Need advice about a 4 year old!

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  • ritajean3
    ritajean3 Posts: 306 Member
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    Stay away from prunes. Pear and pear juice softens the poo making it easier to pass, prunes irritate and make you poo and if its not soft it will hurt. Kids can be traumatized from the pain and it makes the issue worse because they won't want to poo. On another note my paed made my son much worse with her advice, it wasn't until I went to a GP that is got resolved. I would recommend seeing a nutritionist if you can't find a Dr that knows about this or even a continence nurse as they know a great deal about how to poo when constipated. (one tip is to get them to pretend to blow bubbles or be a angry snake as it helps)

    Also make sure her feet are on something having them hanging makes it harder to poo



    mmmm edited to add i just read that you have seen one. I just worry with her on constant meds that she will become dependent on them. How often is she going to the toilet and has your doctor considered a chemical enema
  • Jenni268
    Jenni268 Posts: 202 Member
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    It seems like maybe you need to try a new physician. If she's 4 and been having these problems for a while, it seems like some alternatives to "just using miralax" need to be explored. Find a doctor who will treat the problem and not the symptom. Usually, constipation is a symptom of a bigger, underlying problem. It could be too little fiber in the diet, too much iron in the diet, or even something more serious, like celiac disease.
  • NoAdditives
    NoAdditives Posts: 4,251 Member
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    My suggestion would be to try flavoring the water, they have flavor packs at walmart for around $1 (at least where I live) and they are sugar free and they taste yummy!! See if that helps, also for juice pear juice helps a lot. Of course fiber helps they have pop tarts that have fiber in them from fiber one or another brand... My baby has problems and we have to give him pear juice and meds. My older one doesn't have problems anymore but we had to increase his fiber big time for awhile and I got him to eat it by getting the pop tarts and fiber one bars etc. he started hating hearing the word fiber.. lol good luck hope it gets better

    Those flavored water packets are made with artificial sweeteners which are not good for anyone, but especially not for children. Artificial sweeteners will certainly not help with digestive problems.

    One thing you can try is probiotics. Normally I would suggest natural yogurt for the beneficial bacteria, but if she has issues with dairy that's obviously a bad idea. But the probiotics (available in pill or liquid form) will have those same beneficial bacteria that will help with digestion.
  • Fairysoul
    Fairysoul Posts: 1,361 Member
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    Ahh yes probiotics, I am getting some next trp to the store!!!!!!!! thanks for reminding me that they exist!
  • PompousClock
    PompousClock Posts: 36
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    1. Try replacing the juice with La Croix flavored sparkling waters. Grapefruit is the favorite flavor in my house, but the lemon and berry are also good. Calorie free, no sweeteners, no artificial anything. My daughter loves the bubbles. Long term (after the constipation issue has been addressed), introduce regular water as well.

    2. Find a new pediatrician. Monthly visits with no relief means whatever this doctor is doing is not working.
  • G30Grrl
    G30Grrl Posts: 377 Member
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    Has your daughter been tested for celiac's or gluten intolerance? It's one possible explanation for the constipation. And the fact that she already has issues with dairy makes it more likely that she could have an issue with gluten (a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, which is similar to casein, a protein in dairy that many gluten-intolerant people also have problems with.

    Just a suggestion.
  • Fairysoul
    Fairysoul Posts: 1,361 Member
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    I am demanding them to give her another allergy test, because we have done that too... I just think something else could be done but thank you for all the advice in the meantime!!
  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
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    Two things to try re the juice:
    1) Gradually increase the amount of water in the ratio until it's mostly water.
    2) Try her on vegetable juice: carrot juice, beetroot juice, tomato juice (home-made so it isn't full of salt). Or mixes of carrot juice and fruit juice.
  • gretchensdoll
    gretchensdoll Posts: 32
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    My take on this is probiotics. If you give her juice or any drink add a bit of probio to it (there's a powdered kid one) it works miracles as far as the immune system and digestion issues of any kind. I was raised dairy free and I recommend that highly as well.
  • liltazmo90
    liltazmo90 Posts: 3 Member
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    Hey there,

    Didn't want to read and run. My daughter was the same with the juice, that was all she drunk at one point but now she is a bit older we have been buying the fruit shoots H2O drinks. Its flavoured water but tastier for children than other fruit waters.

    Also alot of the parents come to us about the same issues and I normally advice them the normal stuff like:

    Fruit
    - Oranges
    - Prunes
    - Apricots
    - Peaches

    Maybe you could also give her dried fruit such as raisins, high fibre cereals, like porridge.

    Juices such as Prune, Pear and Apple

    Also carrots, broccoli or peas. You could also try and give her butternut squash. A good way that we use for our children is mix potato and squash together and mash it, our children love it.

    I know you have probably heard all this before, but i was hoping to shed some light on some of the foods you could possible try.

    I hope I helped in some way.

    Tanya.x
  • Vaanja
    Vaanja Posts: 163 Member
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    Coconut water!

    It's delicious and always gets things going for me.
  • Fairysoul
    Fairysoul Posts: 1,361 Member
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    All great ideas, but I can't do the squash or zuccini she is allergic to them... She loves raisins we do that often, and I am thinking maybe I should sneak some more veggies in her foods...
  • cabaray
    cabaray Posts: 971 Member
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    Definitely get a new doctor. The diet changes will probably work, but might not do much good if she's already backed up. A new doc might be able to provide treatment for that.
  • Alexdur85
    Alexdur85 Posts: 255 Member
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    I am demanding them to give her another allergy test, because we have done that too... I just think something else could be done but thank you for all the advice in the meantime!!

    You could try going gluten free.. sometimes it doesn't show up in allergy tests.
  • ritajean3
    ritajean3 Posts: 306 Member
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    did you get her a blood test for the celiac gene?
  • lmelangley
    lmelangley Posts: 1,039 Member
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    Start watering down the juice. Start with 3/4 juice, 1/4 water for about a week. Eventually, you'll be able to work your way down to water with a splash of juice. Juice isn't great for kids - or for adults, for that matter. You lose a lot of nutrition when you lose the bulk.

    Does your daughter like popsicles? Freeze a 50/50 juice and water mixture. It's another great way to push to fluids.

    The bottom line is, young children shouldn't be constipated a lot of the time. Miralax or the like should only be an occasional solution. You may want a second opinion.
  • kbrogan78
    kbrogan78 Posts: 158 Member
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    FYI- Miralax isn't a laxative. What it does is help keep the moisture from being entirely sucked out of her colon, thus keeping things "soft" and making it easier to keep everything moving. It doesn't affect the long-term function of your colon like a laxative would. A friend had her son on it (very low dose a couple times a week) from the time he was potty-trained until he was about 5 because he would refuse to go poop and then (obviously) get constipated. I've used it periodically for my daughter as well. Much more pleasant for both of us than having to deal with enemas because she got blocked up!

    While I think that adjusting her diet to try to alleviate the constipation is important, the Miralax can be a great tool to use as well.

    ETA- Once a child is potty-trained, constipation can get cyclical. After 1 episode of constipation- and the pain associated with it- she might start holding things in consciously to avoid the pain. Sometimes it isn't a physical problem but a mental one.
  • liltazmo90
    liltazmo90 Posts: 3 Member
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    I would suggest getting a new doctor like the others have said. Sounds like they haven't got a clue and really no help at all.

    Have you tried going to a pharmacy and asking their advice, they should know if there is anything that you little girl can have and what the best things might be. I have gone to the pharmacy many times rather than the doctors, and they do give generally good advice.

    Give it a go and see what they say.

    Tanya x
  • Rae9911
    Rae9911 Posts: 200 Member
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    My 13 yr old daughter will not drink plain water she would rather go all day without drinking at school then drink it. So to up her water content I have stopped buying squash and cola and only buy flavoured water. She is gradually starting to drink more, I know it works out expensive buying it but it may help her get started on the water thing. When my daughter was little if you tried to get her to drink water she would drink it but then heave and throw up all the water over you. It was quite funny when the health visitor tried to get bulshy about it and forced her to drink a cup of water. The health visitor looked at me and said she threw up on me I just smiled and said I told you she would.
  • Caz411
    Caz411 Posts: 2
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    I can't stand the taste of tap water, so I can understand why my three year old is not too keen on it. However, I want him to have the fluoride in the water for the dental benefits. I think you can taste the metal from the pipes when water is at room temperature.

    My solution - serve water icy cold. Cold water has much less of the metallic taste from your pipes and additives used to ensure it is clean. My three year old wont touch room temperature water unless he is VERY thirsty, but will slurp down a whole drink bottle (600mL) of cold water. Same here - I wont touch tap water unless it is chilled, but will gladly drink a bucket of the stuff when it is cold.

    Even bottled water tastes a bit icky at room temperature - from the plastic - so serve that cold too. Flavouring it with some lemon juice works for a lot of people, but I find just making sure its nice and cold is the best solution.

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