Help for 8yr old with chronic gas

[DanaMarie]

Hi

My 8r old ds suffers from chronic gas I am looking for ways to help him get passed this. I know diet has a lot to do with it but I need a way to help him in spite of not having the best diet. He is a big milk drinker so I'm wondering if he may be mildly lactose intolerant. I was thinking that adding some acidophilus daily may help and I guess some type of system flush. I really have no clue really what to do or what supplements may help.

Any advice is greatly appreciated
Thanks
Dana

[amyjeans]

Hi Dana,
I agree it is the diet- but my 7 yr old girl has bad gas sometimes and does not consume any dairy whatsoever.
I find foods that stay a long time in the gut/intestines have a greater chance to create bacteria and then gas.
Lots of foods can cause gas, but the big culprit is gluten in our family- that's why we are off gluten for one thing. (sometimes we cheat on our diet...and suffer!) But we eat lots of broccoli- and it give us some gas.
You might want to keep a diary of everything he eats and drinks normally and then research each food- is it a trigger or not.
I know fiberous foods, like fruit help move the bowels faster, and get the food out before fermentation! Know what I mean?
I'm no scientist, but this is just what we have learned.
We do Natural Calm each day, and that helps them relax and poop more regularly. I have learned that on a healthy diet, you should poop about 12 hrs after each meal. So breakfast should be coming after dinner, dinner comes the next morning.
does that make sense?
hope I helped a bit.

[Naturopath Mom]

You could try digestive enzymes, they will help him better digest his food. I would expect that to be the best thing to help without diet changes.

In peace & health
Kimberly

[Panserbjorne]

I always tend to go for homeopathy....but for that to be effective I'd need to know more-does the gas get trapped? Is it painful? Is it moving and just excessive?

Beyond that, digestive enzymes would be my first thought along with castor oil packs if you didn't want to address diet at all. You can even add dill or fennel seeds in with the pack for digestive comfort. Best of luck!

[Learning_Mum]

Gluten is bad for making me bloated and gassy. I've only been gluten free for a few weeks but I never realised how much it effected me. If I slip now and have something with gluten in it I almost immediately feel really bloated and heavy and uncomfortable.

I've basically just given up bread etc but you can buy / make lots of gluten free alternatives for him. If it is gluten you will notice improvement within a few days.