4.5yr old won’t poo, what’s next step?

[bdself]

it’s been 8 days

giving 1 dulcolax soft chew daily (7 days)

put glycerine suppository 2 days ago.. (this was a nightmare)..

he sits on potty and seemingly tries to push..

giving him smoothie with dates

i can literally feel the hard poo in his lower abdomen on his left side

is walk-in clinic next step? what would they even do?

his energy is fine, no changes in behaviour...

what would you do next?

 

[orangehugs]

@bdself I went to the pediatrician after our kiddo didn’t poop for 3 days while we were potty training her. She was about 3.5. They told me to give her a half a cap of Miralax to help soften it. It worked. We did that more than a few times during potty training to avoid having her poop get hard and hurt.

Definitely important to keep the poop soft vs. just firing more laxatives in there.

Edit: Here’s a link to a website with more info about infant miralax. Supposed to be very safe since it’s not a medication, just collects water to soften the poop.

 

[hopingforchange]

@orangehugs Agree, we did the same with my daughter. Keep in mind it might take a couple of days to kick in, it’s not instant or even same day. We kept it on hand just in case and used it a few more times.
Afterwards we focused on fiber during meals and also gave her fiber gummies if she hadn’t gone in a while just to keep things moving.

 

[marcelo_burt_3223]

@orangehugs Thanks for the link! One of mine is a constant type 1&2, could never find any solid info on dosage and timelines. Definitely bookmarking this for later.

 

[bolatogel]

@bdself I would definitely call your doctor. 8 days is a long time and it's just going to get harder for the little guy going forward.

Once you get past this one I'd recommend probiotics, along with a little prune juice and lots of fruits and veggies until it gets more consistent.

My 4 year old is in the same stage where he had one hard poop and is now scared it will hurt every time. We use screen time, treats, and anything else we can to get him to sit and try every day. He's slowly getting better about telling us if and when he has to go and is genuinely pushing now unlike before where he would fake push.

 

[truthbetold]

@bdself Your child needs to see a doctor.

Causes of constipation in children are many and varied, from behavioural to serious medical causes. Constipation itself will eventually damage the bowel.
Laxatives also range from [basically placebo] to [everything must go] and the magnesium based laxatives you've been giving are closer to the former end.

 

[exchristian93]

@bdself Enema done by a pro

 

[xc37]

@bdself We took my son with a similar problem to a pediatric Gastro-Enterolgist. We live in a midsized city, so it wasn't hard to get an appointment.

He took a prescription laxative every evening for a while and eventually got to where he was pooping daily.

Best of luck.

 

[bdself]

@xc37 did you make him sit on the potty every night for a certain amount of time? if so, what would you do if he didn’t try pushing at all during that time?

 

[xc37]

@bdself That was an issue for us, too. We let him read while on the potty, and he wouldn't push. We had to take away his screen time and put away favorite toys to punish him for not pushing. I was really disappointed in myself that it got to that point, but ultimately that and the laxatives got results.

 

[bdself]

@xc37 yeah my kid will sit there for over an hour and not push at all lol

might have to try taking away treats, toys etc..

 

[shediac]

@bdself Ya know those things you use to suck snot out of infants...