Children at what age often suffer from constipation?

The article was professionally consulted by Dr. Le Thu Phuong - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

Young children are very susceptible to constipation. Monitoring the child's toilet daily is very important to be able to detect the child's condition early.

Usually there are 3 stages when children are most prone to constipation
The first is the transition from liquid to solid diet (weaning). The second stage is the time when the baby learns to sit on the potty alone (the age of walking). The last stage is the beginning of school (kindergarten, primary school).

Constipation is a condition in which bowel movements are infrequent, large, hard, painful, and difficult to pass along with fecal incontinence.
Children with constipation often show signs of anorexia. This not only affects children's daily life but also affects their physical and intellectual development later on. Because when children are anorexic, they will not be able to absorb nutrients such as essential vitamins and minerals.
When children are constipated for a long time, it will gradually lead to chronic when the child will have symptoms of pain, itching, even fresh blood in the stool. The cause of the above phenomenon is that when the stool becomes hard and large, it will rub against the anus to form cracks in the skin around the anus. Even, the disease will be more dangerous when those cracks become inflammatory foci or abscesses.
Besides, digestive disorders can occur when children are constipated, for example, diseases related to the gastrointestinal tract, colon such as colon disease,...
Especially, when children try to Straining or straining when unable to have a bowel movement will lead to the child developing internal hemorrhoids, external hemorrhoids, or some combination of the two. This is a painful, itchy disease that can even cause bleeding.

Always monitor the child's toilet daily. Advise children not to go outside. Implement a diet rich in green vegetables, encourage children to drink lots of water. Actively let children participate in outdoor physical activities, avoid letting them sit for too long. Especially when parents detect abnormal signs in children such as pain in the anal area when having bowel movements, hemorrhoids, anal fissures accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue, fear of cold, weight loss, loss of appetite, fever , bloody diarrhea, ... it is best to take the child to a medical facility for examination, diagnosis and appropriate treatment. In order to limit the child's constipation as well as the use of antibiotics, parents should pay attention to the diet to improve the child's resistance. At the same time, supplementing with supporting foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins, etc., helps support the immune system, strengthens resistance so that children are less sick and less likely to have digestive problems.
Parents can learn more:
Why do you need to supplement Lysine for your baby?
The role of zinc - Guidelines for reasonable zinc supplementation
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