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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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Suggest Treatment For Constipation

My 34 month old has been suffering from severe constipation for the last 10 months. After a few visits to his pediatrician and changing his diet ( adding fiber, fluids, trying apples, prunes, gluten free, dairy free, and now mostly vegetarian ) we convinced her to let us see a specialist. The gastroenterologist did an x-ray of his abdomen and said he was completely backed up ( he sometimes goes a week or even almost 2 weeks without a good sized BM ). We had to give him magnesium citrate and enemas to clean him out. The mag citrate worked but was torture to give to him and caused him to get a terrible, yeasty diaper rash. Since then I've treated him for a Candida overgrowth, been giving him magnesium, a multivitamin and probiotics daily, along with either Miralax or another herbal laxative, which have worked well. He'll go up to a month having good BMS every day ( sometimes 2-3 per day ) but then will go a few days or more with none again. For the last week and a half I gave him everything as listed above, minus the Miralax and he's been doing great. Now the last 3 days he has had only tiny BMs. My mother in law was just diagnosed with a tortuous colon, and her father has one as well. Could this be my son's problem as well? If so, how is it diagnosed/treated in a toddler?
Fri, 20 Oct 2017
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General Surgeon 's  Response
Hi and welcome to Healthcaremagic. Thank you for your query. I understand your concerns and I will try to help you as much as I can.
Constipation may be caused by several issues, however you should try first with changing lifestyle and dietary habits. You need to increase fiber intake. Good fiber sources include bran and other whole grains found in cereals, breads, and brown rice, vegetables such as brussels sprouts, carrots, and asparagus, Fresh fruits, or dried fruits such as raisins, apricots, and prunes Beans. Also, you should exercise regularly. Moving your body will keep your bowels moving, too. Second, you may at times need to try a laxative such as Fleet Phospho-Soda, Milk of Magnesia, or glycerin suppositories. If there wont be improvement on these measures, you should consider doing diagnostic tests such as colonoscopy, anal sphincter manometry and food allergy testing. In some cases it may be also sign of tumors so it should be ruled out if symptoms persist.
I hope I have answered you query. If you have any further questions you can contact us in every time.
Kindly regards. Wish you a good health.
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Suggest Treatment For Constipation

Hi and welcome to Healthcaremagic. Thank you for your query. I understand your concerns and I will try to help you as much as I can. Constipation may be caused by several issues, however you should try first with changing lifestyle and dietary habits. You need to increase fiber intake. Good fiber sources include bran and other whole grains found in cereals, breads, and brown rice, vegetables such as brussels sprouts, carrots, and asparagus, Fresh fruits, or dried fruits such as raisins, apricots, and prunes Beans. Also, you should exercise regularly. Moving your body will keep your bowels moving, too. Second, you may at times need to try a laxative such as Fleet Phospho-Soda, Milk of Magnesia, or glycerin suppositories. If there wont be improvement on these measures, you should consider doing diagnostic tests such as colonoscopy, anal sphincter manometry and food allergy testing. In some cases it may be also sign of tumors so it should be ruled out if symptoms persist. I hope I have answered you query. If you have any further questions you can contact us in every time. Kindly regards. Wish you a good health.