Constipated 2 1/2 Year Old

Have you tried some pear juice? You can buy Gerber pear juice in the baby food aisle. When my 18 month old twins show signs they are having problems, I give them some pear juice and you wouldn't believe how quickly it opens them up. We used to use baby food prunes when they were little, but now the juice works wonders.
Good luck!

Both my boys had troubles with this. I highly recommend Baby's Jarro-Dophilus-it's a powder that you can put in just about anything-no taste. And Wormwood. It's an herb, I believe, that is very gentle-won't cause an upset tummy. It's in a capsule-you open it and shake a small amount in food-it does have a taste-so put it in something hearty.

My grandson used to have to take a prescription from the Dr. called "Miralax", however, now it is an over the counter product and it works WONDERFUL!! I even had issues with constipation and had a colonoscopy. The Dr. suggested I use Miralax also. It's great. Just a powder you put in their drink (has no taste) and works daily!

Sounds like you've tried a lot.

We use Miralax, which is over the counter. There is supposedly no side effect. I don't like using medication as I don't want my kids dependent on it, but the alternative is constipation, enlarged bowels, delaying potty training because they don't want to go because it hurts, etc. So, we use as little as possible.

I would also talk with your pediatrician and make sure there is nothing else going on there.

Benefiber always did it for our son. It's colorless, tastless, etc and can be mixed with food or drink.

I was just in with my 3 yr. old for an ear infection yesterday. The medication the Dr. gave us can cause constipation. He said if she gets constipated, to give her Milk of Magnesia. I looked it up and this is what it said about Milk of Magnesia...

"What is Milk of Magnesia (magnesium hydroxide)?
Magnesium is a naturally occurring mineral. Magnesium is important for many systems in the body especially the muscles and nerves. Magnesium hydroxide also reduces stomach acid, and increases water in the intestines which may induce defecation.

Magnesium hydroxide is used as a laxative to relieve occasional constipation (irregularity) and as an antacid to relieve indigestion, sour stomach, and heartburn.

Magnesium hydroxide may also be used for purposes other than those listed in this medication guide."

Maybe this could help you in your situation. Good luck. I hope he has relief soon.
~SR

Definitely has to do with a 'gut' issue...have they tried Chiropractic...works every time..within a few hours of an adjustment...gets everything working again!

C.

My oldest daughter was extremely constipated as a baby because she was allergic to milk protein in my breastmilk and had to switch to soy. Lactose intolerance causes the runs and protein intolerance causes constipation. I would mention to the parents to try Silk soy milk for a couple of weeks and see how he does. After a year or so he will probably do better and can switch back slowly.
One natural thing you can give a child is lots of vitamin C. Kids can take vitamin C to the point of diarrhea and then cut back a little bit to maintain. Another is a liquid calcium magnesium supplement. I get it at Coborns and it even tastes like orange. Works like a dream.
Otherwise you can try Miralax. It's over the counter and a little bit every couple of days should get him going in no time.
Constipation is nothing to mess with. My daughter got a tear in her colon and almost bled to death because of constipation.
Good luck,
J.
Mom to 4, ages 6, 5, 4, and 2. Hopefully more :o)

There is a product called fruit-eze which is all natural and can be used daily. It contains a blend of prunes, raisins, dates, & prune juice with no other additives. If he eats prunes without a fuss, this would be a good product to try. Google it and you will find their website with a bunch of info on the product and constipation.
Good Luck!
T.

My son had a very difficult time as well (one ER visit, one specialist visit and another urgent Dr. visit). Unfortunately, nothing but Miralax (which is a softener not a laxative) worked for him even though he drinks lots of water and underwent changes to his diet (prunes, more fiber......).

Good luck!

Wow, sounds as though you guys have had it rough, sorry to hear about all of that. My suggestions for the 2 year old are this...warm bath every night, let him spend up to an hour in the tub, this will relax him and should help some; my other suggestion is to have the parents talk to the doctor, I know my nephew is on some medication that is to help him. He has a similar issue and has since he was little. He is now 11 and is starting to grow out of it.

Hi J.
My daughter was very constipated and the chiropractor told me to give her one crushed capsule of magnesium citrate everyday and to massage her belly. If you do this make sure you go in a clockwise motion or he will get even more backed up. good Luck T.

this sounds like an allergy. see your doctor?

While it is not a "natural" remedy...MiraLax works miricles. It used to be prescription only, but now is available over the counter. It is a powder that dissolved clear into any liquid. It is non cramping and doesn't "clean them out" like some laxitives. Just makes it easier to go. The doseage is something you need to figure out for each child. Talk to the pharmisist to decide where to start. We had our oldest son on it for over 6 months....one dose of it every other day worked best for him. When he was doing 1 dose every day, he was pooping 2-3 times a day and when we backed off to every other day, it was much better. It does take about 2-3 days to work through the system, so if it a constant cycle for the poor little boy, then keeping him on this for a while might help everyone. If you talk with mom, you might want to let her know that constipation could impact potty training down the road. We started Miralax because it hurt/scared our oldest and he wouldn't poop in the potty because of it. I wish we had started it earlier before he made the strong association that pooping hurt him. Good luck!

Vanilla yogurt, mixed with wheat germ and cinnamon. Tastes great, kids can make their own mixture. Everytime I serve this in my child care, everyone, even the constipated kids, go within an hour of eating it. Part of it is the cinnamon and of course the yogurt and the wheat germ are good too. This worked for one girl when the karo syrup and the molasses cures didn't. I know it sounds too easy but it wouldn't hurt to try it. Good luck.

Try using a Tblsp of "Black Strap" molasses!

I don't care what your doctors say, do not, I repeat, do not give Miralax. My daughter was on that stuff for over six years by the doctors orders. She's now almost 7. We've had problems with her since she started solid foods. She was breastfed. I was just at a loss and became a basket case when her rectum prolapsed, actually came outside of her.

In desperation, I looked for anything. I was referred to a colon hygienist. She was just great. She is located in Twin Lakes, WI. There is a procedure she does that is called a colonic. She inserts a tube just a little bit, not painful, and a little at a time puts warm water in the intestines. She stops it once in a while to allow for the waste to escape. She has also put her on probiotics which she takes twice a day now. She highly recommends applesauce at every meal as it's full of liquids and fiber.

My daughter has been going regularly now for a whole month with no medication after over 6 years of no success. I would swear by this woman. My daughter had to go to her about 4 times. This lady could not believe the mucus in her intestines, caused by the Miralax. She said the mucus is a sign that there is irritation in the bowels.

I'm sorry to go on so long, but I haven't been so excited in I don't know how long. I was beginning to think she had cancer or something. We even tested for Celiac Disease. She was always so bloated. I understand you're not the parent, but I would highly suggest you suggest to the parents taking him to a colon hygienist. She has helped many kids beginning with her own son. That's how she got into this profession. Originally she was an architect.

Good luck!

We have found that PowerAid - yes the sports drink works well. Get a bottle of it and they enjoy drinking it but it has really worked!! Good luck, it is a terrible thing to watch them be in that pain!

I use Baby's Jarro-Dophilus for my 2 1/2 year old since he was a baby it keeps him on track. It supports intestinal health and you can find it in the health food stores.

Chiropractor. Good Luck!

I have a nephew who has cronic constipation. This sounds similur to him. There is not really much that can be done. He is 5 and is on a dose and a half of what an adult would take for a stool softener, and still has problems. I encourge to try natural remedies, but if it is indead cronic constipation nothing will help. He should see a dr.

There are some foods that are recommended to help solidify things when a child has diarrhea. For the time being, I would say avoid those foods. They are Bananas, rice, applesauce, toast and yogurt. Dairy and bananas can especially constipate kids. Also, sometimes too much fiber can be just as bad as too little.

I give my son digestive enzymes which you can get at a health food store. Sometimes children (and adults!) have trouble digesting proteins and sometimes it's carbs, so there are DE for either one OR you can purchase one that works for both proteins and carbs. They recommend giving one with every meal generally and they are chewable and taste great, so my son loves taking his. Good luck with this.

I apologize ahead of time...I didn't read any of the other responses...this my be repeated, but I lived through this ordeal with my daughter! This is what worked for us!

My daughter was constipated for years it seemed like! Nothing worked as well as Miralax. My daughter actually started holding her poo in...that is where the problem was. I thought that she couldn't get it out, but after watching her (she would turn red in the face from trying NOT to go). Because she had a history of being constipated, she began to realize that it hurt her to go #2, so she would just try and hold it. But the more and the longer she tried to hold it in, to poo bacame harder and bigger, so then it hurt even more. It was a viscious cycle! The miralax helped her to keep her stools soft, so then she realized that it didn't have to hurt when she went. The Dr. prescribed it, and said that it would not harm her at all...no matter how long she needed to be on it. They now sell it over the counter. I loved it because I could just mix it in her juice and she didn't even know it was in there. We didn't have to fight about getting her to take something like medicine! It was a breeze to get it down her. I swear by it!

Hi J.! Go to www.herbdoc.com and order the Formula #3. It's made for children and is very gentle. It will help his body re-learn how to eliminate easily.
After reading the other posts I would be leery of colonics. Especially for a child.
Good luck! If you have any questions on the Formula #3 let me know!

J.,
This seems strange, but I had a similar problem myself for quite a while.... couldn't figure it out and almost nothing helped. Finally, after much of trying everything, I figured out that it was the Splenda I was putting in my coffee. Although in most people with problems, Splenda has the opposite effect. With in two days of stopping the Splenda all went back to normal. Splenda is in all kinds of products. Ask his parents if they are giving him any sorts of "sugar free" treats, juices, etc. Can't hurt to check! Poor baby. Good luck.

Do you know if they have tried a chiropractor. I know that it sounds funny but sometimes when people get "stopped up" they have something out in their back. There are a lot of chiroprators that do really well with children. That is something that could help that the body will not get dependant on. Many things that help you go your body gets dependant on and you have to wean it off just so you can go on your own.

S.

There is a fiber supplement that makes crackers.(I get it at Walmart) They taste good and can be eaten a couple times a day. That will eventually regulate the feces. My dd gets horrible fissures and bleeds so bad it looks like she has her cycle! But eating the crackers has made her realize what normal bowel movements feel like. She thought they were supposed to be hard.

In the short term he can have a suppository that will make him go, but it won't be fun.

I have never tried this, but my 19 month old son gets constipated too. My mom always tells me to mix up about 1/2 teaspoon of dark Karol syrup with an ounce or so of warm water. I guess it does taste good. I hope it works, maybe ask the doctor. I know alot of those "old remedies" worked good but they aren't using them anymore these days.

As far as your situation at home, I sure am sorry to hear about your son. I know when time slows down your body can really absorb what happened and kinda shuts down for a while. I hope your husband is doing better now. Sometimes it takes a while. After loosing someone I don't think you are ever the same. Nothing really feels the same, holidays and birthdays without a loved one really emphases the lose too. I think time does make it easier but nothing takes it away! Hopefully because you do have two other great kids it helps ease the pain.
We go camping with a couple who has a son with really bad diabetes and he needed a kidney transplant. They found a donor, he was like 19 or so that was in a car accident and they received a call from the dr. saying that they needed to get to the hospital for the transplant right away. So they did the surgery and it took them like a year to get in touch with the donor family. They drove several hours to meet with them. (this story always makes me cry because one boy died and the other one lived because of him) So they met up at a place and talked for hours about the son that was the donor and found out that he had a lot in common with the boy that needed the kidney. I know every scenario isn't as nice as this one is. But it gives me a warm feeling inside at the same time I feel the lose that the family is always feeling without their son.
I am also a stay at home mom. I work with a company called work at home united. I love being able to stay at home with my baby. Have you always been a stay at home mom? Are things getting tight with money while your husband has been home? I can help you if you are interested in doing something else from home. You can visit my website at www.workathomeunited.com/bonnie32 or email me at bonnieandrodneyatcharter.net
Well J. I hope I helped you out with the Karol syrup. I do feel your family's pain in the lose of your son. I have never lost a child or a sibling, I did loose my dad in 2004 from cancer. I do have to honestly say there has not been a day that has gone by that I don't miss him terribly!! I have somewhat come to terms with him being gone and that does help. Everyday comes and goes and I am fine with that, but when there is something special like when my son was born I had a really hard time because he isn't here to see him. We named him after my dad. Which at first I didn't like the idea, but I am glad that we did it. When he was first born he looked a lot like him. Even his motions where similar.
Talk with you soon, take care

J.,

My 14-mo old daughter had this problem recently. The Dr recommended a 3/4 to 1 tsp of Milk of Magnesia 2x per day, juice & fruit & sitting in a warm bath. And the warm bath did the trick in about 5 mins. The M.of M also worked well, maybe a little too well & I only gave her 2 doses within the one day.
This was just a temporary problem however, not a chronic issue, as it sounds like the little boy you babysit has.

Hope they are able to find something for him that works. It is really heartbreaking to see a little one in pain.

try molasses in his milk or juice..just like a tablespoon..worked great for my kids....

Hi J.,

All the things you are doing should help. Prune juice, yogurt is good for digestion, and drinking lots of water is the most important thing. Molasses is also a great remedy. You can mix 1-2 Tbsp with warm water or in some prune juice. There are many home remedies you can try. Besides drinking a lot of water the most important thing you can do for him is to make sure he's eating a healthy diet. Have water foods (raw fruit and vegetables) at every meal and even in between for snacks. Cut down on cheese and other dairy (except for yogurt), meat, peanut butter and junk food. This is a great diet for anyone with health concerns.

It seems like you and I have a lot in common. I'm 43 and have three boys, ages 18, 15 and 13. I was never lucky enough to get that girl in the mix, but my boys are great. My husband is a pastor and we've been married for 20 years.

I've done nutrition and natural health counseling for a number of people. I don't charge a fee unless it becomes an ongoing thing, so if you'd like to talk to someone about your other health concerns as well, I'd be glad to listen and make a few suggestions.

T.
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