Patient's question:
Little girl, 2 months old. After her full moon, she started having a bowel movement every 2 days, then every 3 days, then every 4 days. Today is the 5th day, and she still hasn't had a bowel movement. I am very worried about her.Please ask, which medicine is most effective for infant constipation—probiotics, Qixing tea, or any other medicine?
Doctor's answer:
There are many reasons that can cause constipation in children. The main ones are as follows:① Insufficient diet: When children eat too little, there is less residue in the intestines after digestion, leading to reduced bowel movements. Insufficient sugar in milk makes the stool dry; prolonged dietary insufficiency can lead to malnutrition, making the abdominal and intestinal muscles weak, resulting in insufficient tension and weak peristalsis, which causes stubborn constipation.
② Unsuitable food components: Constipation is closely related to the composition of food. If the diet is high in protein and low in carbohydrates, the relative amount of intestinal fermentation bacteria decreases, affecting fermentation and making the stool alkaline, dry, and leading to constipation. If the food contains a large amount of casein, the feces contain a high amount of insoluble calcium soaps, leading to increased fecal volume and easy constipation. Additionally, refined rice flour and refined wheat flour contain less residue than whole grains, making them more prone to constipation.