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What Causes Constipation And Painful Bowel Movement In 3 Year Old?
My 3 grandson has very painful bowel movements & constipation (since he was 7 mos. old) that have caused his parents to take him to the emergency room where they could find nothing abnormal though all they did was take xrays. The docs just tell them it s normal, have him drink prune juice, etc to no avail. This sounds very serious to me as I ve seen the pain he goes through and have cried myself watching him. What should be our next step in helping this poor little guy?
Wed, 30 Jan 2019
Hi,
Constipation is common in young children. It may be due to:
(1) Inadequate/ improper toilet training in toddlers
(2) Predominant milk based and no fiber diet
(3) Stool withholding maneuvers due to fear of getting pain while passing hard stools
(4) Some times hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone levels) and rarely surgical conditions such has Hirschsprung's disease may also cause constipation.
As the stools get stagnant in the bowel, they get harder and children can experience painful bowel movements due to excessive stretching of bowel wall. Sometimes these excessive stretching may cause blood in stools.
I am sorry to hear that your grand son is suffering in pain. I would like to help him by giving some medicines to empty the bowel. First step is to remove the hard stools struck down in colon by giving an enema, followed by maintenance dose of laxatives to soften the stool. I would like to teach them about toilet training if not trained. Along with this, high fiber diet (green leafy vegetables) would help.
I think the information provided will be useful and I am happy to reply to your queries. Hope your grandsons get well soon. Thank you.
Regards,
Dr. Nirubhan Bharathy, Pediatrician
Constipation is common in young children. It may be due to:
(1) Inadequate/ improper toilet training in toddlers
(2) Predominant milk based and no fiber diet
(3) Stool withholding maneuvers due to fear of getting pain while passing hard stools
(4) Some times hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone levels) and rarely surgical conditions such has Hirschsprung's disease may also cause constipation.
As the stools get stagnant in the bowel, they get harder and children can experience painful bowel movements due to excessive stretching of bowel wall. Sometimes these excessive stretching may cause blood in stools.
I am sorry to hear that your grand son is suffering in pain. I would like to help him by giving some medicines to empty the bowel. First step is to remove the hard stools struck down in colon by giving an enema, followed by maintenance dose of laxatives to soften the stool. I would like to teach them about toilet training if not trained. Along with this, high fiber diet (green leafy vegetables) would help.
I think the information provided will be useful and I am happy to reply to your queries. Hope your grandsons get well soon. Thank you.
Regards,
Dr. Nirubhan Bharathy, Pediatrician
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