Any suggestions on what to do for a soon to be 3 yr. old who gets extremely constipated?

Toni - posted on 03/25/2009

yea benefiber works if apple juice doesnt...my nephew has that problem and when apple juice wont do the job benefiber did.

Rory - posted on 03/25/2009

I know this sounds awful, but give him some prune juice.... make sure not to give him too much or else you will end up with 5 or six nasty diapers.... i start off with about an ounce mixed with water.... when ever my boy has problems passing we just give him a little and he is fine as can be. better than a baby enima.

Glenda - posted on 03/25/2009

We have had the same problem with my now 5 1/2 year old.  He has huge bm's and it is very painful for him so he holds it until he is extremely constipated.  We have had to use those glycerin suppositories sometimes when he gets really bad.  My pediatrician told us to use Miralax.  We use it for several days in a row, if he is having a really bad episode then when he gets more regular we use it every 2 to 3 days.  We also five him those fiber one bars and they seem to really help.  Does your little guy eat lots of fruits and veggies?  That is our problem also sometimes.  Not enough of those.  If I were you, I would ask the doc about the Miralax and he can tell you the dosage for his age and weight.  We just mix it in with his juice or milk.  There is no taste or color to it.  Hope some of this helps you! :)

Hannah Grace - posted on 03/25/2009

My son is three and he has had some problems with this in the past couple months.  Our doctor recommended a diet change.  Less sugers; more fibers and fluids!  It has helped. 

Melissa - posted on 03/25/2009

My daughter recently turned 3 and we have been battling consitpation for awwwwwhile. I give her about 2 ounces of prune juice daily. Every morning I give her a tablespoon of mineral oil--per doctor. Mineral Oil is fabulous. She goes 1-2 times a day now. ON THE POTTY! woohoo. she never would before because it was so uncomfortable for her.

Dawn - posted on 03/25/2009

I used to be a day care provider; one of my little boys had this problem....He was on medication from the doctor. Check with your doctor to see what can be done BEFORE you try anything other than regular things like juice, prunes, etc.

For my little ones I give them the simi dried prune in a bag, apple juice, and dark Kayro syrup also works well. About a teaspoon in an 8 oz bottle is what I used to use when they were on bottles.

Good Luck!!

Dawn Marie

Stephanie - posted on 03/25/2009

We have learned that it's a boy thing. I wastold to give them a small amount like a tsp of mineral oil in the morning and at ngiht. it helps softens the stool and it should help regulate them a little better.

Jennifer - posted on 03/25/2009

Benefiber is good but as with any fiber it will stop working when you stop taking it. A friend of mine had to treat her daughter for an intestinal blockage (the size of two adult fists!!) with hemp hearts, two table spoons a day... and within a month the blockage was gone, so that would be a great option for constipation. Look for it at a health food store.
Another treatment that has worked in a pinch is Sunny D, the orange drink. If they drink an excessive amount it will cause diarrhea LOL! that stuff is horrible.

Good luck, constipation is horrible for little ones.

Yvonne - posted on 03/25/2009

PEAR JUICE!!!

They sell it in the toddler juices/baby food section of the grocery store, and it works WONDERS :) All of my friends use it with their little ones, good luck!

Cassie - posted on 03/25/2009

My sister used 7up and prune juice. Her son said it tasted like Dr Pepper

Bethany - posted on 03/25/2009

My son has always been really constipated. We tried all of the prescription and over the counter meds and none of them worked. They mostly just made him have stomach cramps. He is now 8 years old and occasionally has issues but, for the most part, has grown out of it on his own. After one of our ER trips, I was just fed up with all of the meds and decided to let nature run its course. I know how hard it is to watch your child suffer, but as long as you are there with them, thats all you can do sometimes.

Carol - posted on 03/25/2009

give him plenty to drink lots of veg and fruit this will make his stools soft so not cause pain.explain to him whats happening in way he can understand claire rayners my body book is good for this for younger children i showed my daughter this for the same reasons she was not scared to go after hope this helps

Laura - posted on 03/25/2009

Give prune juice and baby food prunes- we refer to it as brown apple sauce instead of baby food or prunes. Lots of water will also help- limit milk and cheese, too.

Loretta - posted on 03/25/2009

my son has this problem to the piont where he sometimes has a bowel movent once a week. The doctors say he could have a fisher which is a tear in the bowel which makes it very painful for him to go, and may make him hold it until the feelin goes away. They say that u should make sure they have lots of water, and be careful with the fiber too , cause too much can also cause contipation. Try fruits and avoid too much sugar and starch cause that doesnt help. I've tried just about everthing for him from fiber to emimas , laxitives , stool softerns, and even adult laxitive.  They doctors say they "grow" out of it and unfotunately u have to watch your kid cry in pain while trying to releive themselves. If i continues i would suggest seeing a specailist.

Maria - posted on 03/25/2009

My dr. too prescribed benefiber 3 times a day and if that did not work to try miralax. Also to stay away from apple juice & apple sauce; apples with peels on are ok. She also suggested adding prune juice to her other juice. I've also switched her snacks to ones with higher fiber. The nurse also recommended epson salt to the bath water. Good luck

Teresa - posted on 03/25/2009

Get them to drink some white grape juice, it usually works.

Kayla - posted on 03/25/2009

My daughter is on a feeding tube and can get constipated, the Dr. gave her a med that is called metoclopram it helps move food through the body and helps her not get constipated. I hope this may help of coures you will need to get it from a Dr.

Sharron - posted on 03/25/2009

I don't know if anyone has posted this yet, but my pediatrician told me to use Mineral oil for my son who really has a problem with this. I'm not talking just a little constipated-really, REALLY constipated. I've been using it since he was 2, he is now 10. I"ll give him 2 tbsp at night. It is 100% safe, this is not a drug. Ask your pediatrician about it or you can research it on the internet. Good luck, I know how miserable this can make a child feel :(

Michelle - posted on 03/25/2009

My 4 yr old suffers too. He now sits on the toilet and I read him a story it takes his mind off what his doing and helps him relax.

Also make sure his drinking loads of water

Heather - posted on 03/25/2009

My daughter wanted milk morning, noon and night, adn in between, and she LOVED cheese!  As soon as we cut back, with just milk in the morning, and NO cheese, she was good to go.  We also made sure she ate cereal with a good bit of fiber in it.

Hope I was of some help...hate to see little ones struggle!  Take care.

Kathy - posted on 03/25/2009

yep try plum juice every morning really they love it and it workssssssssssss..

Susan - posted on 03/25/2009

With my son, he bled every bowel movement and cried. I don't like medication unless it's the last resort. We finally discovered that the cereals I fed him had rice in them. We switched to oatmeal and he was fine, until he got older. He's 22 now (he's disabled and still in diapers) and has issues to this day. Usually a change in diet helps. Best of luck to you.

Wendy - posted on 03/25/2009

First seek medical advice, to make sure nothing causing such as an obstruction or inflamation of bowel

If all clear you need to be careful what you use as children are different to adults and using some remedies are too severe for child and can cause further problems, old wives tale one for a child is stewed apples with lil sugar, if this fails the other rememdy is teaspoon of jam straight in the mouth followed by weetabix, also check with your health visitor, sometimes its matter of trying different foods, but make sure its not the childs diet causing it,they need fibre, fruit and plenty veg, espec green veg as diet can often be the problem

Natasha - posted on 03/25/2009

my little girl is 2 and also gets severe constipation, we try to make sure she takes lots of fluids(not fizzy drinks), and eats lots of prunes. If all else fails we give her laxette, you can buy it over the counter, it is a not harmfull laxetive which simply lines the intestines, you cannot od and it has truly no side affects.

Pam - posted on 03/25/2009

A smallglass of fresh juice first thing in morning and basically make sure they drink plenty, water preferably. bananas also help in most cases

Hina - posted on 03/25/2009

Dont u worry ...just make a habit of giving one teaspoon honey in a luke warm water/milk(1 or 2oz)(not very hot!!)....it will help him alot

Jaime - posted on 03/25/2009

I would say prunes and prune juice also grained bread also i dont know if it works but i was told that brown sugar and water also helps

Lisa - posted on 03/25/2009

give him/her metamusil it works for my 8 month old son :) and dont give him/her bananas it constipates them. You could also try prune juice that works like a trooper too

Karen - posted on 03/25/2009

dried fruit is the most natural way i went.

Barbara - posted on 03/24/2009

more fruits and fiber cerals, also consult your physian.

Miranda - posted on 03/24/2009

The only suggestion I have for you is try prune juice or better yet if you can convince your little one to eat actual prunes. They are sweet so you could treat them as candy. Worked on my little brothers when they were younger.

Marilyn - posted on 03/24/2009

Prune juice works wonders....also there is a special formula from Aptamil....for colic and constipation....I recommend it highly.

Sarina - posted on 03/24/2009

my son also suffered, the doc told us that if it diddnt inprove he would have to be on medication to help him, we diddnt want that so we decided to look more at his diet, i cut foods out like white bread ,banannas, noodles, foods that have high suger, we even changed pasta to wholemeal  changed white rice to brown , i know its hard be you should see some impovement goodluck

Janet - posted on 03/24/2009

Hi I have an 8year old who is constipated more on than off, he see's an incontinence specialist who put him on Movicol Half they are Sachets you have to work it out for yourself but I find one sachet mixed in cordial evry second day helps, it doesn't make stools soft but well formed stools, its an on going problem with some boys but they do eventually grow out of the problem, when he's been on the Movicol for about a month try without it & see if the problem has fixed itself. hope this has helped, you can buy the movicol over the counter from Chemist but it is cheaper by prescription.

Sarah - posted on 03/24/2009

My Daughters suffers badly and we let her eat prunes or liquorice which seems to help.

Lorena - posted on 03/24/2009

I would say be very careful about using laxatives of any kind b/c overuse can cause chronic lazy bowel syndrome. The best thing is to give her a probiotic daily, either as supplement or in yogurt, and lots of fibre in her diet. No refined/white grains at all- only whole foods.

Molly - posted on 03/24/2009

Watch the cheese and dairy products. When my son was 3, we had to take him to ER because his bowels were impacted. Since he was constipated, he was afraid to go, just making things worse. From then on out, I changed to whole wheat bread, whole grain cereal (mini shredded wheats) and limit the dairy products (cheese, mainly). Now he poops like a champ!!!

Ann-Marie - posted on 03/24/2009

try regular feedings of pineapple or pineapple juice its a natural dietetic thats works in 24 hrs.

Jennifer - posted on 03/24/2009

My 4 1/2 son was a constipation nightmare and it started after he had surgery followed up by Darvocet followed up by  a stool that Mommy had to help him with. For him, it hurt and that was that.  He still complains of it today.  He was 22 months old when he had his surgery.  We tried Benefiber and it did not work.  We also did the juice, fruit, vegis, increased water intake etc.  We finally tried Miralax and it worked.  Make sure to adjust it to what your child needs to have soft stools and I would be conservative with your dosing.  Do not start with a full cap or you will have blow outs like you would not believe!  I recommend a 1/4 cap in 8 oz per day and see how that goes. If that does not work, go up to 1/2 cap.    And you will have to remind yourself that your child is not going to get over their fear of the pain in a day or a week.  This may take you months.  They really have to forget the pain of it hurting.  We tried pulling him off and when we did, constipated, and then back on Miralax.  We did that once, and then just gave it to him without fail for at least 6 months. 

Kari - posted on 03/24/2009

My son just went through that. It was real bad. We tried everything. Finally we had our doctor call in powdered laxative and I used as directed at first (in juice) then I used it every other day then so on until we completely cut it out. He is fine now. But if he goes a day without having a bowel movement I put some in his drink again for a couple days and another thing is to watch the starches he eats. Tea is binding too (FYI). Plum smart is really good if you can get them to drink it, just one eight ounce glass a day. It's real mild and has a wonderful taste.

Amy - posted on 03/24/2009

Prune juice worked well for my son who is also almost 3. Lots of juice

Michelle - posted on 03/24/2009

I give my kids...9 yrs and 3 yrs red licorice when they are constipated and it seems to help them.

Ruby - posted on 03/24/2009

have you tried prunes, grapes,anything high in fiber;  go to whole foods and see if they have toddler fiber supplements. 

Ruby - posted on 03/24/2009

have you tried prunes, grapes,anything high in fiber;  go to whole foods and see if they have toddler fiber supplements. 

Ruby - posted on 03/24/2009

have you tried prunes, grapes,anything high in fiber;  go to whole foods and see if they have toddler fiber supplements. 

Susan - posted on 03/24/2009

I have had a dreadful time with my 5 year old that started when she was an infant. Her Dr then prescribed a medicine. I think it was called Sucralose? Later on we took advice from various people. We changed her diet. She now is afraid of drinking even a sip of milk. She does not touch bananas also out of fear. She hates raisins and prunes, I guess because she ate them so much. We tried enemas and suppositories, but it was really such a terrorizing experience for her that I would only do again if I thought she was severely compacted. I say all this to emphasize that I think it is best to ask the doctor and keep asking until you get it all worked out. Our doctor now also recommended Miralax and it does work, but he wanted us to gradually wean her off of it. We do that and then she gets constipated again. I worry that her little body is messed up inside. I think it is also a psycological thing, because of all those times it hurt to go. I think she holds it until she can't hold it anymore and now she has had accidents at school in Kindergarten. I worry the other kids will label her and tease her the rest of her life. I just really wish I had called and called and called the Dr and had gotten it resolved before she was school age.

Cathleen - posted on 03/24/2009

I think its best to take your little one to see the dr. If u have tried all these things there could very well be an underlying problem that could be irritated by these things. Also be careful with the fibre supplements like benefibre and metamucil because if they are not getting enough water with these it can clog up and have a brick like effect only resulting in sever pain and more struggling wich can cause other problems. Best of luck, hope ur little one is feeling better soon!

Carol - posted on 03/24/2009

Apple juice

Bonnie - posted on 03/24/2009

Try Miralac (check spelling) my daughter uses it for her kids , works well. Recommended by Dr.

Vicki - posted on 03/24/2009

My son had many problems with constipation...luckily he was a child that would drink prune juice and eat prunes.  I finally had to take him to a specialist for this problem and he recommended Miralax.  It is a powder that goes in any clear liquid and doesn't have a taste, a color,  or an odor.  It used to be a prescription but can now be bought over the counter.  It helped my son out tremendously!  We started giving him 17mg a day (the cap is a measuring cup).  We tried the no dairy products, no juices, prunes and juices, dark Karo syrup, giving him more foods that contained fat, more water, watermelon, raisins~just about everything we could have to no avail.   Thanks to the Miralax he has a much easier time.