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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Constipation In A 3 Year Old?

My three year old has not had a bowel movement in almost two weeks. I have cut out the dairy and sugars. She has had a lot of fruit, fiber, water, and apple juice, nothing has worked. Tonight I gave her two chewable pedia-law tablets. It has been four hours and she still has not shown any signs of having a bowel movement. Is this chronic constipation? Is there anything else I can try before calling my doctor?
posted on Fri, 14 Mar 2014
Twitter Fri, 5 Feb 2016 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 5 Feb 2016 Last reviewed on
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Emergency Medicine Specialist,  's  Response
Very good question. This seems to be a common issue among toddlers due to their picky diet. My main concern is that it was been 2 weeks since a bowel movement. At this point, you ruled out her diet. The next step is to try a laxative such as OTC Miralax. You can start by giving 1 tablespoon twice daily. It will take about 12 hours to see any results. If hat doesn't work, I would try a glycerin suppository. For kids, they come as liquid glycerin that you insert rectally. if it doesn't produce a stool within an hour, I would have her evaluated in the ER for a possible blockage. There they will have to possibly do a fleet enema or give some very strong medication to break it.

Let's cross our fingers and hope that the Miralax will work! Good luck!
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What Causes Constipation In A 3 Year Old?

Very good question. This seems to be a common issue among toddlers due to their picky diet. My main concern is that it was been 2 weeks since a bowel movement. At this point, you ruled out her diet. The next step is to try a laxative such as OTC Miralax. You can start by giving 1 tablespoon twice daily. It will take about 12 hours to see any results. If hat doesn t work, I would try a glycerin suppository. For kids, they come as liquid glycerin that you insert rectally. if it doesn t produce a stool within an hour, I would have her evaluated in the ER for a possible blockage. There they will have to possibly do a fleet enema or give some very strong medication to break it. Let s cross our fingers and hope that the Miralax will work! Good luck!