All About Constipation in Children

Constipation in children is a common pediatric health issue mostly arising due to early toilet training and having an inadequate diet. Most cases of this condition do not last for long and can be easily treated.

Constipation in children is mainly caused by the following factors:

• Lack of fiber content in their diet caused due to an aversion to veggies, often result in constipation in children.
• Withholding stool: Your child may be holding his bowel movements in because of stress with toilet training. This maybe because he/she doesn't want to defecate in the school bathroom or in other places. Often if it hurts to poop once, the child might withhold his bowel movements and this leads to a vicious cycle.
• Side effects of certain medications.
• In rare cases, children facing abuse may develop constipation.

Symptoms

You will know your child has constipation if the following occurs:

• Your child spends a lot of time while defecating
• Your child complains of difficulty with bowel movement
• Bloating and stomach pain
• Soiling accidents

Treatments

A combination of the following approaches helps in treating constipation in children:

• See to it that your child eats all his vegetables and fruits. Include more fibrous vegetables and fruits in the diet. Include food containing probiotics like yoghurt.
• Use a stool softener: While using a stool softener the most common mistake is to apply too much or too little amount of the concoction. Carefully use the right amount of stool softener for relieving your child of constipation.
• Ensure that your child has a lot of fluids in his/her diet. Fluids help to hydrate the body and lubricate the digestive system.
• Look into the fact that you child has regular toilet hours.

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