Children’s Constipation, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments!
children Constipation
Definition And Facts For Constipation In Children:
Constipation is a digestive system related disorder in which a person experiences hard feces, which are difficult to eliminate; it may be extremely painful, and in severe cases (fecal impaction) lead to symptoms of bowel obstruction. Obstipation refers to severe Constipation. Causes of Constipation may be Dietary, Hormonal, the side effect of medications, illness or disorder, and anatomical. constipation children
Constipation In Children is a condition in which your child may have:
- Fewer than two bowel movements a week.
- Stools that are hard, dry, or lumpy.
- And, stools that are difficult or painful to pass.
Your child also may tell you that he or she feels that not all stool has passed.
Some children have more bowel movements than others, so what’s normal for one child may be different from another child. Also, as children get older, their bowel movement patterns may change. Even an infant’s bowel movements change a lot in the first few weeks and months of life. Learn when to see a doctor for your child’s constipation.
Constipation is not a disease but may be a symptom of another medical problem. In most cases, constipation in children lasts a short time and is not dangerous.
Constipation is common in children of all ages.
Almost 1 of every 20 visits children make to a doctor is because of constipation. Encouraging your child to make simple dietary changes – such as eating more fiber-rich fruits and vegetables and drinking more fluids – can go a long way toward alleviating constipation. If your child’s doctor approves, it may be possible to treat a child’s constipation with laxatives.
2. Causes:
Children most often get constipated from holding in their stool to avoid or delay having a bowel movement. When stool stays too long in the colon, the colon absorbs too much fluid from the stool. Then the stool becomes hard, dry, and difficult to pass. Learn more about the digestive system and how it works.
Your child may delay or avoid a bowel movement because of he or she Feels:
- Stressed about potty training.
- Embarrassed to use a public bathroom.
- Does not want to interrupt playtime.
- Fears having a painful or unpleasant bowel movement.
B. Certain health and nutrition problems can cause constipation in children:
- Not eating enough fiber, And not drinking enough liquids or dehydration.
- Hirschsprung disease.
- Celiac disease.
- Disorders that affect your brain and spine, such as Spina bifid.
- Spinal cord or brain injuries.
- Conditions that affect their metabolism, such as diabetes.
- Problems that can block or narrow the colon or rectum, including tumors.
- Conditions that affect their hormones, such as hypothyroidism.
How Constipation Develops:
The causes of constipation may differ from child to child and there may be a combination of factors contributing to the problem. Constipation can happen suddenly (for example after a child has been unwell and not eaten or drunk properly for a few days) or it can be happening.
- For some children, just one painful experience of pushing out hard, dry stools can cause them to become afraid of doing a poo again.
- This can get your child into the habit of avoiding going to the toilet in case it hurts. This is not the child’s fault.
- They start to hold in stools by tightening the muscles around the anus to keep it closed and put off the urge to poo.
This only makes the problem worse because:
The:
-
- Stools start to build up in the child’s bowel.
- Also, Stools become hard and more difficult and painful to push out.
- Your child may then put off the urge to go to the toilet for even longer.
- A build-up of stools in the rectum causes it to stretch making it harder for the child to feel the urge to poo.
- The child may need to strain and find it hard to relax enough to do a poo making constipation worse.
- Large stools get stuck and block the child’s bowel. Liquid stools above the blockage flow around it and the child may leak watery stools into their underwear.
3. Signs and symptoms of constipation in children may include:
- Less than three bowel movements a week
- Bowel movements that are hard, dry and difficult to pass
- Large-diameter stools that may obstruct the toilet
- Pain while having a bowel movement
- Abdominal pain
- Traces of liquid or clay-like stool in your child’s underwear — a sign that stool is backed up in the rectum
- Blood on the surface of hard stool
If your child fears that having a bowel movement will hurt, he or she may try to avoid it. You may notice your child crossing his or her legs, clenching his or her buttocks, twisting his or her body, or making faces when attempting to hold stool.
4. When Should You See a Doctor?
Constipation in children usually isn’t serious. However, chronic constipation may lead to complications or signal an underlying condition. Take your child to a doctor if constipation lasts longer than two weeks or is accompanied by:
- Fever.
- Vomiting.
- Blood in the stool.
- Abdominal swelling.
- Weight loss.
- Painful tears in the skin around the anus (anal fissures).
- Intestinal protrusion out of the anus (rectal prolapse).
5. Risk Factors:
Constipation in children is more likely for kids who:
It is important to remember that these risk factors will differ from child to child and that a combination of factors may be involved in each individual case.
I. Dietary Factors:
Not drinking enough water or eating enough high-fiber foods can cause stools to become dry and hard to pass.
II. Holding in Stools:
Sometimes your child can hold on too long because they feel embarrassed to use a public toilet, or the one available is dirty, uncomfortable, or is not private (e.g. at school) or because they don’t want to stop whatever they are doing (e.g. a game).
III. Changes in Daily Routine:
Changes in daily routine such as going on holiday, moving house, changing schools, or changing formula milk type can all upset your child’s natural bowel rhythm and cause constipation.
IV. Not Enough Exercise:
Lack of physical activity can cause your child’s bowel to become more sluggish and lead to constipation.
V. Constipation in Your Family:
If other family members suffer from constipation, this can increase your child’s risk of becoming constipated.
VI. Some Medicines Can Cause Constipation:
Such as codeine, certain cough medicines, anticonvulsants (drugs to control seizures), and antihistamines (drugs for treating allergies).
6. Complications May Include:
- Painful breaks in the skin around the anus (anal fissures).
- Rectal prolapse, when the rectum comes out of the anus.
- Stool withholding.
- Avoiding bowel movements because of pain, which causes impacted stool to collect in the colon and rectum and leak out (encopresis).
7. How Can We Prevent and Treat Constipation?
To prevent and treat constipation:
A. Give your Child More Liquids:
Drinking enough water and other liquids helps stools move more easily through the intestines. The number of kids’ needs will vary based on their weight and age. But most school-age kids need at least 3 to 4 glasses of water each day. If your infant is constipated during the move from breast milk or to solid foods, try serving just a few ounces (2–4) of apple, pear, or prune juice each day. If constipation lasts or upsets your child, a health problem could be the cause, so call your doctor.
B. Serve More Fiber:
- High-fiber foods (such as fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain bread) can help prevent constipation.
- Fiber can’t be digested, so it helps clean out the intestines by moving the bowels along.
- A diet full of fatty, sugary, or starchy foods can slow the bowels down. When adding more fiber to your child’s diet, do so slowly over a few weeks and make sure your child also drinks more liquids.
- Also, Fiber doesn’t have to be a turn-off for kids – try apples, pears, beans, oatmeal, oranges, ripe bananas, whole-grain bread, and popcorn.
- Adding flax meal or bran to homemade fruit smoothies is another way to slip fiber into a child’s diet.
Make Sure Kids Get Enough Exercise:
Physical activity nudges the bowels into action, so encourage your kids to get plenty of exercises. It can be as simple as playing catch, riding bikes, or shooting a few hoops.
C. Develop a Regular Meal Schedule:
Eating is a natural stimulant for the bowels, so regular meals may help kids develop routine bowel habits. If necessary, schedule breakfast a little earlier to give your child a chance for a relaxed visit to the bathroom before school.
D. Get kids Into The Habit of Going:
If your child fights the urge to go to the bathroom, have him or her sit on the toilet for at least 10 minutes at about the same time each day (ideally, after a meal).
These small changes help most kids feel better and get the bowels moving the way they should. Talk with the doctor before giving your child any kind of over-the-counter medicine for constipation.
8. Medications:
If your child has ongoing or chronic (long-term) constipation, try not to worry as there are various treatments that can help. However, these treatments can take a while to work, so try to be patient and follow the advice of your doctor.
Your doctor,
- Will give you simple advice about how to help your child maintain healthy bowel function and avoid constipation in the future.
- May also need to prescribe laxative medicines to help your child’s bowel work normally. These may need to be taken regularly for some time (often several months) before your child’s bowels return to normal.
There are various types of laxatives available which can be divided into different types depending on how they work:
I. Bulking Agents:
- Bulking agents absorb water and expand to fill the bowel with soft non-absorbable residue making the stools softer, bulkier, and easier to push out.
- Examples of bulking agents include plant fiber-containing products e.g. ispaghula husk. Commonly-used bulking agents include Fybogel and Isogel.
II. Iso-osmotic Agents:
- This includes a medicine called macrogol 3350 and electrolytes (Movicol Paediatric Plain).
- It is an effective and well-tolerated treatment, given as small volumes of a sugar-free (to protect children’s teeth), palatable solution to which fruit juice can be added if desired. It contains a mixture of salts (electrolytes), specifically designed to minimize the risk of dehydration.
- Movicol Paediatric plain is an inert powder that passes through the body unchanged without being absorbed by the child’s body. It works by carrying water to the stool to bulk, soften and lubricate it, encouraging a comfortable bowel movement.
III. Stimulant Laxatives:
- Senna-containing stimulant laxatives are often prescribed. Senna is a natural ingredient that has been used for centuries as a constipation remedy with well-known efficacy and tolerability.
- Stimulant laxatives include senna (Senokot) and bisacodyl (Dulcolax) which stimulate contractions of the muscles in the colon, shortening the time it takes waste material to pass through the bowel.
- These take 8–12 hours to work and can be given orally or rectally as they work directly on the gut wall.
IV. Osmotic Laxatives:
- Inorganic osmotic laxatives – e.g. magnesium hydroxide BP, magnesium sulfate BP and sodium sulfate BP – work by drawing fluid from the body into the gut to add bulk to and soften the stool. They also promote the release of a natural enzyme which increases the movement of both the small and large intestine.
- Organic osmotic laxatives, e.g. lactulose (Duphalac), cannot be absorbed by the body. They work by drawing fluid from the body into the gut softening and increasing the bulk of the stool. These products can take up to 48 hours to act
- Macrogol 4000 (Idrolax) works in a similar way to lactulose but maybe faster in onset. It is not recommended for children under the age of eight or in cases of fecal impaction.
V. Fecal Softeners:
- As the name suggests, these products ease the process of defecation by softening the stool and/or lubricating its passage through the anus.
- Commonly used agents include liquid paraffin and docusate.
- Liquid paraffin can cause oily staining of the underclothes, particularly in prolonged use in high doses.
9. Alternative Medicine:
In addition to changes in diet and routine, various alternative approaches may help relieve constipation in children:
A. Massage:
Gently massaging your child’s abdomen may relax the muscles that support the bladder and intestines, helping to promote bowel activity.
B. Acupuncture:
This traditional Chinese medicine involves the insertion and manipulation of fine needles into various parts of the body. The therapy may help if your child has constipation-related abdominal pain.
10. Diet And Nutrition for Constipation in Children:
I. Fiber:
Depending on your child’s age and sex, he or she should get 14 to 30.8 grams of fiber a day.2Fiber guidelines are not available for infants less than 1-year-old. Your child’s doctor can tell you what kinds of foods your infant should eat and whether you can try making changes to his or her formula or breast milk.
Talk with your child’s doctor to plan meals with the right amount of fiber for your family. Be sure to add fiber to your family’s diet a little at a time so everyone gets used to the change.
II. Good Sources of Fiber Are:
- Whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread and pasta, oatmeal, and bran flake cereals.
- Legumes, such as lentils, black beans, kidney beans, soybeans, and chickpeas.
- Fruits, such as berries, apples with the skin on, oranges, and pears.
- Vegetables, such as carrots, broccoli, green peas, and collard greens.
- Nuts, such as almonds, peanuts, and pecans.
III. Plenty of Water:
If your child is dehydrated, have your child drink plenty of water and other liquids, such as naturally sweetened fruit and vegetable juices and clear soups, to help the fiber work better.
Drinking enough water and other liquids also helps avoid dehydration. Staying hydrated is good for a family’s overall health and can help avoid constipation. Ask your child’s doctor how much liquid your child should drink each day based on his or her size, health, activity level, and the climate where your family lives.
Read more about Fiber sources foods
IV. Food to Avoid:
To help prevent or relieve constipation, your child should avoid foods with little to no fiber, such as:
- Chips.
- Fast food.
- Meat.
- Prepared foods, such as some frozen meals and snack foods.
- Processed foods, such as hot dogs or some microwavable dinners.
11. Natural Remedies for Constipation in Children:
1. Vegetables:
Give children green and leafy vegetables like carrot, beets, pumpkin, turnip, cabbage, French beans, and spinach. These vegetables are rich in fiber and thereby aids in treating constipation.
2. Honey And Sugar:
Drinking a glass of milk added with 2 tablespoons of honey or sugar on an empty stomach is one of the best home remedies for constipation in children.
3. Unrefined Foods:
there are many unrefined foods like lentils, honey, graham crackers, bran muffins, bran cereals, bran, and whole-grain cereals that help to soften children’s stool. They are regarded as one of the best natural remedies for constipation in children.
4. Warm Bath:
In a warm bath, add 2 tablespoons baking soda and let the child relax in this warm water for approximately 15 minutes. This helps in a regular bowel movement.
5. A moist piece of cloth to a child’s anus:
Apply a warm, moist piece of cloth to a child’s anus. This will help in stimulating bowel movement.
6. Flax-Seed:
this is a wonder not only for adults but also for children. Boil a small quantity of flax-seed in water or sprinkle 1 teaspoon over a meal for the child to ingest it. This is both a preventive measure as well as one of the most recommended home remedies for constipation in children.
7. Triphala:
this is one of the most commonly herbal medications to treat constipation. It is a mixture of 3 magical herbs. For best results, mix 1 teaspoon Triphala with warm milk or water while going to bed.
8. Blackberries:
mix 1 cup each of blackberries and distilled water. Drink this on an empty stomach for promoting peristaltic movement. Drinking this often aids in making motions regular.
9. Drinking-Water:
Drinking one glass full of water or warm milk before going to bed aids in easy evacuation the following morning. This is one of the most successful natural remedies for constipation in children.
10. Vaseline:
rubbing Vaseline on a child’s bottom helps in loosening up the area as well as aids in easier bowel movement.
11. Belly Rub:
A belly rub works wonders in encouraging a movement. Lightly rub on the belly with fingertips between the lower part and the belly button. Avoid pushing, but instead, let the muscle experience the light sensation. This apart from being a constipation relief is also one of the best home remedies for constipation in children.
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Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment for any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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