Pediatric Chronic Constipation: Many Causes, Including GI Physiology

The causes of pediatric chronic constipation are many and may involve, among other things, complex interactions in the child’s GI physiology as well as type of foods ingested as too expectations of the parents. Though most cases of pediatric chronic constipation tend to be functional it is nevertheless essential that organic etiology be ruled out at the very outset.

Difficulty In Passing Stool

Constipation leads to having difficulties in passing stool; fortunately, a number of different options present them in regard to treating this condition. Chronic constipation medication is one option that should be considered and a good example of such medications is malt soup extract that though it comes with an odor that is unpleasant can still provide suitable results.

Pediatric chronic constipation may not be quite as common as ordinary constipation amongst children but it is nevertheless a problem that needs to be addressed seriously. In fact, toddlers that are no more than twenty-two months old will start to suffer from constipation and in addition, the symptoms are even noticed when the child is younger than six months old. There is however no gender indisposition in regard to pediatric chronic constipation cases though boys in pre-puberty age are more likely to suffer from the disease than girls.

Once the child has passed puberty, girls will then become thrice as likely to suffer from pediatric chronic constipation as compared to boys; and, parents with constipation problems are more likely to pass on the disease to their children as compared to parents that don’t have a constipation problem.

Pediatric chronic constipation also affects children that are overweight and in fact obesity as well as functional constipation is common reasons for this condition. The sad truth is that pediatric chronic constipation amongst overweight children impairs the quality of their lives and much literature has also been written that spell out the ill effects of being obese.

Obesity is without a doubt, a major concern amongst US children and adolescents and even in many other developed nations. If the child’s BMI index has a score of more than eighty-five percentile there is big risk of the child becoming a victim of pediatric chronic constipation.

Another worrying aspect to pediatric chronic constipation is that it can lead to physical hurting which will even impede the child’s normal ability to cope with everyday situations. A child that is suffering from pediatric chronic constipation will not be able ‘to go’ and this will lead him or her to withdraw from the company of others; worse still, they will be hesitant in talking about their problems with others (including parents) and this will cause them much unnecessary anguish.