Constipation. Constipation is a very common problem in kids. A child is considered constipated when he or she has fewer than three bowel movements in a week; has trouble having a bowel movement; or when the stool (poop) is hard, dry, and unusually large. Constipation usually isn't a cause for concern, and easy to avoid by adopting healthy eating and exercise habits. Causes of Constipation. Constipation usually is due to a diet that doesn't include enough water and fiber, which help the bowels move properly. Kids who eat lots of processed foods, cheeses, white bread and bagels, and meats may become constipated fairly often. Eating a healthier diet with high- fiber foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can keep stool from getting hard and dry. Sometimes, medicines like antidepressants and those used to treat iron deficiencies can cause constipation. Constipation can happen in babies as they move from breast milk to baby formula, or from baby food to solid food. Toddlers who are toilet training sometimes can become constipated, especially if they're pushed to toilet train before they're ready. Some kids avoid going to the bathroom, even when they really have the urge to go. They might ignore internal urges because they don't want to use a restroom away from home, stop playing a fun game, or have to ask an adult to be excused to go to the bathroom. Ignoring the urge to go makes it harder to go later. Stress also can lead to constipation. Kids can get constipated when they're anxious about something, like starting at a new school or problems at home. Research has shown that emotional upsets can affect how well the gut functions and can cause constipation and other conditions, like diarrhea. Some kids get constipated because of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which can happen when they're stressed or eat certain trigger foods, which often are fatty or spicy. A child with IBS may have either constipation or diarrhea, as well as stomach pain and gas. In rare cases, constipation is a sign of other medical illnesses. So talk to your doctor if your child continues to have problems or if the constipation lasts for 2 to 3 weeks. Diet and Nutrition News & Advice, Featured, Fitness News & Advice. 10 Foods That Can Help with Constipation. She is 8 1/2 months old. Relieving Constipation With Diet. This is the way I prevent child constipation. How do I treat constipation? Constipation with a 16 month old. I thought he had a balanced diet, although still on toddler milk. Discover these 10 foods to prevent constipation and provide relief. Milk and Constipation – Dr. Greene. com. Dr. Greene`s Answer: A cranky, unhappy toddler may well be responding to physical discomfort. Tummy troubles of one type or another can make anyone feel miserable. Milk is a major part of most children’s diets. If a child is intolerant to milk, this can affect how he feels every single day of his life. Nausea, cramps, and pain can squelch the normal joys of discovery and mastery. But the classic symptoms of milk intolerance are diarrhea, spitting up, or abdominal pain. Many kids with milk intolerance also wheeze, especially when they get a cold. They can also have the dry, sensitive skin of eczema and their noses always seem to be running. Ear infections are also more common than in other kids. Constipation, however, has not been typically associated with milk intolerance — until now. The observation that constipation might sometimes be caused by milk intolerance has appeared in the medical literature from time to time, dating back as far as 1. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 1. But only recently has there been a well- designed study published showing that this is indeed the case. The results of this study, when widely known, can set many children free to enjoy the exuberance of childhood without pain. Researchers at the University of Palermo in Italy worked with 6. All of these children had been treated with laxatives when dietary measures had failed. Even with the medical treatment, these children were still constipated, having hard, painful stools only every 3 to 1. Foods That Cause and Relieve Constipation in Babies. Although it might be tempting to cut out constipation-causing foods.Forty- nine of the their little bottoms had fissures and redness or swelling from the hard plugs of stool. Each child received either cow’s milk or soymilk for 2 weeks, with no one knowing which was which. Next, they had a week during which they could eat and drink anything they wanted to wash out the effects of the first 2 weeks. Then they switched sides for 2 weeks and got the milk that they didn’t get the first time. Careful recordings of the bowel habits were made. When the secret code was broken at the end of the study, they found status quo constipation for each child while he or she was on cow’s milk. The 1 Month Old Baby Quiz. 10 Ways to Relieve Baby's Constipation. Find out how to recognize constipation in your toddler. Eating too many other low-fiber foods. Your child could wind up. Your 17-month-old's social and. Home Treatments for Constipation. If your child is very young (under 4 months). You should also reduce constipating foods in your child But while they were taking soymilk (which causes firmer stools in most kids), 6. The redness, swelling, and fissures on their bottoms healed (New England Journal of Medicine, 1. How wonderful to finally have relief after diet and medicines hadn’t worked for so long! The results were most dramatic in kids who also had frequent runny noses, eczema, or wheezing. Nevertheless, sometimes constipation can be the only symptom of cow’s milk intolerance. This has broad implications. The children in this study were those with severe chronic constipation that was unresponsive to medications. I am convinced that they are only the tip of the iceberg. There must be a much larger group of mildly allergic children whose constipation improves with laxatives. Time may prove that it is better for these children to avoid the offending protein by switching milks rather than being treated with laxatives. Presumably, swelling of the intestinal lining causes the constipation. Whatever the exact mechanism, the problem is likely with the protein in cow’s milk, not with the fat or lactose (the sugar). Skim milk or lactose- free milk will not help with this one. Switching to soymilk and other soy products might transform the life of your son in only a couple of weeks! Unfortunately, some children are also soy protein intolerant. As it happens, this is more common in kids who are allergic to cow’s milk protein. If you don’t get good results within 2 weeks, I suggest also eliminating soy from the diet for 2 weeks as a trial. You might use Alimentum or Nutramigen (protein hydrolysate infant formulas) as the milk for these next 2 weeks because your son is much less likely to be allergic to the protein in them. If they work, you can then experiment with other sources of calcium, protein, and fat for the future (perhaps rice milk). It’s not that common for simple changes to relieve relentless, longstanding problems. But when a child is made miserable by an allergy, removing the source can result in a rapid, dramatic improvement in the quality of life. I hope, Shannon, that this turns out to be the case with your son and that this next season his smiles double to make up for those he has missed. Food Allergies. Infant. Infant & Baby Feeding. Nutrition. Pee & Poop. Toddler. Dr. Greene is the founder of Dr. Greene. com (cited by the AMA as . He appears frequently in the media including such venues as the The New York Times, the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, & the Dr. Greene's Wellness Recommendations. Sign up now for a delightful weekly email with insights for the whole family. Greene's FREE Top 5 Wellness Tips For 2. Success! Now check your email to confirm your subscription.
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