How to treat constipation in a 4-year-old baby

Babies are more likely to suffer from constipation when they are young, because many babies are fed with breast milk or formula. When they are about 4 years old, the food they eat is very similar to that of adults, but their gastrointestinal function is not particularly well developed. They may suffer from constipation due to drinking less water. So how to treat constipation in a four-year-old baby?

The first thing to do for infant constipation is to find out the cause. If the baby is breastfed and the constipation is caused by insufficient breast milk, the baby will often suffer from weight loss, crying after eating, etc. For this type of constipation, the symptoms of constipation will be relieved as long as the amount of milk is increased. Babies who are fed with milk are more prone to constipation, mostly because the casein content in milk is too high, which makes the stool dry and hard. In this case, you can reduce the amount of milk and increase the amount of sugar, that is, increase the sugar content of milk from the original 5-8% to 10-12%, and increase the amount of juice appropriately. For babies under 3 to 4 months old, you can add some milk cake to the milk. Because the carbohydrates in the milk cake can stimulate intestinal peristalsis and help defecation after being partially fermented in the intestines. For babies over 4 to 5 months old, complementary foods can be added appropriately. It is best to chop spinach, cabbage, greens, shepherd's purse, etc., put them into rice porridge and cook them together to make a variety of delicious vegetable porridge for the baby. The large amount of cellulose and other food residues contained in vegetables can promote intestinal peristalsis and achieve the purpose of laxative. In addition, complementary foods contain a large amount of B vitamins, which can promote the recovery of intestinal muscle tension and are very helpful for defecation. If the above dietary adjustments do not help with infant constipation, you can give the baby honey water to drink. That is, you can feed the baby honey water regularly or put honey in milk, which will have a better effect. You can also eat some plantains, which can have a short-term bowel-moistening and laxative effect. In addition, castor oil is also a good laxative. Babies can eat it when they are constipated, 5 to 10 ml each time, and it has a significant laxative effect. Soybean oil can also be used as a substitute, but it must be boiled and cooled before consumption. 5 to 10 ml each time is enough.

2. Training bowel habits: Babies can be trained to have regular bowel movements from 3 to 4 months old. Because intestinal motility speeds up after eating, the urge to defecate often occurs, so it is generally advisable to let children defecate after eating. This will establish a conditioned reflex of defecation and achieve twice the result with half the effort.

3. Drug treatment: If the above methods do not work for infant constipation, you can use enema to relieve constipation. Enemas mainly contain glycerin and sorbitol, which can stimulate the intestines and have a laxative effect. Please note when using it. After the enema is injected into the anus, parents should clamp the buttocks on both sides with their hands to allow the enema liquid to remain in the intestines for a while, and then let the child defecate. This will have a good effect. At home, you can also use a soap head to insert it into the child's anus, which also has a laxative effect.