So she's not really 15kg...

[Taurean]

My heart goes out to you and your DD! Our DD has had ongoing poo issues since November last year due to a nasty bout of constipation which caused anal fissures It's been a crappy ride for both of us, pun intended

You've been given some good suggestions already but I'll say that a lot of them don't work for my DD. I have tried and tried natural remedies but we have always had to resort to some sort of medicine in the end. The only natural extras I could suggest which I give to DD to keep her on a roll when we finally get pooing is pureed apples (I just buy the SPC tubs so they are quick and easy!) or Rafferty's Gardens sachets but not the ones with bananas in them as bananas can make things worse. Apricot juice or puree is also quite good but DD wasn't a huge fan.

One of the medicines I've had success with is Parachoc which is a stool softener and lubricant, not a laxative like many think. I add it to her bottle or a sippy cup of milk and that usually does the trick. In saying that though, you need to be consistent and continue using it until soft poos are the norm. Some kids are on Parachoc for years depending on the severity of the 'poo issues'. It's extremely safe though and your DD may only need a weeks worth. My DD has psychological issues with pooing (thanks to the damn anal fissures scaring the hell out of her!) hence why we are still using it.

The other trick I have up my sleave is Infant Coloxyl Drops. Once again, I add it to her milk (three times a day) and usually within 24 hours the blockage is cleared. If you give this a go, speak to your pharmacist more about it though and ask how long you need to continue with it after the poo has arrived

Poo issues can quickly become psychological for children so I have everything crossed for you that your DD is OK once she has a good clean out.

Good luck

PS: we tried suppositories a couple of times and both of us hated them DD was very traumatised by it and I hated putting my fingers up her tiny bottom. On each occassion the damn thing just slid out still in one piece anyway so I've refused to try them again. It was awful

[Arimeh]

Taurean - I would say its already psychological for her cos she's been telling me she's not going to push when I ask her if she feels like a poo.

She had issues as a baby, and we took her off cows milk formula and put her on goats milk formula, and it seemed to be ok, and we never thought she had an issue when we put her on cows milk at 1 year, but the doc said she probably never pooped properly and didn't get it all out and its been building up from then. How bad do we feel to not notice that she's finishing pooing!! I mean, I don't really know what the average poo count is for a kid, but obviously she wasn't meeting it - which I don't understand because she was going every day, but I guess just not enough was coming out? Thinking about it now, I'm pretty sure DD2 poos more than DD1 so if I had them around the other way, maybe it would have triggered something in my head that it wasn't normal? Although I'm sure DS only pooped once a day. Argh I dunno. Poor bugger. I'll get DH to pick up some parachoc on the way home - just at the chemist? over the counter?

[feeb]

Yep over counter at chemist.

[Party-of-five]

poor mite nothing worse than being bunged up and good luck to you at a 1kg turd in a nappy

[Taurean]

Taurean - I would say its already psychological for her cos she's been telling me she's not going to push when I ask her if she feels like a poo.

Sounds like it hon. Bugger. I know all about it so if you ever want to vent, poo issues are a massive part of our lives so sing out.

Yup, it's just over the counter. It tastes quite nice, like a milky chocolate/vanilla drink. She may just take it out of a medicine cup - shoot it like her prune juice If not, whack it in some milk and she won't even know it's there. It is really good stuff though but give it a day or two before you expect it to work. It may be happen quickly but don't be disheartened if it doesn't. It will work sooner rather than later and it's very gentle on them.

The other thing is when they have a blockage, extra fibre really makes things worse so don't go overboard on the fibre. Just stick to her usual diet but give her one of the high fibre fruits as one of her servings for that days (so some prunes, the pureed apples, a pear, etc). Fibre bulks poos up so when they have a blockage, it only makes the poo bulkier and therefore harder to pass. If they're pooing 'normally' (I use the term loosely as I realise 'normal' is different for everyone, kids included), fibre is great to give them more formed stools but too much of it is not good when they're blocked up.

Don't feel bad at all, this is not your fault! It took three trips to the doctors (over 4 months) before we realised DD has fissures and although the fissures were treated easily with laser (at my physio), the damage in her little head had already been done. I'm still considering taking her to her Paed to see what else we can do, especially given it'll be a year since our issues started this November. It's such a mind game for her, most of the time her poos are soft but she's just too scared to do them. If she goes a day without a poo, it gets a bit harder but in the 7 months of issues, she's only had a couple of actual hard poos but lots of really big ones, due to holding on for too long. It's so frustrating and heartbreaking.

It's such a common occurrence in kids and sadly some of them are just more susceptible to issues than others. One of the girls in my MG is going through poo issues now after 20 months of normal poos and I have two other friends whose boys issues started around the same time as DD's. We trade notes frequently .

[MrsFabuloso]

Just a thought....maybe a cup of booby juice might help? Wouldn't hurt her that's for sure! But that's only if you can manage expressing that amount. I know I couldn't do it each day!

Also dried apricots and sultanas.

What about some benefibre (or similar) to put into her food once she does start going. Not sure if it's reccommended for children so young though, you'd have to ask a pharmasist!

[Just Me]

We have used both parachoc and prune juice with DD1 when she had issues.

How long have you been giving her the prune juice? It is not an instant fix, it took about a day before it worked with DD1 and got things moving again.

The parachoc took about the same time. And the only other thing to know with the parachoc is that she can't lie down or go to sleep for about 2 hours after she has it because the paraffin (active ingredient) can be inhaled in the lungs and cause serious breathing issues. If you know about that and follow the directions though it should be fine. I tend to steer clear of it because it kind of freaks me out that for two hours she can't lie down.

[Schmickers]

+1 for movicol.

[Aligater]

Oh the poor thing hope she poops soon for you

[*Beema*]

Some more info as well

Coloxyl works by stimulating the bowl, causing it to contract.
Actilax (or other forms of Lactulose), cause the bowl to absorb water from it surroundings, which soften the stools, allowing them to pass.

Once the bowel stretches it takes a long time to contract to a normal size, not hours or days, it can take weeks.

With the Movicol you can hide it in food (if it is the satchets), yogurt for example, it may make it less traumatic for all of you, and keep her drinking lots of water.

It is horrible having a constipated little one, we've been battling it for months and it is so frustrating and I don't know if the Dr said, but it is best to keep treating even when she gets going, to give the bowek a chance to recover and return to its normal size.

[Rivlas]

I just remembered another thing the hospital told us, yes, we had a few of these. Because she had so much trouble going her brain told her that is was a 'bad' thing and not to go. Once the mind set was broken we didn't have as many issues. Kiwi fruit is really high in fibre so a couple each day does help just be sure they are quite soft.

If you have any vasaline smear it around the bottom and inside as that will help the movement once it starts as it softens the area.

Great fun, hey.