Swelling and extreme discomfort caused by constipation?

[carmen358]

DD suffers from what I would call mild to moderate constipation. Some prune juice usually helps her out and she doesn't normally go longer than 2 days without a bm. She does cry and strain most times she goes and there has been a bit of blood a few times but our GP had a look awhile ago and said she is fine and to just continue with what we were doing.

Anyway, my question isn't really about how to help her constipation but more about what happened last night. We were up most of the night with her "jumping" and twitching her legs and almost hopping on her butt very strongly when we sat her up. She tried pushing a few times to have a bm but couldn't go it seemed. She was in extreme discomfort and even nursing wasn't helping (and nursing helps everything usually!). We did a belly massage, tried a bath, fed her more prunes, some natural gripe water but none of it helped. This morning after getting up she finally had a bm, didn't cry too much but strained. It was quite soft but a lot (she hadn't gone in 2 days) and there was no blood. However, there was a small red swollen bump right above her anus. When we did the next diaper change the bump had gone down but her whole diaper area seemed puffy and very red.

Any ideas? I'm very worried as I've never seen her in such discomfort before.

[Greenlea]

You mean her skin was puffy and red?  This has happened to my son on a couple occassions.  We started giving him probiotics as he also had a yeast rash before that, so we suspected his poop may be acidic or something changed due to the yeast.  I would try probiotics, which can help with the constipation too.  Just check at your local health food store.  I find it strange your doc thinks this is okay, especially since it seems she is in discomfort.  I would assume that if the child is eating solids, they should be going at least once a day, if not once a day, it should be at least without all that strain. 

My pediatrician didn't like that my baby wasn't going more so she did a quick pressure point on the back of his neck to try to loosen the muscles, as the vega nerve is there which controls bowel movements.  If she's having that much trouble, I would maybe try a chiropractor, as they can do the same at the neck/nerve site and maybe help.

It could also be due to a food you're giving her that she cannot digest or even a food allergy.  Maybe she is lactose intolerant - that is a big issue in a lot of kids.  I would try cutting out dairy too.

[carmen358]

Yeah, I find it annoying that my GP wasn't concerned. She's an amazing doc and we're lucky to have her but I just feel like this is more than "all babies/toddlers get constipation and she'll grow out of it." I've talked to a few moms irl and they all shrugged and said yeah, my little one did that. I do not think it's normal at all. So, we've been dealing with it on our own. We did the chiro thing, do probiotics every day, both DD and I are currently dairy free, soy free and gluten free (I have a gluten intolerance). We avoid constipating foods and try and offer more friendly foods. The constipation has actually improved recently! So yeah, we're dealing with that problem as much as we can at this point.

I am more concerned about the apparent swelling in her diaper area and the almost involuntary, almost violent movements of her legs. It didn't happen today at all but happened tonight while in the bath. She then passed gas and was fine. I had a thought that maybe she has hemorrhoids?? I think she's too young to avoid going on purpose isn't she?? I put epsom salts in her bath most nights to soothe anyway.

[MsFortune]

It's somewhat normal for kids to go a while without pooping.  DS went 7 days once.  

I don't know what the bump is, but I agree with your doc, that the not pooping this is very normal and not concerning.  

[Greenlea]

Originally Posted by MsFortune 

It's somewhat normal for kids to go a while without pooping.  DS went 7 days once.  

I don't know what the bump is, but I agree with your doc, that the not pooping this is very normal and not concerning.  

I'm sorry but I don't think its normal.  Its not normal for our bodies to keep a week's worth of poop (and I'm not talking about BF babies here but kids who eat solids) inside.  To me it screams something is wrong with our guts if that happens.  It's not normal for an adult if that happens so I don't see why it would be normal for a child.  And its especially not normal if they are pooping with such strain.

To the OP I'm glad you are on top of ways to help with the constipation.  As far as the straining in the tub, gas can be painful too so maybe its just her way to dealing with the pain?  I'm not sure...

[carmen358]

As I said, I don't think it's normal either. We haven't had another night like that night and the swelling/bump is gone now. I guess it was just because she was straining so much during the night.

I had started taking chinese herbs a couple of days before and I'm pretty sure that may have caused the gas pains (I had them too!). I've stopped the herbs for now.

Thanks for your response :)