My 1yo twins are having trouble with their poop, first one and now the other. They try and strain all day long, often with no result. And there have been days when their straining ends with tears. We've been to the GP twice and his recommendations is to try and fix it with diet (a daily dose of figs, prunes & dried apricots, plus water where ever possible). Failing that, the medications he suggested were first Coloxyl, which didn't work, and next Parachoc, which is my next step if I can't fix it with diet.

I am trying everything I can to fix this with diet - they eat fibre cereal mixed with water and a little prune juice, 1-2 decent servings of fruit at each meal (one of which is the concoction mentioned above), and I use water to mash vegies. I also try to keep foods that can contribute to constipation to a minimum.

The only problem I face is that they are not fantastic water drinkers - it's not that they don't like it or can't use their cup, they just find it fun to suck whatever beverage I give them (with the exception of milk) out of their cups and spit it everywhere. This is a habit that has been going on for months and no amount of ignoring it has deterred them - this phase won't end! During this game they do actually consume some water, and given everything else I'm trying in their diet I would've thought the amount they are getting is enough. But none of this is helping.

I am yet to try the Parachoc but obviously that can't be a long term solution. My GP says that if none of his suggestions work so far my next stop is a pediatric assessment. I'm really hoping it won't need that - has anyone else experienced this and has any tips that I haven't yet tried?

i was giving coloxyl to my DD and when I saw the pediatrician he told me that you actually can give it to your child as often as you like, as it is just a stool softener. I gave it to my daughter with every bottle, as she was 4 months at the time and I would give her a bit extra than the .3 mls. He said if I gave her too much it would just make her poo runny and not cause her any issues.
I know you have tried coloxyl, but it you were going by the directions on the packet it might be worthwhile to look at trying again, but giving more this time.

Thank you, but I was giving the maximum dose for over a week with no result before going back to the GP.

Talk to your GP about trying lactulose. Its the only thing that worked for me while I was pregnant, and the only thing that worked for DD2 when she was 7 months old (we had to use 3 times the maximum dosage which we were told was safe by our GP)



Good luck!

Are they constipated if so how long for?

With the fibre, fibre only works if they are getting enough water. Otherwise it effectively blocks their gut. If they aren't drinking enough water - that may be causing more of a problem. I would be giving a lot of puree fruit - maybe those rafferty sachets. The thing is, diet only works if its the beginning of the problem. If it has been a while then their bowel may be full of hard poo that needs softening. Soft poo may go around it. Diet won't do a lot at this stage. I would be holding back on the fibre cereal until you get them drinking enough water. give lots of water, fruit puree. I would be EXTREMELY hesitant in giving parachoc to a 1 yr old. On the package it also says not to be given to a kid under 2 without docs permission. It can cause a lot of problems if they get it in their lungs. You could try kefir and coconut oil. Suppositorys are very good at getting things moving quickly if they have been blocked for a while but you want to soften their poo first.

basically, I would stop the fibre cereal and up the water and all the fruits he suggested. Cows milk can cause constipation too. Don't give things like white bread or chips. If you are breastfeeding give them that or water. If that doesn't loosen everything in a couple of days then I would be going to the chemist to speak to a pharmacist to ask about an alternative to parachoc. The coloxyl may work if they are getting enough water. You could use that and then a suppository. I think that is preferable to parachoc which they can become reliant on. That way they would be cleared out and you could then alter their diet to prevent it from happening again.

[quote name='OC1246' date='07 February 2012 - 05:46 PM' timestamp='1328600769' post='3140736'] Are they constipated if so how long for? Thank you so much for all this info. I don't think they're actually constipated, it's coming out every 1-2 days and doesn't seem dry (although not super soft either). It just seems to take an all day effort (or more) that some days has been causing them distress and discomfort. When it arrives it's big! Your advice makes a lot of sense, thank you so much, I really didn't know some of these things - and would've thought my doctor would talk me through them.... They don't often have white bread and have never had chips. And I will try cutting the cereal for a while to see if that helps. They've only recently turned 1 and so haven't been drinking cows milk for long (no longer breast feeding). I asked my doctor if this might be the cause but he didn't think so. If this is part of the problem, what would you recommend instead?