Constipation in My Two Year Old

Hi A. my nme is L. and i have a 5 yr old and 18 month old, both daughters. my youngest daughter had issues with constipation allot and we tried the karo syrup amd mineral oil but those seemed too harsh for her so we started giving her some baby prune juice or apple or pear juice, this seemed to help allot, when she was on formula we would mix it in with the bottle and she would drink it down. now if she has trouble we just gve it to her plain. I found juice to be a better alternative because it wasn't as harsh and it was nutritious for her as well. i hope you find this helpful.

My daughter is 18 now, but we had a major battle with her and constipation for a long time. I began giving her mineral oil and had the same problems initially, but I started just giving her one small spoonful everyday rather than just when there was a problem. This did the trick. She stayed on it for about a year until she outgrew the problem...basically when she was old enough that I could get her to drink more water.

Hi,

My 3 year old went through that for a little while and I used Miralax. It wasn't messy when she went at all.

I also have a 9 month old who is having an issue with constipation as well. My doc told me to give her benefiber every day. It works great.

We had the same problem with my daughter at that age. We never used mineral oil, however, my pediatrician recommended light corn syrup added to water. It worked like a charm and I wasn't afraid to give it to her as needed. She went from moving her bowels every 5 or 6 days to every day or two with no diarrhea. I don't remember the dosage. I think it was a teaspoon of syrup per 8 oz. of water, but check with your doctors office.

Hi A., I have a 3 yr old daughter who is also very constipated. She will hold it for a week before going. Then when she goes, she just cries because it hurts. My doctor just put her on Colace syrup once a day. She has taken it in the past and it seemed to help but this time we are doing it daily. I hope this helps and good luck.

Hi A.,

I have not tried Mineral Oil, but I wanted to respond anyway. My son, now 4 years old, has had chronic constipation since he was an infant. I took him to a gasrtoenterologist at AI DuPont Hospital for about a year. They put him on Miralax. At the tiem it was a prescription medication but now it is over the counter. The Miralax has worked great. I mixed about 1 tsp into a beverage every day and he has remained regular. If you research it on line you will find a lot of happy parents.

N.

A.,
Have you consulted your daughter's pediatrician? I had a daughter who actually required a prescription medication to help her go. At the age of 2 though, I would add something to her diet to help her bowels move and avoid constipating/binding foods like cheese and bananas. I used to give my kids prunes or prune juice if they were really constipated and that helped. I would not use mineral oil though on a 2 year old.
L.

Miralax worked wonders for us....we had regular movement in less than 30 mins without making it too loose. Was prescribed by our pediatrician however it is now over the counter. Mine is 7 now and no issues. Be blessed.

When my duaghter was younger, she had horrible constipation. They gave us a perscription for her, but I was worried abouot long term use becuase of all the side effects. What I found worked best was apricots. There were no side effects and her bowel movements become regular and soft but not runny.

A., I have been giving my 2 year old mineral oil about 5 times a week since she is 18 months. It was prescribed by a doctor. Please dont take advice of people that aren't getting their information from a doctor. For us, mineral oil has been okay. I mean it hasn't caused negative effects like going all day. My little girl remains constipated because she refuses to eat non binding foods so now the doctor has prescribed miralax. Google it and ask your doctor about it. I have read a lot of good things and reviews on it being gentle to the system. Good luck.

Both my kids had this problem and even now (they are 4 and 7) they keep having it sometimes. I give them fruits, especially plums. When plums are not in season, try pear, grapes. Almost any fruit helps. Also, make sure that she drinks plenty of fluids.

I find that an ounce or two of prune juice, cut with water in the same amount works great with no side effects. Plus, it tastes sweet and the kids love it. Give it a try!

I had the situation of my daughter being constipated as well. If you are sure it is not a dietary issue (lack of fiber, fruits, veggies etc. than please read on) The doctor had us give her miralax everyday for a month in her first morning drink. IN addition we were told to give her benifiber in her other drinks. The miralax was to get the bowls to a normal size (apparently constipation causes a change) and the benifiber is suppose to be an ongoing thing. After the month you are suppose to start weaning off the miralax... Every other day... Next week every three days until it is no days BUT STILL CONTINUE THE BENEFIBER! IT worked great and my daughter is back to using the potty regularly again. It did take a while so do not get discouraged. Hope this helps good luck!

Make sure you consult her doctor. My daughter had severe constipation and we ended up having to do an enema because she ahd an impacted colon. She would hold it in because she knew it would hurt when she went potty. She was put on miralax and remained on it for almost 3 years.

There are no side effects and it is not "habit" forming. She can take it for however long she needs to.

Best of luck.

L.

I would try giving your child pear juice on a daily basis. Stop the constipation before it even begins. While I realize there isn't much nutritional value to juice, pear juice is at least a little better than apple juice. I buy the gerber varitey and my kids get a watered down cup full each day. Works like a charm!

Hi A.,

Well, you did not mention how old your daughter is... so I will be kind of general. If she is a baby and you have given her juice try a mixture of half apple juice and half prune juice in a bottle... even the apple juice might help if she has not had juice yet and is atleast close to 4 months old... there are things the pediatrician can recomend as far as laxatives for infants, babies even toddlers that won't be as harsh for her system...

if she is an older child eating regular food... increase the veggies and fruits and make sure she gets atleast one or two servings of real fruit juice every day....

S.

My daughter has had problems and we have tried many things . We keep ahead of it for the most part with lactolose( stool softner) and my daughter gets it everyday sometimes twice if i knew she hasnt gone in a day or so. Mineral oil is very bad for kids. If it happens to go down the wrong pipe it can cause pneumonia and is very difficult to treat because it leaves the oily residue all over the lungs. I would talk to the ped. for something else.

With our kids, prune juice or corn syrup have been much more effective and cause less of an opposite effect with diarrhea. Also, they taste better and are easier to get the child to take orally. Our 7 month old had some trouble with constipation a few months ago, and the nurse at our pediatrican's office recommended putting baking soda in the bath water. That combined with prune juice did the trick for him.

My girls are now 5 and 7, however, when they were younger they had issues with bowel movements. I took them to the pediatrician for a prescription, Miralax was what we used. It worked well, we gave it to them every other day for a little while until their bowels developed and they were able to go consistently on their own.

Another thing that worked well for us was white grape juice in their diet. Not too much, just enough to get their system moving.

Perhaps the amount of mineral oil she is receiving is just too much for her body to handle. How often do you give it to her and what quantitiy? Is a doctor overseeing it? If not, I highly recommend calling the pediatrician. Good luck.

My son will be 2 in May. He has struggled with constipation since he was 4 months old. So, we've tried lots of remedies and the best one by far is Miralax. It's over the counter and my pediatrician told me how much to give him. I suggest you ask your docs about that.

my 16 month old also has constipation problems. here is what my pediatrician told me: dont give apple juice - it actually constipates. give peach or pear nectar or white grape - NOT watered down b/c the sugar actually helps... Raisins and prunes are good too if she will eat them.

they also told me that she can take a product that i also take - 1/2 of the dose....its called mirolax...and it does not cause the runs. i only give it to her when the juice and fruit are not working.... ive also been told by my gastroenterolgisit that it's totally safe....but check with your doctor! it does work wonderfully!!

My son who is now 6 yrs old had severe chronic constipation that started at age 2 and lasted till age 3 1/2yrs old. Its was awful, my husband and I would cry every time he had to go to the bathroom. We took him to a GI specialist at the age of 2 and they put him on Miralax which is a laxative that now you can buy over the counter. We used it everyday for 1 1/2 yrs along with ajusting his diet and it worked. The dr told us with Chronic constipation they just have to experience 1 really bad painful bowel movement and they remember it and don't want to go and they hold it in. Best of luck to you. V.

I was just on the phone w/our dr and she said to give him Miralax everyday to get the bowels regular. She also said the following foods can cause constipation so use moderaltey: milk, cheese, white rice, bananas & applesauce. Peaches and Pears ARE great fruits to give to keep things regular. I hope this helps, I don't have any experience w/mineral oil.

Your poor child! My daughter went through a phase when she was about 2 or 3 when she got very constipated! It was so bad at times that she'd get small fisures in her rectum & would bleed when she pooped! I still cringe at the thought of how painful it must've been for her!

Some things that really helped her were:
*cutting down on dairy & ONLY using raw milk (you have to go to small, family owned farms to get it. Kleins Farm in Forks Township has it & they're wonderful!)
*increasing fiber: fruits, veggies, prunes, grapes, only whole wheat grains
*flax seed & wheat germ: add it to everything! Yogurt, mac & cheese, cereal, homemade breads/muffins, pasta, etc...OR you can get flax seed oil & add it to juice. MUCH healthier than mineral oil!!!!!!!!!!!! (and probably better tasting too!)
*Lots of water & exercise & positive feedback when pooping so that they don't hold it in.

You could probably go to the local healthfood store to get something herbal too. I can't remember if we used anything aside from acidopholus for kids (Kidopholus).

Good luck! I hope it gets better soon!!!!!!!!!!!!
A.

My daughter has had constipation problems from the time she was born. My doctor put her on Miralax and it has been working wonders. If this is a consistant problem, maybe you could ask your doctor about it. It does not have any side effects.

My son LOVES fig newtons and it helps a lot!!! Apples too.

Hi A.. I, too, use miralax prescribed by my doctor. MY son, now 4.5yo, has battled chronic constipation. We DID experience the leaking and you should take him to his doctor. The leaking is caused because the very loose stool is being blocked by something larger that the child has not yet passed. We've had this happen a few times. It's not fun for you or your child.

In the past I've had to use enemas to get those masses out and it was painful for all of us involved. He is now going semi-regularly and are on a regular regimen of miralax to keep him going regularly. The bowel gets stretched after being constipated so many times and then the body gets used to that larger amount and does not give the child the urge to go until it gets that large mass. The colon needs to shring back to regular size before the medications can be stopped. We were told by out doctor it could take a year.

Best of luck. Feel free to email me if you have questions on what happened with us.

A. S.

Our doctor recommended pineapple juice. My girls and my niece and nephew have always loved it and it works like a charm. Good Luck!

Hi A.!

My own 3 yr old daughter also had a bout of constipation for what seemed a long while. Her pedriatrician prescribed a laxative called Glycolax Powder. It really is a stool softener that is totally safe and won't cause problems with long use, as we were concerned as she was on it for months (intially daily then gradually reducing to every other day then every 3 days etc, with also lessening the amount, before we were able to finally adjust her system with diet and movement and she no longer needs it.

So, consult your pediatrician for her and good luck.

K.