Children’s constipation and other bowel issues
As soon as you become a parent, you seem to spend an awful lot of time discussing your child’s bodily functions! Especially wee and poo.
Babies tummies are the perfect place to blow a raspberry. However when children have issue with their bowels, this can lead to real pain and discomfort.
Here are 3 common bowel ailments and what to do about them:
- Constipation
Children should normally be doing a poo at least once a day. If she hasn’t been for a few days or if she is complaining of a stomach ache, constipation may be the cause. The 3 F’s are the best way to alleviate constipation – Fluid, Fibre and Fitness.
Make sure that she is drinking plenty of fluid to help soften the stools and ease their passage through the bowels. High fibre foods add bulk to the stools and help to stimulate the stool moving forwards through the bowel. Examples are sweetcorn, baked beans, peas, bran flakes, plums, berries, spinach etc. Finally, any kind of movement will help the bowels to move too. Walking, jumping, skipping, yoga – the list is endless!
Children’s constipation is different to adults as they are more likely to ‘hold on’ as they anticipate pain upon bowel movements. Conventional medicine uses laxatives such as lactulose or Movicol sachets. these are osmotic laxatives designed to pull water into the bowel to soften the stool. Make sure that your child has daily soft poos for at least 3 months before relaxing any dietary or fluid measures that you have put in place, so the ‘fear’ of pooing doesn’t become a factor.
- Diarrhoea and Vomiting
This is generally from eating something dodgy or a stomach bug. It can make your child feel very weak and lethargic. Rehydration salts made up to the correct solution really help here. They replace not only the fluids being lost but the salts and sugars too. Eating little and often is the best way for food to be absorbed and stay down. A bit of jam (no butter/margarine) on toast, cut into quarters is a good place to start. Encourage your child to take 1 bite of toast every 10mins. The remedy Ars alb in the Blue remedy kit is brilliant for food poisoning.
- Travel sickness
Travelling with young children presents its own challenges, quite apart from if they are ill too! Nausea is caused by an inconsistency between signals from what the eyes are telling the brain and other senses. For example, you may be watching the cars whizz past on the motorway, but your brain knows that you are physically sat still within the car.
Regular breaks are good, if possible. Looking at the horizon whilst on a boat and getting fresh air can help too. The remedy Nux vom in the Blue remedy kit is great for nausea.
Homeopathic remedies can provide quick, safe and natural relief from all these conditions. Having a Blue kit at home (or holiday!) is very handy. Learn about how to use the kit with confidence here.
