Medical Treatment

Treatment usually consists of educating parents about the cause of the constipation. It is important for the doctor to reassure parents that it is neither their fault nor the child's and that nothing is psychologically wrong. If fecal soiling is present, negative attitudes about the condition need to be removed.

• Treatment can begin after education. If a child has a large amount of hard stool present in the colon, disimpaction will need to be done. In other words, the stool needs to be removed. This is done using either oral or rectal medications, or a combination of both. The type of medication used also depends on the child's age and exact problem.
  
  
• After disimpaction, preventing the reaccumulation of hard stools is the key to maintaining good bowel habits. This usually has to be done with long-term medication.