My 3 year old daughter hasn't been able to have a BM today, and the two times she tired she started crying saying it hurt. I am assuming this means she is constipated. We all had the flu last week and she has still been under the weather this past week. Any ideas of what do to to help? I would rather try natural remedies before we go to the doctor. Thanks.
My 2 year old has frequent problems with constipation and in addition to more water, fruits, veggies and whole grains (and adding wheat germ, oatmeal, and flax seed) I give her Pedialax. It is an over the counter stool softener recommended for ages 2 and up (it used to be the same ingredient as Miralax but I think Miralax changed recently). I have also used glycerin suppositories when needed and Benefiber.
I'm not a physician, but a RN and a mom of 4 kids. First off, after having the flu, most likely your daughter is dehydrated. Give her lots of fluids. If she was vomiting or had a high fever, she was losing the necessary fluids her body needs (which can slow down the process of elimination). So, rehydration is essential. As a mom, I would offer my daughter (I have a 3 year old daughter as well), a fluid replacement like pedialyte (apple juice flavor), or, offer fruit juice popsicles...whatever it takes to get her drinking.
You might try offering food slowly. Most kids don't want to devour a high fiber meal right after being sick. When she starts to feel better, and begins eating normally, her digestive system will most likely start to rev up again.
Milk of Magnesia works really well (MOM), She can take it tonight and by morning things should be better or take in in the morning. Also Benefiber, and Fiber One cereal to get things regular again. You can also use a glycerin suppository. They work great, too. Much luck to you. Make sure she drinks lots of water, warm water always get things going for us.
Pear juice, white grape and/or prune juice always worked like a charm for my child. Even if you could mix the baby food prunes with some apple sauce. Avoid apple juice though.
Flax seeds help a lot. Put one tea spoon of ground flax seed in her yogurt or something and it should help her.
I give my son either pear or peach nectar. It really seems to help and he likes it. He wouldn't eat or drink anything with prunes. You have to look for it in the international isle though. It is not with the other juices.
The other mom's have great ideas, I just wanted to add to put a lot of vaseline on her bottom so when she does go, it will help it slide out easier. Good luck!
my 2 year old daughter is often constipated. i usually mix half of a small can of prune juice with apple juice (just to cut it down a little, and make it more apetizing to me, she'll drink straight prune juice if i gave it to her) and it works like a charm. her dr told me to do this every few days since she has hard pebbly stools. good luck
When my girls were babies and got constipated, they recommended prune or pear juice. My 3 year old recently got constipated and I didn't have any, but I had pears in pear juice so I let her drink that - worked like a charm. Eating pears, peaches, and raisins seem to help my kiddos too as long as they are getting lots of water.
prune juice
pear juice
apple juice... but whole apple juice, not the kind that is clear
