Hi
My 2.5 year old has recently been given some movicol to help with constipation and stool withholding. Hes been taking 1 sachet a day for a week now and the last few days has been passing sloppy type 6 stools. He also had alot of smelly wind. I am just wondering if this was normal so early on to make him that loose and give him bad wind.
I was expecting it to take a lot long and for us to need more than one sachet to loosen the stool
Any help welcome
Are you working on disimpacting him?
We aren't really working on disempaction as this has not been recommended by the Dr's at thi stage. We are taking one sachet once a day and on day 7 and he's had 3x type 6 stools.
As per the response from Eric - Charity, it sounds like you need to disimpact.
Hi Sorrento2 , its quite normal to see sloppy poo even on one sachet. Unfortunately it doesn't give you any idea how much poo there still is to come out. Have a look at the Parent's Guide to Disimpaction here: eric.org.uk/pdf-a-parents-g... on an increasing dose, keep going until you see rusty water with bits in, on two occasions, then reduce down to a maintenance dose. Make sure he's drinking 6-8 cups of water/diluted juice a day as well as the movicol. Once the movicol is mixed with 63ml water, you can add it to other drinks/food. Do get in touch with our Helpline if you need any support, you can call or complete a web enquiry form and select either a call back (there's a bit of a wait for a call back) or an email reply. Sarah
It's normal. The end result is that the poo is like rusty water the excess backed up poo needs to also come out. It can take a while for this issue to be solved though. For some anyway. The Dr should feel for poo regularly to make sure it's working. They can also show you how to do it. I do it myself it's just a way they show how to poke at the tummy. My way sounds less medical lol anyway if he's severely constipated he can have an enema they take a thin tube like thing push water up the bum and it should make it come out but that's the last resort. You can also have a camera put up the bum but if your sons poo is sloppy it's starting to work so don't worry. My son took ages for It to work as he was so backed up. Also accidents will happen more often but one or two a day isn't alot so he'll be fine. My Dr's left my son to late to help him to he ended up on 12 a day! It can give a bit of cramping at times. A small amount of Senna at night helps my son he's 6 now. But once a week I give him cod liver oil mixed into orange juice which also helps
I just wanted to add that movicol water isn't the same as normal water he needs his daily dose without fail as movicol can dehydrate you. Also ask to speak to the constipation clinic which is at my urgent care health centre but I don't know where it is for you but there are special teams trained on this issue. Lots and lots of fruit veg. Keep away from bread crackers etc no dry food like that. Pasta won't help either. His diet needs looking into. Oily fish will also help. But don't worry lots of kids have this issue
Thank you. This is helpful. Where are you based if you don't mind me asking as I haven't heard of constipation clinics. My Dr's haven't felt his tummy for a good year just gave the movicol over the phone. What things does your little one have if you minimise bread, crackers etc. My little one is fussy so eats these alot.
Sorrento2 Just to give you a bit of info re macrogol laxatives (movicol, cosmocol, laxido). These are the first line treatment for constipation, they aren't absorbed into the body at all and are completely safe. When poo is travelling through the bowel, the body naturally absorbs moisture from the poo.
The longer poo stays in the bowel, the harder and drier it gets.
With macrogol laxatives, the powder combines with the water to create molecules which are too big to be absorbed through the bowel wall, thus meaning that the water stays in the bowel. This is why you start to see the poo get sloppier, as the poo will absorb the laxative. The movicol will come out in the poo in exactly the same state as it went in to the body. It's important that your child continues to drink between 6-8 cups of water/squash a day, and that's because the movicol isn't absorbed, it can't be included in daily drinks.
A healthy, balanced diet of fruit, veg and fibre, good drinking and exercise can help to prevent constipation, but unfortunately wont treat it. See our eric.org.uk/advice-for-chil... for more information. Sarah
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