Patient's question:
For three days, he has been given other food. The previous treatment and its effects: Three days ago, Laxative was used, and one dose of Care was also used. What kind of assistance is needed: Treating the infant for constipation...Doctor's answer:
Infant constipation is a common condition, referring to hard, infrequent bowel movements, sometimes accompanied by difficulty defecating. Simple constipation is often caused by excessive absorption of water and electrolytes in the colon.Medical Advice: Traditional Chinese Medicine believes that chronic constipation is primarily due to insufficient body fluids and dry intestines, and treatment focuses on nourishing yin and moisturizing the intestines. For mild cases, single-seed apricot kernel (Yuli Ren) can be used: chew 3-5 seeds at a time, 1-2 times daily, or every other day. For more severe cases, San Ren Wan (equal parts of Trichosanthes kirilowii seeds, Yuli Ren, and fire hemp seeds, made into dense pills, each weighing 3g) is commonly used: 1 pill at a time, 1-2 times daily. For younger children, the dosage should be doubled. Older children can take Mahen Zishi Wan, 1-2 pills daily, and stop after bowel movement.
Other Therapies: For infants, magnesium hydroxide can be given before bedtime at a dose of 0.5-1ml/kg, or liquid paraffin at 0.5ml/kg. These two drugs can also be mixed into a compound solution to prevent leakage from the rectum. The above medications can be alternated for 3-5 days, with a special emphasis on morning bowel training. To avoid aspiration, petroleum jelly should not be used in infants. Phenolphthalein (3mg/kg) can also be given before bedtime for children.
For acute constipation or fecal impaction, glycerin and sorbitol suppositories (Kao Sai Lu) can be used at 5-10ml to stimulate the rectum for defecation. At home, small soap sticks can be inserted into the infant’s rectum to facilitate bowel movement. Alternatively, a small finger can be gloved with rubber and coated with a tiny amount of petroleum jelly or (petrolatum) to insert into the rectum. Enema methods are forceful and may lead to habituation, so they are not typically used unless necessary.
Lifestyle Management: If feces remain in the colon for too long, excessive water absorption can occur, making the stool excessively dry and causing difficulty in defecation. If no bowel movement occurs for more than two days, it can be suspected as constipation.