Causes and Treatment of Constipation in Infant and Children at Home
If your baby hasn’t had a good bowel movement for days and
her diaper has hard pellet of feces, it’s a sign of constipation. It might come
with difficulty and pain in passing bowel. Constipation is a common problem
seen in different ages of children. Most times, constipation in children does
not have underlying medical cause. There are a number of causes of constipation
in children with the most common one being solid meal.
The focus of this
article is on the causes and treatment of constipation in infant and children
at home.
Bowel movement varies with age in children and it has
different look. A week old baby defecate soft stools about five times daily. Some
defecate immediately after breastfeeding them. Infants on breast milk rarely
have constipation. Duration of defecation per day reduces with age. At about
third month, they pass soft bowel 2-3 times daily. By 2-4 years of age, the bowel
movement is reduced to 1-2 times daily. A child with normal bowel movement once
in every 2days is not suffering from constipation.
Constipation in infants and children causes hard-looking
pellet, he or she looks strain with reddish face appearance. Infants may cry and
tighten their buttocks while arching there back. Some may cross leg, tiptoes or
any unusual body position. They are scared of going to toilet because of the
pain associated and dance in a corner.
Causes Of Constipation In Infants And Children
Introduction of solid food- infants that were on breast milk
may likely constipate at the introduction of solid foods. This is mainly
because their digestive system is used to processing and digesting breast milk
easily.
Low fiber in food- this can also contribute to constipation in
children however some food like white potato, breads and pasta can also contribute
to constipation and even cause it.
Too much of dairy product like cheese and milk can cause
constipation.
School entry- when children starts going to school, they may
feel reluctant to use school toilet that seems unfamiliar and thus withhold
defecation. You can notice this in
children that use the toilet immediately they get home. You can ask your child
about school toilet and help him or her with his or her worries.
Toilet training- some children doesn’t like using the toilet
and thus learn to withhold feces during the toilet training process. This is
usually caused by training an infant with adult toilet. Ensure that the toilet
has a foot support for children. Give them word of encouragement while sitting
on the toilet and make them feel positive about it. Encourage unhurried time to
toilet and they should make it routine. In case you notice the child is still
scared, you can stop the training temporarily to prevent withholding.
Home Treatment Of Constipation In Infants And Children
Use home remedies to treat your kid’s constipation in the
first day and if result is not achieve till the following day, see your doctor
for advice. Also in case of rectal bleeding and serious pain, contact your
physician. The following remedies are for infants above 6months.
- Balanced diets with high fiber food- give your child a balanced diet. if your kid is already on solid food, gives rice cereals in place of barley. Give him or her enough fruits like pear, prune and peaches. Give him or her fruit juice, vegetables like spinach and peas. Some children cannot tolerate cow milk and thus constipate upon taking it. Try to stop cow milk and product for a while and notice change. If he or she still constipates after stopping cow milk, then you can continue the cow milk and product.
- Fluid and natural fruit juice- enough water for a child more than a year prevents constipation ensuring too much of water is not given when he or she is not thirsty. For infants above 5months, you can give him or her some fruit juice to treat constipation.
- Iron- infant formula with iron does not cause constipation but reduction of iron content in infant food can cause constipation.
- Encourage routine use of toilet – encourage him or her to sit in the toilet for 5minutes at least once daily. Praise him or her to encourage him or her to pass bowel when necessary.
- Tummy massage- rubbing baby’s tummy in a clockwise direction, around the navel especially helps to relieve constipation.
- Warm bath- warm bath relaxes the baby and relieves constipation.
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