Constipation can be described as difficulty in defecation, decreased stool frequency, very hard or difficult defecation, feeling pain while defecating. While stool frequency is 4-5 times a day in early childhood, it is 1-2 times a day in the adult period. falls.
In 90-95% of children with constipation, the problem is functional. Our families apply to us with the panic that my child has a problem in his intestines. There is a family history of constipation, low fiber diet habit, illness and medication use.
In the story; 1. Hard stools similar to goat dung in most defecations for at least two weeks, 2. Two or fewer hard stools per week for at least two weeks, 3. Enough to fill the toilet at once. (There should be no concomitant structural, endocrinological or metabolic disease)
When a careful history is taken in patients whose constipation starts in infancy, an initiating cause is found (drug use, diet change, febrile illness, dehydration, bed dependency, defecation due to any reason). pain) is detected, the child who feels pain during defecation delays pooping and the intestine absorbs the water in the poop, making the poop harder and more painful. As a result, with a vicious circle, defecation becomes almost impossible and very painful. Most of these children have anal fissures, and bleeding can be seen drop by drop or smeared with defecation. These children squat down, tense their legs and cry to the side in an effort to contain poop. Although families consider these movements as an effort to defecate, these movements are an effort to contain poop.
If constipation continues for a long time, the rectum expands and becomes a mega-rectum. It may be necessary to ensure that the ampulla part of the rectum regains its former form with regular mechanical bowel evacuations. The basic principle in treatment and follow-up is to soften the stool, regulate bowel movements, and the most difficult part is to make the child forget the fear that he will suffer while defecating.
Treatment:
1- Local cleaning and hygiene with warm sitz baths will accelerate the healing of anal fissure.
2- Emptying the bowels mechanically
3-Regulating bowel movements and softening the stool
4-To relieve the feeling of pain and fear
5- Following dietary recommendations
Constipating foods;
1. Banana
2. Pastries, white bread
3. Rice plav
4. Potato, carrot
5. Apple juice, quince, chestnut
6.Fast food
7. Cola caffeinated drinks, acidic and carbonated drinks
8. Cow’s milk (pudding, cheesecake, rice pudding, etc. unfermented dairy products)
9. Delicatessen products (Sausage, salami, sausage, pastrami)
10 .Spicy meatballs, offal
Recommended foods;
1. Cabbage, purslane, celery, leek, okra, artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower, beans, zucchini,
fibrous vegetables such as cucumber
2. Legumes (Dried beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas)
3. Flaxseed
4. Whole wheat flour, rye flour, oat flour, corn flour (whole wheat flour is recommended for younger children.)
5. Apple, pear, plum, apricot, grape, peach, Fruits such as cherries with their skins
6. Extra virgin olive oil,
Constipation is not destiny, it is a disease that requires patience, is treatable, and whose doctor is the mother.
