constipation

Symptoms And Treatments Of Constipation In Children

Children enjoy eating snacks, drinking little or no water and almost never finishing the vegetable from the plate. While it is normal to indulge once in awhile and when you allow your child to have fun snacks such as pizza and hot dogs it is essential you know that lack of fiber and water is what causes constipation in children. Children often hold from going to the bathroom if they are playing and that can cause constipation in children as well.

Symptoms Of Constipation In Children

It is extremely important to monitor your child's stool habits and also discuss them, as he gets older so he or she will be able to tell you if they are not normal and show signs of constipation. Common symptoms of constipation in children are stomach ache, nausea, headaches and vomiting.

Depending on how old you child is you can monitor yourself or ask him or her about the hardness of the stool and if he or she has difficulty, hurts, or the anus bleeds when passing it. One or all the symptoms may be present and they all stem from constipation disorder. Usually constipation in children is not a very serious matter and it can be easily corrected through the following treatments.

Treatments For Constipation In Children

The first thing you need to do is ensure that your child has in increased amount of fiber foods such as, spinach or broccoli and fruits such as raisins, prunes or figs as well as plenty of plain water. Children can get dehydrated very fast when they play because the activity is often intense and the body looses its fluids fast and when they are not replenished it will get dehydrated.

If the constipation is not corrected in a few days consult the doctor for further examination and treatment. Do not administer laxatives to your child without the prior consultation with the doctor, as they are habit forming and you may cause your child more harm then benefit. Other natural ways to combat constipation is massaging the stomach with baby oil preferably in circular motions and mint tea.

Helpful Tip

Talk to your child when he or she is old enough about the importance of eating vegetables and fruits as well as drinking water and not fizzy drinks. Usually children don't like having healthy foods because they don't like the taste so, if you can create tasty and fun dishes out of the vegetables and fruits, you will find your child enjoying them more often and also staying healthy and regular always.