t also eases digestion. there is a drug called infacol that i used to give andrea be4 meals or even her bottle so it kind of helped her. all da best ma dia. i know it aint a comfortable moment

Ann Marie - posted on 06/14/2010

never heard of it... what exactly is it? I did just buy some Kayro Syrup, I'm just not sure how to administer it.. (I know they say for infants to put it in their formula or breast milk but do i just give it to him on a spoon, or can i put it in a glass of water??

Jennifer - posted on 06/14/2010

Have you had him tested for Hirschsprung's Disease?

Ann Marie - posted on 06/13/2010

Wow, what a relief to see that we are not alone on this.. My son (will be 2 in Aug.) is already on the myralax every day, we add it to his milk in the am. However, sometimes he still has trouble.. he strains to hold it in because of how much it hurts, I'm so afraid that this will hinder his potty training when the time comes (I've been told that it will) - unfortunately he is a very poor eater, so he does eat a lot of processed stuff, probabaly not the best.. he does love prunes and will eat them like candy, but sometimes even they don't help. We keep him well hydrated so I don't think that is it.. I might give that Karo syrup a try.. can't hurt.. It's painful for us to watch him go thru it when it's happening.. We do use suppositries if we have to, he hates them of course (not as much as we hate giving them), but when he does finally go, he is a different kid..

Jill - posted on 06/13/2010

My older post did not post. I used Karo syrup you can buy from any store. I gave it to my daughter 2x per day about 1 ounce. It is harmless and keep children open. My daughter was on soy milk and still had problems with constipation because she could not digest milk enzymes. She never had to be put on medication. At times I did not have to give her Karo syrup because she stayed open with the juices and water.

Sandy - posted on 06/13/2010

Yes to water, yes "p" fruits, veggies and juices (apple juice, too), and most definitely yes to reducing fluid dairy. Yogurt with active cultures is great. Do stay away from refined and processed anything. This may sound a little off the wall to some, but if you have or know someone who has an honest chiropractor, talk to them about what nervous system tuning you can do to help your little one. A proper tummy massage can get work wonders! (I never would have thought until I helped my friend using massage when caring for her daughter after even oral mineral oil and prunes didn't help.)
Take care!

Jill - posted on 06/13/2010

Also apple juice and prune juice is a natural normal remedy for babies and young children. The remedies I spoke about really helped so I did not have to use medicine with my children and my children could still cheese and bananas.

Briana - posted on 06/12/2010

My son had this problem two months a go do give 100 per cent apple juice I didn't water it down and I also gave him panachoc which helped as well for some reason my son would only poo at the park so I was giving him juice all day parachoc after nap then park in the afternoon and he would go! This was after him being badly constipated for three weeks and only going once every four days! At first we were giving him the suppositries to help but he would get so upset for half hour after but then after he had gone he was so happy!

Kristina - posted on 06/11/2010

I know this sounds REALLY crazy but it works. I know it's what I had to resort to after my grand mother told me to do it. My daughter was constipated for three weeks and everything the dr.s told me to do didn't work. anyway I stray........Take the buger getter a cup of warm soapy water, put her in the tub and squirt it up her but, repeat until she shoots. Believe me it's messy but everything will come out. Trust me I did it to mine and she filled Half of the tub with back up bowl.

Annemaree - posted on 06/11/2010

Nicole, I had this problem with my baby for 5months, to the point she was screaming every time she went. She was only 5months old, I found the doctor could not do anything but tell you to make sure they are drinking lots. I found the the pharmacist was more helpful. I was giving her Enamors every day for a week. that helped initially un block her so it wasnot all ready blocked for the next day. I then got prune juice and put in all liqueds and brought pruns and mached into all food. Thank god this actually worked. we also but vasaline around her bottom to help.

Marie - posted on 06/11/2010

my son had trouble and my mum told me to use a little brown sugar in warm water, worked a treat x

Melanie - posted on 06/11/2010

Too much fiber can make it worse...I would try benefiber once a day and a stool softener once a day. You can also try strait apple juice or grape juice, raisins, grapes and apples. Stay away from applesauce and bananas because they have pectin in them which may firm it up more. That should help

Tina - posted on 06/10/2010

DO GIVE APPLE JUICE- 100% strength. ApplePuree is binding - however Apple Juice is a laxative (You can research online-I know it's a fact though) we've been giving it our Tot from when she was about 10 mths old and suffering from bad constipation.

Pedi also said that any fruit or veg starting with a P is essentially a "Poo" Food so work the P's.



You don't say how old she is- my daughter started getting constipated when she realized the people around her where getting a good chuckle at her straining to poop...we just had to let her wander off and do her business...

On extreme occasion pedialax has worked wonders too.

I also ditto the cutting back on milk -depending on her Age- You could try soy milk and see if that eases the constipation- if not...may as well have her go back on Cows Milk

Stacey - posted on 06/10/2010

My daughter suffered severe constipation since not long after going on solids. It was not uncommon for her to only poo 2 or 3 times a MONTH! She had a great diet which consisted of lots of water, fruit, vege etc. Docs just gave her drugs which helped a little. After a doing some research, I decided to try her on a Dairy free diet.... within 3 days she was pooing every 1 - 2 days. She is now on a diet where she has dairy, but it is kept to a minimum. I would never have thought to reduce Dairy from her Diet. Good luck

Megan - posted on 06/10/2010

Probiotic yogurt - especially the Activia really seemed to help my daughter!

Melissa - posted on 06/10/2010

Have you found anything that works yet? My youngest daughter has problems also. We have tried about everything, including straight prunes. She loves the taste of prunes so would eat them like candy and she still had a difficult time going. The pediatrician has put her on Miralax, b/c it is not addicting. I can give it to her up to 3 times a day if I need to. Miralax helps retain water in the intestine to keep her bm soft so it is easier for her to push it out. He said she doesn't have to have a bm everyday, but to make sure she doesn't go more than 4-5 days without one. Hope that helps! =)

Jayde - posted on 06/10/2010

My son has been constipated since he was born. He is on Movicol on prescription. I always avoid bananas and give him watered down pure orange juice every other day x

Shelly - posted on 06/09/2010

Miralax is what i used for my daughter, every morning she liked to get up and have milk before anything else so i would mix some in and she was good to go. It doesnt make her go just makes it easier for her to go. I dont know how much i was giving her because it would change everyday. Like if she hadn't gone the day before i would give her a little extra but it doesn't hurt them at all. She used it for a few months and now everything is good to go. I even asked the doctor what i could used and thats what she told me to used for her.... hope this helps

Gina - posted on 06/08/2010

my oldest child has suffered with sever constipation for almost 6 years (he is 6 years old). he's had enemas and many other treatments and nothing worked. but a month ago we found the cure to his problem. we give some yogurt for breakfast and mix in 3TBSP of hemp hearts. now he goes every day with no problems.

Jennifer - posted on 06/08/2010

There was a great article in a Parent's magazine a couple months ago. You may have to do an enema with your daughter to help her go.

Liane - posted on 06/08/2010

Hi there.All i can say is don't leave it!It actually stretches there bowels if you do and it makes it even harder for them.Go to the doctor's,get them to do an x ray,don't let doc fob you off(I ended up taking my boy to the A+E at the childrens hospital and they were brilliant.My son(who is older than you're child)was prescribed movicol.It fixed him right up.He is fine now.He is nolonger scared to go number twos.I hope I'm not scaring you!?My son was older and a more severe case than you're child but the doctor said it is a very common problem amongst chidren and he wished more parents would speak up about it.Good luck:)

Amy - posted on 06/08/2010

I found warm water often helps my son, as well as apples...
Yesterday, my 21mth old son, needed to have an xray on his abdomen...Fortunatley everything is ok, but they told me that he was constipated to the max...and he has at least one poop a day!! Anyways, Im going to pick it up today, but the Dr. told me to use LAX A DAY for one month, to get EVERYTHING out...
Its worth a shot...good luck :-)

Sabrina - posted on 06/07/2010

pear or prune juice....its the only thing that worked for my cousins daughter. Also the Mylicon Gas medicine for infants will help with the cramping.

Rebekah - posted on 06/07/2010

My son also had a problem with this for a long time so our doctor recommended using Miralax for 6 weeks because the intestines get stretched out if they are constipated too long and they need time to get back to the regular size, then hopefully the kiddo can get back on track. We just went off the miralax this week so are hoping for the best.

Clare - posted on 06/05/2010

Try using a rectal thermometer with a bit of KY gel on, slip it into the rectum and wiggle it aorund a bit, my sister swears by this, also Puirty prunes helps my little one

Ashleigh - posted on 06/04/2010

The only thing that would help my son is pear juice or prunes. Full strength pear juice works very quickly though, so I would dilute it.

Charlotte - posted on 06/03/2010

Definitly keep up the water (avoid apple or grape juice, they are constipating). If she has too much cheese, white bread or banannas our daughter will get this 'plug' where you can see the poop but its stuck. We have had to use a little olive oil and lubricated the opening to help it pass. Fibre is great but it may be the type of fibre that is the problem. We buy the small jars of baby food prunes or pears, she loves the taste and they get her back to normal by the next morning. Doctors are great for pills and drug options but i find they don't have much help to offer with general food or digestive issues Good luck message me if you need more info.