![]() ![]() Occasionally, constipation is considered “organic,” which means it is caused by celiac disease (gluten intolerance), hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid disease) or an abnormality in the nerve fibers of the gastrointestinal tract. Other times, a child may withhold at camp or school because they are uncomfortable or embarrassed using public toilets. In some cases, particularly in children between ages 2 and 5, they don’t go because they don’t want to interrupt playing, or they are exerting their own independence or control. Your child may withhold to avoid passing a hard stool, which can be painful and possibly exacerbated by a diaper rash. If a child refuses to have a bowel movement, it’s called withholding. Sometimes constipation has behavioral roots. Other causes include fluctuations in routine or an illness. This type of constipation may be related to changes in diet, including insufficient fiber or fluid. Most constipation is considered “functional,” meaning that there is no underlying condition that causes it, Dr. This condition is known as encopresis, and is not something your child can control, explains Dr. It may also lead to fecal soiling, which is caused by leakage of soft stool around a hard stool. As stool stays in the lower GI tract, it becomes larger, firmer, and drier, and therefore more difficult to pass. The introduction of solid foods to babies, potty training, and starting school are examples of times when constipation may arise.īut if a child’s constipation goes on for a long time and isn’t treated, it may worsen. “Constipation is extremely common in children, especially during times of transition, says Dr. A constipated child may have fewer bowel movements than is normal for him or her and/or the stool may also be hard, large, difficult or painful to pass. If a healthy child has normal stools without pain or discomfort every three days, then that is fine. Most children over the age of 2 have one to two bowel movements a day, but others may go two or three days or longer without one. With bowel habits, what’s normal for one child may be very different for another. “But if we can get families to plan good meals and make any other necessary changes, we can eradicate it.” “The problem is widespread and has a lot of implications on a child’s wellbeing, including school attendance if a child is ashamed because they have soiling problems caused by constipation,” notes Dr. According to Danya Rosen, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Yale Medicine, medication works quickly and can be helpful as a temporary solution, but “we are passionate about stressing the role dietary changes can make in establishing good health and regularity.”Īlmost one out of every 20 visits children make to the doctor are related to constipation, but Yale Medicine’s Nadia Ameen, MBBS, says she believes that as many as 50 to 75 percent of children's visits to a pediatric gastroenterologist are related to constipation. In the Pediatric Healthy Gut & Constipation Program at Yale Medicine, families work with specialists trained to treat children. Though it can be uncomfortable or painful, it is usually easy to treat and only temporary. ![]() For children, as with adults, constipation is characterized by either infrequent bowel movements or the passage of dry, hard stools.
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