Constipation and Urinary Tract Infection in a Toddler

Wow, potty trained at 2?! Congrats on that! My son went through something similar. He was older and could talk but wouldn't say why he would hold the bm so long that it was painful.
Here are some things to try...
1. If she uses a potty seat, try changing to the regular potty with a step stool for her to rest her feet on. For my son, when he used the small potty, he was afraid that the bm would touch him and get his clothes dirty, when he was propped on the big potty he was afraid he was going to fall while he was using one hand to hold his shirt up... (an endless cycle!)
2. If she doesn't eat a lot of veggies or fiber it may be painful for her to pass the bm so she holds it as long as possible. Try increasing the fiber. Maybe one of those supplements like benefiber that's tasteless...
3. Remove any decorations from around the toilet. My son felt scared of one of the fake plant decoration on the back of the toilet because when he sat on the toilet for a bm it would touch his back. I removed the plant.

Good luck.
M.

Is your daughter newly potty-trained? If so, it's not at all uncommon for her to have a fear (for whatever reason) of pooping in the toilet. Lots of kids this age do. My son went through this same stage and held his poop in for about 6 days. The pediatrician suggested that we back off of potty training for a while, making sure not to pressure him. Like you said, it can lead to constipation, which can then cause some urinary symptoms. If there is a lot of hard stool in the intestine, it can put pressure on her bladder, giving her the sensation that she needs to pee a lot. Please discuss her symptoms with the pediatrician to rule out something more serious.

Take her to your ped and get her tested for UTI. Also some kids have issues with thier sphincter muscles after holding their bowels so discuss this with the ped as well.

sometimes if they are constipated they can't pee since the b/m crushes the urethra.

Also, if she is constipated she could also have the UTI.
I suspected a UTI in my 3 year old last week. (she started having accidents after a year of none) and peed on me the other day when i hugged her!
the doc did a dip test on urine and it said no infection. I told the doc to get it cultured and would BET she has one because i know my kid and this is not her.
they called yesterday and she has a raging UTI and is on an antibiotic.
for b/m issues, you may need to see a pediatric gastroenterologist who can help you with a regimen for her. My niece had this when her mom used to call her b/ms "stinky" and "yucky" and all sorts of negative words for it.
she associated it with being bad and held it for days and was always very cranky in pain. She went to the doc who put her on a regimen,

for your 2 year old, i would have a pee test done (you can goto the doc before the appt, get a sterile cup and glove and have her pee in the cup and take it in. makes it much eaasier
also, have her drink 3-4 cups of water a day - not juice- til she gets regular. some kids dont get enough water and it stops them up.

also, my daughter had no fever with the UTI. I just had a mommy hunch and was right.

Sometimes when my daughter get constipated she feels as if she has to do the pee but can't. We had to give her an enema as well. Not fun!! Our doctor suggested Miralax. It is over the counter and available at Target and Walmart. If she is new going on the potty, you may want to go back to diapers for a little while. If not make the bathroom relaxing. Put books in there for her to read. Encourage her to sit on the potty for a while. Take her time and relax. Good Luck.

I would have your little checked for an UTI and as far as the pooping or lack of have you tried a reward system when she does go, this may help her to realize that it is ok to go and a good thing. have you talked to your ped about this? there could be some reason why she is not wanting to go.

your doc will help with this. there are gentle sugars, lactulose or enulose, that s/he can prescribe which will not be digested by your daughter but will help keep stools soft and act as a gentle laxative. having your daughter on these for even several months beats enemas or suppositories which can feel like an attack or violation to your child. my daughter has had constipation issues her whole life and will probably be on the enulose for up to another year because when i thought she was better we moved, she got severely stopped up and i had to do enemas to break the cycle. if this is a new phenomenon than it may pass as mysteriously as it started. the doctor can help with prescriptions and nutritional tips, ie, no rice, cheese, bananas and increase fiber, juice and WATER. you can work on the emotional part. special rewards for going or whatever works in your family. we just get really excited about poop and she likes to read the 'everyone poops' book. good luck. don't hesitate to private message me.

It's best to take her to a doctor. My niece had these problems beginning at age two and by the time she was 4 had surgery. She is fine now and must be sure to drink lots of water. She was recently rushed to the hospital for not being able to move her bowels and she doubled over in extreme pain. She is 10 years old. I am not sure of all the details of the surgery, illness, etc. But do have things checked out, I believe they went to a Children's Urologist.

My two year old daughter just had the same thing. I was also convinced that she had a UTI but we finally got a urine sample (that was no easy task) and the culture ruled that out. I had given her lots of cranberry juice as a natural remedy while I was trying to get a urine sample but she may not have needed that. It is probably just the constipation that's giving her the pain and that's why she's grabbing herself. That's what my daughter did as well. My doctor recommended MiraLax which is a stool softner and relieves constipation. It's a powder which you mix into any drink. That seems to help but we've only been using it a few days and she's still not completely regular again yet. Also, blueberries seem to help as a natural remedy. Try to make sure she has plenty of fresh fruits and veggies, essentially natural fiber in her diet. Also, she may be holding it in because she's fighting potty training. Don't push her; she'll let you know when she's ready for the potty. Most kids are not truly ready until age 3. Good luck!

You will have to take her to the doctor to check for UTI and ask about miralax for the constipation. My daughter was 2 when she started having a problem. We were on several meds but miralax worked the best. It is over the counter now (was not then. It is a powder you mix in a drink (tasteless) and it is not a laxative. You do NOT want to continue on laxatives because her body can become dependent on them. Enemas are no fun either. Also, once a day after a meal have her sit on the potty for 15 or so minutes. That is the natural times that the body wants to have a bowl movement. We read lots of books in the bathroom. Plus put a stool under her feet- it is harder to hold it in if your knees are bent and more relaxed. My daughter would stiffen her legs and hold it in. They have several hard painful stools then at that age they decide to hold it because it hurt last time and do not see that it will be worse to hold it in.
Good Luck.

I would have her tested for a UTI by your doc just in case. Since she is potty trained you should be able to get a urine sample pretty easily. I have never had a fever with a uti, but her behavior seems pretty consistant with a UTI - other than the pooping problem for which I have no advice since I haven't been through it yet.

First as faras using laxitives I would highly recommend using Miralax, its not really a laxitive but a stool softner and is sooooo much easier on teh digestive tract. It doesn't cause cramping or pain like laxitives normaly do. This will help w/ the constipation because you really can't be. It makes the stool soft so when it "shows up" it must come out.
On the urinary tract, I think, but double check w/ your pediatrician, if she has a urinary tract infection you will see blood in her pee.

N.-

As far as the UTI's- if you think there might be one, have her tested. My five year old recently was hospitalized with several symptoms- fever, stomach ache, headache, etc- in the end she had a horrible abcess on her kidney, called pylonephritis- long story short- UTI that was never diagnosed or for that matter suspected. Over the last two months we have learned that she, along with my older daughter, has kidney reflux that was never detected. She recently had surgery and is doing well, but because it was left untreated for so long, has significant scarring of her kidneys. The nehprologist and urologist both told us that little girls under 2 years have no reason for a UTI and if one is detected they should be watched closely and checked for the kidney reflux. Hope this helps and best of luck,

M.

N.,
Coming from a mom whose son had a horrible time with constipation for many years as a toddler up until he was 10. I found out my son was allergic to milk. That was one of his problems. Also found out he has Celiac Disease which also affects the bladder. He now does not have any constipation or bladder issues. You may want to try removing milk from her diet first - completely! All milk, whey, casein. If it persists, you may want to make sure she dies not have Celiac Disease. Just a suggestion.
I also have Celiac Disease and I felt like I had a UTI all the time and I kept going to the doctor and he would test me and find nothing. So I know what it feels like. So make sure she does not have a UTI first. But the constipation is real and please do not put a "bandaid" on it by giving her a laxative. That will only mess up her body. In the meantime, blueberries & prunes are more natural. Hope this helps, A.