Major Conspitation in 3 Yr Old

Updated on June 13, 2008
K.S. asks from Bedford, TX
12 answers

My daughter, who is almost 3 has not pooped in about 10 days! I am going to call the doctor in the am, but the worry is keeping me up tonight. I have started to give her Milk of Magnesia the other day, and I am just waiting to all that poop to come pouring out...it is just not happening. Any words of wisdom out there? I probably need the name of a pediatric gastrointestinal doctor if anybody knows a good one. My daughter eats and drinks normally, although I have noticed lately that she isn't drinking as much as I would like for her to...I am sure she is running out of room for water. I want to find someone that can see her tomorrow...I just don't want to wait another day. She is not having any of the signs of a 'blockage' other than she is just not pooping. I need some prayer from any of you mamas out there that are willing.

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So What Happened?

She is mostly on a dairy free diet, drinking soy milk, eating soy yogurt, and next to no cheese. She ate a small amount of prune this am, but she absolutely will not drink prune juice. I am being more assertive with the amount of insoluble fiber she eats, to avoid future problems. I used the glycerin supository on her yesterday, and just a little bit of poo-poo came out. Butt* that is progress! I inserted another glycerin this morning, and I am waiting for more poops. She has one sore hiney!!!it is very red and hurting...I am rinsing her off instead of wiping her, but this is not fully effective as the poop crud is hard sticking crumbs...she even has a raw spot on her booty; poor baby! Come to me poo-poo; I am anxiously awaiting your arrival!!!!!!

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C.S.

answers from St. Louis on

I agree with the other moms. If it does get to the point of needing a specialist, Dr. Keng at Cook CHildren's is good.

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E.S.

answers from Amarillo on

Oh yes the joys of having a party when the poop finally comes! Been there done that! Still deal with it off and on at times! My 4 year old son and 5 year old daughter has had it very bad several times all there lifes!
Its summer time and hot make sure you give her lots and lots of fluid any that she really likes. Give her a gatorade sport bottle filled with that drink so that she drinks plenty and shell special to have her own bottle!
Call your peditrician and ask if you can try miralax! You mix so much of the miralax into a drink we did it with drpepper it dissolves and they drink it up! Within an hour to over night the poop has arrived finally! It does not seem to hurt their little bottoms and tummies at all. Its not a blast right out of their pullups either! Its gentle and we have tried everything out there to get this done and miralax has been great! Weve been using it for bout a year now and its over the counter too!
Prayers for you and your poor baby!
God Bless! E.

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D.J.

answers from Amarillo on

My son had the same problem. After ten days, you are probably at a point where the suppositories won't get it all out. My son was a withholder. He intentionally would try not to go, then get blocked up. When he got really uncomfortable after doing this for over a week, we took him to the doctor. She put on her rubber gloves, and started digging. You wouldn't believe what came out of that little guy! Gross, but necessary. After that, we started Miralax, and it has worked wonders. I think the initial dose was 1/4 of the adult serving dissolved in four ounces of liquid. We gave it a few days (this is not a quick fix), then adjusted up or down based on his bowel habits. He is now on about 1/8th of a dose, and has no problems. We tried the dairy free and extra fiber as well, but the Miralax worked much better. I don't know if your daughter likes Pediasure, but you can get one with fiber added that also seems to help my son. Good luck with this, and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

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T.H.

answers from Dallas on

my dd use to be like that and i know your pain. we used miralax and it was a blessing! she didn't have any cramping like another mom had but i guess it may be different for every one. another bit of advice from our doctor was a warm bath with 2 tbsp of baking soda. the baking soda loosens up the rectum and you get the idea :) good luck.

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T.T.

answers from Dallas on

I would try a childs supository should get the ball rolling from the bottom end.

Laxitives will only work on the top and make it worse...she is compacted at the bottom. Once she gets it going it will start to flow.

i would keep her away from too much dairy and try pushing more fiber in her diet. There is a Fiber suplement that is clear and easy to mix in drinks and food...I cant remember if it was Fibercon or what...it comes in a Green container.

Also, my 2 year old has been on Miralax a tsp full for a year now because she gets constipated...if I miss a day she gets rabbit poo.

I have severe constipation myself and know what it is like to go 10 days with out a BM. It will compact all the way to her ribcage and hurt very much! My suggestion is to try the supository first...

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B.P.

answers from Abilene on

Here's a couple of at home remedies that really work -- kinda gross, but they work.

Before she tries to go put Vasoline (sp?) around the inside and outside of the rectum.

You can also use warm water (just tepid) with a tiny bit of liquid soap (very tiny). Use one of the nose bulb things from when she was a baby and gently squirt some of the warm solution in there. It's bascially the same principle as a glycerin supp. but w/o the trip to the store. It may take a couple of times but as long as she's not impacted it should work. If she is impacted you will have to have the doctor deal with it.

Also, if she is prone to this you may need to talk to the doc about fiber supplements. I know of several kids who, from about this age, started having to take extra fiber to keep from having major issues!

Good Luck and I'll be praying! <><

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P.B.

answers from Tyler on

If she likes fresh apples and/or oranges, cut one of each for her on a plate every evening. The juices will keep her hydrated and 'naturally' help her with the problem.

Apples are a regulater: If you need to poop, they help. If you don't need to poop, they help.

As I'm sure you've heard: "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."

Hope it helps. Yes, I'll pray.

P. <><

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R.

answers from Dallas on

We have had this problem with two of our three children and let me just say that what works best for us is the glycerin suppositories-gross but it helps them sooo much. I read one of your other responses and yes, myralax is pretty gentle it can cause some severe cramps if you use it daily-I know because I have to use it myself and man oh man, the cramps are horrible if I take a full recommended dose daily! I just say this as a warning and my suggestion is to not give them a full dose or only give it every other day. HTH

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C.P.

answers from Dallas on

Hello K.,

I hope you already called the doctor. once you get her bowels moving again, don't let her go more than 3 days. Also, contrary to popular beliefs, MILK will CONSTIPATE. My daughter had the same problem and we used miralax for a while and changed her diet. You did not mention if she has a dairy-free diet. also PEARS are a great source of fiber and unlike prunes, it doesn't give those gas pains that prunes can give. Good luck! ~C.~

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G.W.

answers from Dallas on

Have taken one of my twins to the doctor for the same thing (it wasn't ten days but more around four or five) and they gave him an enema to go ahead and get him cleaned out quickly and then recommended Miralax which is an OTC very gentle laxative that can be used on a continual or as needed basis to get back on track. I'm sure everything will be fine, doctors see this quite frequently.

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T.W.

answers from McAllen on

I think I'd call the doctor and check for a blockage, I get irritated if I don't go everyday! You could try prune juice or mineral oil. Any kind of fruit should work after you get the initial issue out of the way. Also they have individually wrapped prunes, she might like those. I will be praying for her.

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R.B.

answers from Dallas on

Wow K.!! Be prepared for a blow-out soon! My kids have never gone 3 days without pooping so I have no idea what is going on with your little one.

If you want to get things moving you can try a child's suppository. Also prune juice works! I haven't tried this method in a long time, but when my kids were babies and hadn't pooped in a couple days I would take the rectal thermometer and insert it into their bum and rotate it around a few times. This stimulates the rectum and would sometimes help produce a bowel movement. Your daughter is probably pretty bound up so the suppository and prune juice would be my first move until I got her to a doctor.

I hope she's wearing a Pull-up tonight. :)

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