3 Year Old Constipated...

Fruit. Whole fruit. Apples with the peel. Pears. Berries. Blueberries especially. Anytime I think DD is constipated, I give her water and fruit.

I, too, have not heard that dairy affects asthma. Is dc a chiropractic doctor? If so then I'd ask him to be more specific about the use of milk. Almond milk does not cause constipation.

Give her Miralax. You can buy it at the store. Give it to her everyday. Perhaps start with twice/day or follow the directions. Whatever you do you have to do it consistently for several days.

The problem with a suppository is that sometimes it comes out too soon. Have your daughter lay down and try to hold it in for several minutes. If it comes out without causing a bowel movement it may be because her feces is too high up.

I suggest that you call the advice nurse at the doctor's office or the hospital. Do not let this go on any longer. As someone said her bowels can get impacted. Or what is more likely she'll start holding it even when it's soft enough to come out.

My elderly aunt was seriously constipated and her care giver gave her Milk of Magnesia in grape juice. She had an explosive bowel movement in a matter of minutes.

My son had terrible constipation when he was 3 years old. He also has asthma. He is now 5 and his severe constipation has pretty much leveled off. However when he gets a cold (one of his triggers for asthma), he still has to be careful with not becoming constipated. I limit the dairy intake when he is sick even though he loves milk. Also stay away from bananas. Try to increase her intake of fiber. Lots of fruits and veggetables. The magic ones for helping my son stay smooth on the number twos are cabbage and sweet potatoes. He eats a shredded cabbage as a salad every day. I also put cabbage in almost all of my soups and stews as a filler. The majority of the food on our plates during any meal are veggetables and fruits. Sweet potatoes are another great source of fiber. I often substitute them for regular potatoes in my recipes. Here is a recipe for my son's favorite way to eat sweet potatoes.

Sweet potato with apple and cinnamon

1 large sweet potato (about 6 cups worth, cubed)
1 large apple (about 2 cups worth, sliced and then chopped)
cinnamon to taste (about 1/2 Tbsp)

Put sweet potato and apple into a saucepan. Fill with water until about 1/3 of the sweet potato and apple are covered. Cover pan with a lid and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are cooked through. Gently stir every 5 minutes to ensure that all the potatoes get some time in the water. You are partially boiling them and partially steaming them. Try not to overstir if you want the potatoes to keep their shape. Although it tastes ok even if the potatoes completely break up. Add the cinnamon when you think the potatoes might take about 5 minutes to cook through completely. You can serve it warm or cold. We like it best cold. It can be eaten as is, or you can dress it up for a slightly fancier healthy snack by putting some plain yogurt, small diced cheese (we like white cheddar or goda), some almond slices, and raisins on top. Of course skip the fancier method when constipated. Keep it stored in the fridge. It good for about 3 days in the fridge. We often finish it quicker in our family. It's great for breakfast and snack time.

I hope your daughter will feel better soon.

My daughter was the same way. We had to do the pedilax enema to get her to go. It was actually entertaining because she said it tickled and then within seconds of her getting on the potty she said, "Daddy, the medicine is coming back out." Obviously it was not only the medicine, but her tummy felt so much better. We also do Miralax on daily basis to avoid the constipation, increased her water intake, and cut her milk intake way back. One thing about Miralax that we learned from a specialist is to not add it to milk. It will prevent the Miralax from doing its job.Best of luck to you!

We took our daughter to Vanderbilt childrens hospital in Nashville, TN for this problem. The told us to give her 1/2 capful of Miralax every night in her bottles or once a day in her drink. It takes a few days to work, but when it does she will go everyday. Once she gets constipated like that I have to give her a pedialax glcerone (sp) suppository, not fun but she usually goes within a few minutes. Sometimes it takes 2 of them or one adult one. All they told us after her xrays came back okay, was to cut way back on cheese, dairy products and push the juice, water and veggies and lots of fiber foods. Well she hates juice for some reason and loves cheese! I tell her the cheese is gone, and if she goes really good for a day or two she gets some as a treat. The pain and suffering I have seen my daughter go through is awful until we got the right combination of everything. Miralax they told us is not addictive it just adds water absorbtion to the stool and is safe to use. It dissolves in any drink and is flavorless and odorless. Also the more she holds it in the more she will get compacted. Sounds like she needs the suppository or an enema, sorry hope you can use some of my advice. God bless her!

for my kids , blueberries do it for them
I have never heard anythign about dairy being bad for asthma and my kids have allergy induced asthma.
It should only be bad for asthma if it's associated with a milk allergy.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/2004/10/05/5272.aspx

give her prunes and;or prune juice

Our Ped. recommended Miralax. Both my kids take it and it's worked wonders.

We also do the Miralax. Also increased fiber like graham crackers,Ritz crackers, water, activia yogurt.

You don't say how long it's been that she has been in pain. If it has been 5 days or more since she has had a bowel movement, she needs to be seen by a doctor or the ER. My doctor says that as long as the belly stays soft, its okay to wait it out. When the belly starts to harden, you have a problem.

I had to take mine to the ER one night. It had been 6 days and it took 3 suds enimas for her to go. She was 4y. The nurses were surprised it took that much.

If you want something more natural try flaxseed. Buy it whole then put in a blender and blend until its a powder. It has a nutty taste and you can sprinkle it on vanilla ice cream, put in cereals or oatmeal, sprinkle in yogurt. My 18 month old was so constipated that she would scream and noting worked as well as the flaxseed.
Good luck!

Hi, M.:

Go to the Health Food Store in your area and
purchase:

Hyland Vit. C mg tabs.

Give 2 tabs and increase as needed daily.
They help to relieve constipation.

Good luck.
D.

to get her going immediately... buy some pedialax suppositories. they are just liquid glycerin.. we had to do it once for my daughter.. she screamed until we did it then said it didnt hurt. she pooped immediately and felt better.

My one year old gets constipated.. Try Pear juice.. I would do one type of juice at a time.. One could be makeing her more Constipated.

Good luck

I've been told Miralax is safe for children when you need to get things moving ASAP. Also, have you talked to your doctor or pharmacist about a stool softener that would be safe for her? She has to go before she becomes impacted which will be even more painful. Cut out all cheese, bananas, rice, bread - things that bind. Go for veggies with fiber - spinach, broccoli - if possible. Also, pear juice (you might have to buy the baby kind as I can never find it in the regular juice aisle) is a natural stimulant. If you need something as an ongoing solution for awhile, I buy these for my son: http://www.amazon.com/Little-Remedies-Tummys-Gummies-Bott...
He has a lot of problems with constipation so these have been a god send. They are all natural and free of stimulants. This brand also offers laxative drops as well. Oh, and try to get her on some probiotics (yogurt) for awhile to get her stomach/intestinal flora back to normal. Good luck - it's so hard to see your little one in pain.

I experience this with my two year old on a regular rotating basis. I can't even tell you how many horrid memories I have of this child standing in a corner and shaking because she doesn't want to poop.

Honestly, the Pedialax tablets say "will product a bowel movement in 5 hours" or whatever but they have NEVER worked for my child. The only thing that does work is to keep her on a regular (two times a day at half the adult dose...half a cap) schedule of Miralax, and it can take up to a WEEK for it to work. In the meantime, I try to keep her comfortable by rubbing her back, etc. She's had several anal fissures from this.

One other physical trick that can work...when you see her trying to go, sit her facing you on your lap, with her legs astride your lap (one on each side) and then drop her butt down between your knees. My daughter HATES this and will scream and scream, but it opens her up and often products a movement when she is clenching to prevent it. This has worked on several occasions to actually get her to pass the gigantic piece of stool blocking her. After that large bit passes, then she has gigantic, hefty, soft bowel movements for a few days (and I feel so bad that she was so backed up!)

I know exactly what you're going through, and just be grateful that this isn't a chronic thing for your daughter. I wish her the best and hope she gets over it soon...I really do know!