Relief for kids constipation

Relief for kids constipation
Why do kids get constipation and how do we stop it?

With today’s fast paced lifestyle, we tend to eat on the go. This wouldn’t be a problem except fast food and sit down restaurants do not offer well-balanced meals on their children’s menus. Children need to eat plenty of fiber, fruits, and vegetables as well as drink plenty of liquids to help keep their bowel movements loose and easily passable through the body. Without proper eating habits, children can experience constipation.

Simply put, constipation is solid, hard bowel movements that do not pass through the body easily. With infrequent bouts of constipation, there is no cause for alarm, but when constipation becomes a weekly or daily occurrence there is cause for alarm. When a child becomes constipated, he or she will find it difficult to have a bowel movement for several days. The strain of not being able to use the restroom can cause stomach pains, nausea and/or vomiting. Over time, the strain of trying to deficate becomes so intense that the child no longer wants to try to use the restroom. The longer the feces remains in the body, the harder it will be to get it out.

If diarrhea occurs after a child has become constipated, do not assume that the constipation has ended. Often, new feces will form as diarrhea so that it can pass around the impacted stool. If the impacted stool stays too long in a child’s body, it can cause serious health problems. A severe sign that the child’s stool is impacted and not passing may include weight loss and a protruding stomach. Other signs, may be finding a hard mud-like stain in the child’s underwear as well as bleeding when trying to deficate.

Follow these tips for help in curing and preventing constipation in kids:

· avoid foods high in fat and sugars

· eat plenty of fibers, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables

· drink eight glasses of fluid a day

· exercise on a daily basis

· do not hold stool for fear of missing out on some activity, when you feel like you have to use the restroom, go

· check to see if current medications are causing the constipation

When a child is experiencing constipation, providing apple juice is not a good course of action. Apple juice will cause the child to have diarrhea, but do nothing for the impacted stool already sitting in the body. The diarrhea will find away around the impacted stool and come out during the use of a restroom, but the impacted stool will remain in the body. If your child is experiencing constipation, your doctor can prescribe an over the counter drug such as mineral oil, Metamucil or mild laxatives. (A word of caution: laxatives can be dangerous when given to a child, do not give your child a laxative without the direct consent of your child’s pediatrician.) But if the constipation is more severe, your doctor will need to give your child an enema.

If your child eats a well-balanced meal on a daily basis, exercises, and drinks enough liquids, and constipation becomes an ongoing problems, seek the advice of your medical doctor. Your may have an illness that needs to be treated.