Natural Products to Relieve Chronic Constipation in Kids

My husband's whole family has this issue! When I cook, I use milled flax seed. It is great, you just dump some in and the whole family gets extra fiber & omega 3-oils. I told my ped. that I was using on my 2 year old daughter and she told me it was a great idea. This works for my family, so if you want give it a try!

all the 'p' fruits are good: papaya, pineapple, peaches, plums, prunes ... also freshly squeeze orange juice makes the trick with my daughter. I was told to warm it up in the microwave for like 15 sec. and then to drink it, and i don't know why, but it worked! good luck! My children's doctor also recommended miralax, and I use it when everything else fails. but as long as I keep a diet full of fruits, my daughter does well now...

We have used Miralax fairly consistently with our 3 1/2 year old son since he was about 2. I hate to keep using it, but our pediatrician still recommends it, although it has really been long-term. I have also heard Aloe Vera juice, but I would recommend using just a tiny bit at first (I would just be concerned about a possible allergic reaction?). Also, we are using children's liquid minerals with some extra powdered magnesium. (Magnesium deficiency can cause constipation, and giving extra Mg will cause a BM -- You will know if you end up giving too much because you will get the opposite problem of very loose stools.). You can also get "Little Tummies" at any drug store (it's a senna product - more of a short-term remedy to produce BM, whereas the Miralax works more as a softener). For a while, we used the Miralax with the Little Tummies, on the recommendation of a GI specialist. We have not noticed any negative effects from using Miralax so frequently, BUT that doesn't mean there are any! Constipation is such a TOUGH issue with little kids. We have been completely unsuccessful at potty-training our son due to constipation and just his strong-willed nature, I guess. It has been a tough road, so I'm definitely going to check your other responses to see if there are any other suggestions we can incorporate as well.
Best wishes!
--S.

Prune juice or prune w/apple combo will work, and the baby versions are usually lower in sugar. Also, Benefiber has a children't version out now, which is more gentle. I use a bit under the recommended amount to get no surprises.

try pure pumpkin in can, I buy Libby's. I use it for myself to address both constipation and diarrhea. Do not use baking pumpkin with sugar, or any other add ons. Fortunately pumpkin is readily available to us at the supermarket. Pumpkin can be a stabilizer that will resolve both issues. Additionally, it works for my puppy, it is worth a try for your child.

It looks like everyone has their own little cure. I'm a healthcare practitioner, and I tell people to use Magnesium Malate. Or there is Natural Calm (at the healthfood store, Sprouts, Sunflower, etc) which is magnesium too. There are two good Chinese med. blends.. Run chen and Ma Zi Ren. But Magnesium is the easiest. And you can take it long term. It is also calming and can help with sleep.

Hi H.,

So many good suggestions here so far. I would like to make a simple addition. Try giving your child(ren) probiotics. It's a simple thing to do and it helps repopulate the body with the "good" bacteria for optimal digestive health. It's easy to add in the form of a capsule or you can break open the capsule and add it to their cereal if they don't like to swallow a capsule. I buy mine online at discount and it runs about 50 cents a day. We all spend more than that on junk for our bodies. It can truely make a difference. I'm always happy to share more natural remedies when asked.

Hi H.! Go to www.drnatura.com and click on "kidetox". There you will find my testimonial for their products that I used on my son. I HIGHLY recommend doing this for your girls as well as yourself. We had incredible results. Also...make sure your daughter is drinking enough water. Be religious about giving her water throughout the day. And of course lots of whole grains, fresh fruit (apples and grapes are my kids favs), veggies, and anything else that is fiber rich. I make oatmeal for my kids and add flaxseed meal for a super nutrition/fiber boost. In fact, I add flaxseed meal to just about everything! Muffins, cookies, smoothies -- you name it. One of our favorite treats is a yougurt smoothie made with plain yougurt, one banana, frozen strawberries/mixed berries (from costco), vanilla soymilk, honey and 1/2 cup flaxseed meal. Blend it up until nice and thick and enjoy. Keeps us "regular" and is so delish! But for fast and amazing results...try the products from Dr. Natura. You won't be sorry. It's not harsh at all -- but works like a charm. Good luck!!

Hi there-

I have had a lot of problems with constipation and got this recipe from a physical therapist who deals with women's issues. It works VERY well, and is completely natural.

Mix 1 cup of bran with 1 cup of applesauce, and eat 1 tablespoon a day for one week. Usually, this does the trick and will make you "regular", however, you can increase the dose by 1 tablespoon until you become regular if the dose doesn't do the trick. Also, eat 5 prunes a day, and be sure to drink plenty of water.

I do the above things and it has worked wonders for me.

Hope that helps.

T.

Grapes and yogurt do it for my kids!

diluted, hot (not too hot though, just right to drink) prune juice. It works better when it is warmed up, not cold.

Prunes - the whole fruit. We also have luck with a homeopathic remedy containing Alumina. Mostly, though, finding the source of the problem. Someone mentioned a chiropractor and I'd also consider acupuncture.

I think the biggest reason most people have gut trouble is lack of probiotics. I suggest REAL food sources. Yogurt can be OK, but most of the items at the store are filled with sugar and other fillers and don't have enough bacteria. Make your own or find a good, quality source at the health food store. Also consider kefir and REAL fermented veggies: kimchi and sauerkraut. Good luck.

I use Miralax for my 4-year old. I just put some in his juice when he doesn't go for a few days. It works great. Gets his system going again. No ill effects or anything. My dad is a pharmacist and he said it's fine for kids. Just ask your doctor about the dose. We've also used a Fleet enema when he has been really bad. He goes w/in 5 minutes of an enema. You can also google to find out good foods to help him go . . .. Good luck!

Magnesium Powder. It just takes a little. You can get it at the helth food stores and your body already has magnesium in it. You can mix it anything they will drink. Start with just a little and increase slowly until it works and then continue for a few days. The harm in giving too much is just diarreah, so you'll want to give less if that happens. I have used this on all of my kids, but especailly on my first. It was a miracle. It was recomended to me by a DR. Good luck. and let me know how it works for you.

C.

We start the day here with a fruit smoothie with added ground flax. The ground flax and frozen berries seem to keep her on track. We also keep milk and dairy to a maximum of 3 servings. Good Luck! If smoothies are too much of a pain to make, try adding the ground flax to cereal, yogurt, cottage cheese... anything really.

grapes as well and cut out bananas, rice, carrots and apples. Add sweet potatoes, pears, strawberries, blueberries, peaches and beans. Which you may have known that already. We were also told to use Senokot on our 1 year old. I would add water or apple/prune juice to see if that helps.

Try making a tea for him with about 1/2T dried basil. But before you do, rub it between your palms to help release the oils. If you need to , use honey to sweeten it up. It's about as natural as you can get. Plus, you can always go to your nearest natural foods store and ask what is recommended, most of them have reference books you can use to look up home herbal remedies for a whole list of ailments.

Our son was chronically constipated and my sister convinced me to take him to the chiropractor. One visit, I kid you not, and he has been regular since. Figuring out what's causing it is probably the most important thing. Since it's not a natural state and she should be regular for all kinds of reasons, I would try chiropractic and naturopathic docs. They will also have really great recommmendations on supplements.

Have you tried cutting out milk? That's a major cause of constipation. Kids don't need it...we're the only species that continues to drink milk after weening. There are lots of easy sources for calcium and vitmin D. Might be a good place to start.

Resigning to give her medicine or products forever seems like less the solution than figuring out how to get her regular naturally.

Good luck!

H., try Plum Smart juice. It is plum juice, instead of prune juice and it contains probiotics, magnesium and fiber but it is crystal clear. It is absolutely yummy and my son LOVES it. I would recommed no more than 8 oz. per day for a 9 year-old. It is easy on the tummy and seems to make the digestion process more "normal". Do let others in your house know that it is for "digestive health" or they may be tempted to drink too much an suffer undue effects, if you know what it mean... It is available in any grocery store in the juice aisle, next to the prune juice. My four year-old son, my aunt and I have been using it for over two years without complications.

Prune Juice. My daughter loves it. We get the langers and MIX about 1/3 Prune Juice with apple juice. Keeps her nice and regular. So regular that we can adjust the mix as needed to well, I'm sure you get the picture

Dried prunes (just don't tell them what they are)
Raisins, lots of water.

ANYTHING HIGH IN FIBER

Keep kiddo from eating excess of cheese, crackers

well, for me personally, grape juice does the trick :) I tried prune juice and could not choke it down...however, my son used to have BM issues and his GI told us to use milk of magnesia. It doesn't have any kind of residual effects like dependency, cramping, or diarhea. I'm not sure what dosage you would give an 8 year old...but they do have a kid's formula. I highly recommend getting the fruit flavored kind (it's either strawberry or cherry). Good luck!!

There are a couple of products I know about that would be good for kids. Zamu is a new beverage that is 100% certified organic, all-rainforest ingredients - no fillers, chemicals or synthetics. It is high in vitamin C and fiber - both of which help relieve constipation. It is safe for everyone to use daily and it works on numerous systems in the body. I would also recommend Fiberzon and Digestazon which are also both all-natural herbal formulas, safe and free of environmental toxins. All the products can be viewed along with more information on my website: www.shootingstarherbs.amazonherb.net. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

you could always mix a little dark corn syrup into something hot like oatmeal or into a glass of milk.

You've gotten a lot of advice here, but I'll add my 2 cents. I asked my dr. about it for my son. He said apricots, but my son doesn't like them. Also, warm apple juice helps. I've taken to give him a fiber supplement to his juice to help he be regular. But my secret ingredient that helps him the most whenever he has trouble (sometimes my son holds it in because of the pain and of course that makes it worse) is chocolate. I give him half a bar of chocolate and wait. But lately he has been eating better, but I will keep up the fiber supplement because that helps him not get to the point of being constipated.

we tried it all! the best medicine we've found is pear nectar...second best is apple juice, watered down a bit and we eat yogurt everyday. it's cured the issue.