Constipation in Children (cont.)

Medical Author:

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD

Robert Ferry Jr., MD, is a U.S. board-certified Pediatric Endocrinologist. After taking his baccalaureate degree from Yale College, receiving his doctoral degree and residency training in pediatrics at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA), he completed fellowship training in pediatric endocrinology at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

Constipation in Children Symptoms

Generally, if a child has fewer than three bowel movements per week, and the stools are hard or painful to pass, he or she may have constipation.

• Children often exhibit characteristic behaviors while trying to keep from having a bowel movement.
  
  
  • Infants having painful bowel movements may extend their legs and squeeze their anal and buttock muscles to prevent passage of stool.
    
    
  • Toddlers often rise up on their toes, rock back and forth, and hold their legs and buttocks stiffly.
  
  
• Some medications can make children more likely to be constipated. Common contributors include over-the-counter cold medications and antacids. Antidepressants, anticonvulsants, chemotherapy medications, or narcotic pain medications (such as codeine) can also constipate.
  
  
• Other signs that children are constipated
  
  
  • Vague abdominal pain around the navel (belly button) or even severe attacks of abdominal pain
    
    
  • Decreased appetite, nausea, or vomiting
    
    
  • Urinary incontinence, frequent urination, or bedwetting
    
    
  • Reappearing urinary tract infections