child with constipation issues

kanded

I know some kids with autism or DS can hold it for days on end. I don't know if your child has a disability where that would be one of the problems.
Sometimes when a child has constipation for a long time, he will develop a blockage up in there that will cause an ongoing cycle of constipation. The laxatives will not be able to get the blockage out especially used inconsistently. You can take your child to get an X-ray, if he's full of poop(as no doubt he is) the dr can prescribe a dosage of a laxative that should remove the blockage. Such as propolyene glycol in a powder form that needs to be mixed with juice or water. You must drink lots of water with this and use exactly as the dr says if you go this route.
Sometimes kids will have diarrhea when taking this stuff, but that could be a false indicator: the blockage will not allow everything to come out so just little pieces and liquid come out making it look like diarrhea when actually he's still really constipated.
To truly get rid of the blockage, he must not drink milk or eat dairy for a couple weeks. Preferably switch to non-dairy milk on a permanent basis. Don't give fiber supplements, just fruit and veggies. No constipating foods such as potatoes or meats for 2 weeks.
Give plenty of water everyday and exercise everyday. (Helps stimulate the organs to work correctly)
Finally, there are other products you can use such as Dr. Schulz intestinal formula #3, which I give to my child. Its the only thing I like to give him because its natural herbs. The lactalose just gummed up his works. But you have to decide what is best for your child. When your child is having a bowel movement everyday, and it is soft and light colored, that is normal.
I've been through this many times, so I hope this helps!

KatieNK

My daughter is going through this. She will go a week to ten days! Her problem is she holds it because she is scared it will hurt. Miralax seems to have zero effect but we keep using it. Its a stool softener so maybe its helping soften things up.

I have started giving Phillips Milk of Magnesia every day and now she is finally going every few days. I think once she is on a regular schedule of at least every other day for a couple weeks, I will try to scale back on the MoM. Maybe she will be over her mental road block of it hurting.

My niece had it really bad, too, and her doctor had her on daily miralax and milk of magnesia as well. Also, she has to sit on the potty after every meal for 15 minutes (my sister let her take her ipad) and that helped the most.

Good luck!