Adding Mineral Oil to Diet to Soften Stool - Children's Health Message Board

DeeDeeWith3 · 06-11-2003, 12:51 PM

My 3 year old hods in his poop due to previous hard and painful passage of stools, and therefore holding it isn for days has made it even harder to pass. My ped's recommendation was to add 2 tsp.s of mineral oil daily for about 6-8 weeks to get him to have softer more easier to pass stools, along with diet changes, namely increased fiber, wheat breads, pasta, crackers, fresh fruits, and increase ogf fluids, as we all know.

Has anyone had sucess with adding mineral oil for this problem? Do the kids like the taste of it, or is this gonna be another struggle? Also, can vitamins add to harder stools?

mommajessibelle · 06-11-2003, 09:32 PM

i had to do this with my oldest child and it really does help my daughter didnt really have a problem drinking it i put in her sippy cup with milk and mixed very very very good im not sure if your child is potty trained or not but all i can say is once that stuff takes effect watch out my daughter was still in diapers when we did it with her because her b/m's were so herd she wouldnt go and when she did she would just cry and cry and cry it didnt matter what we gave her to eatbut it would fill the diapers out the legs out the top front and back so just watch out it may not be the same for all but that is my experiance with it my daughter is now 4.5 and eats prunes she just loves them it is something we started giving her when she was younger kinda instead of fruitsnacks and that really seems to help the problem but if she doesnt eat them then the problem comes back for some reason and the dr isnt really sure why i wish you luck

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mother of 3
ages 4,3,and 1
my pride and joy

live life to its fullest you never know when it may be to late to do all the things you would have done tomorrow

DeeDeeWith3 · 06-12-2003, 03:36 PM

Thanks momma for the reply. He just turned 3 and is not trained yet. I hope the mineral oil helps. I cannot see him cry so much and rip his poor rectum open. He still eats fruits(prunes and apricots) and vegs in the jar. I know it's sounds strange but I cannot get them into him otherwise. You would think he be able to go from eating them. I really do think his fluid intake is poor. He never liked a bottle either...this kid just does not drink!!

mommajessibelle · 06-12-2003, 04:33 PM

i had the same problem with the drinking with my second child so i went to walmart and got cups with lids that had differt kinds of straws and were different shapes so it made it fun for him to drink it seemed to help a little bit you might want to give that a try too

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mother of 3
ages 4,3,and 1
my pride and joy

live life to its fullest you never know when it may be to late to do all the things you would have done tomorrow

mlgable · 06-13-2003, 07:52 AM

The suggestions offered are great since it does mix well with milk. In addition to adding the mineral oil why not try giving him prune juice to drink daily or adding prunes, raisins or dried fruit to snack on as these are also natural laxative type foods. Stay away from applesauce, rice, bananas, white bread and pasta since these are constipating foods. Good Luck.