What is constipation?

Constipation is the condition of having difficult or absent bowel movements caused by hardened, dry stools or feces. The stools may become dry when too much water is absorbed in the colon or large intestine. This may occur when stool material is unusually dry to begin with, or if it moves too slowly through the colon.

Constipation should not be confused with the normal variability in infant stooling habits. Breast fed babies often may go a few days without passing stool.

What are the symptoms of constipation?

Your child may find it difficult or uncomfortable to pass stools. Straining, however, without hard stools can be normal in infants as the child learns to coordinate abdominal muscles and the anal sphincter.

Hard stools usually look like dark brown balls.

Older children may exhibit stool-holding behavior such as leg-crossing, buttock-tightening and pressing his bottom against a wall.

Passing hard stools occasionally will cause anal fissures, small tears in the skin, leading to small streaks of blood on the stools.

Home care

For infants, a reduced stool frequency can occur after weaning from the breast, adding cereal to the diet or advancing the diet to more complex foods (e.g., meats, vegetables, other cereals).

For toddlers, constipation can occur at or around the time of toilet-training.

New medications such as codeine (found in prescription cough syrups) can be constipating.

Increase fluids

Increase fruits and fiber for children eating solid foods.

For infants, try adding some corn syrup to the formula.

If the constipation is long-standing or does not respond to home therapies after two weeks, call our office for a regular appointment.

Warning signs - Call our office for advice if:

Your child has red, jelly-like stools, call our office now.

Your child has black tarry stools, call our office now.

Your child is vomiting, please refer to the vomiting in infants or vomiting in children pages.

Your child has predominantly right-sided abdominal pain, call our office now.

Your child is unable to pass stools for more than five days, call our office now.

Your child has a fever, please refer to the fever page.

You have any questions or concerns, or if you have any doubts about the severity of your child's symptoms, call our office now.