On a forum for childhood constipation, a mom recently posted: My daughter has been struggling with constipation for 6 years now, and I have been to a lot of doctors. Now I have an appt. with a new GI doctor, and I want to eliminate each and every thing that may cause constipation. What kind of blood work and exams should I ask for to find out the reason for her constipation? I hear this a lot! I specialize in treating children with enuresis (bedwetting and daytime wetting) and encopresis (poop accidents), and virtually all of my patients prove, via x-ray, to be severely constipated. These kids are so stuffed with stool that their rectums have stretched to more than twice the normal diameter.
Two emails this week raised so many good questions — about limiting water before bedtime, waking a child overnight, staying hopeful in the face of no progress, handling encopresis relapses, and more — that I am posting them here, in hopes my answers will help guide your child's treatment. My bottom-line advice with regard to enuresis and encopresis: 1.) act aggressively, 2.) act immediately, and 3.) don’t cut treatment short! Avoiding enemas and delaying or limiting treatment won’t resolve accidents and will only serve to prolong your family’s distress. Question: Our smart, 7-year-old son has never had control of his nighttime peeing and needs two nighttime diapers simultaneously to stay dry
Let’s say your 2-year-old has red, swollen gums and brown spots on her teeth. No dentist on the planet is going to say, “Well, she’s in the early stages of tooth decay, but eh, don’t sweat it. Try cutting down a bit on the sugar.” No way! Instead, the dentist will sound the alarm about oral hygiene and sugary drinks and explain that left unchecked, decay in baby teeth can lead to decay in adult teeth, infection, and all sorts of long-term problems. But if your 2-year-old shows up at the doctor with just-as-obvious signs of constipation? If she’s writhing and howling, pushing so hard that sometimes her stool is bloody? If she goes days without pooping and then cranks out a hard, dry, adult-si
