Parents should not underestimate persistent constipation

Constipation is a common disease in children. Children with constipation will have symptoms such as having a bowel movement after 3 days, big and hard feces, irritability and crying when they have a bowel movement, sometimes blood is present. When the baby is constipated, the baby is still functioning almost normally, so parents may not pay much attention to their child's constipation problem. This leads to prolonged constipation without being recognized and treated properly, causing unpredictable consequences in the future.

Long-term consequences of constipation:

• Intestinal obstruction: Stools that stay in the intestine for a long time are dry and hard, which can cause intestinal obstruction. 
• Toxic colitis: stools that stay in the intestine for a long time will produce toxins, causing enteritis - recurrent colitis
• Inflammation of fissure anus, hemorrhoids, rectal prolapse: Due to long-term constipation, the stool becomes dry and hard. The child has to push a lot to pass the bowels causing inflammation of the anus, the desert of the anus. The blood vessels in the anus are under great pressure while having a bowel movement for a long time, resulting in dilatation of the blood vessels forming hemorrhoids. Which can cause massive bleeding or prolonged oozing, causing anemia, pain when having a bowel movement in adulthood
• Anorexia, growth retardation: Many children go to see doctors because of anorexia and growth retardation, but it turns out the cause is prolonged constipation. Prolonged constipation causes intestinal failure, bloating makes the baby doesn’t want to eat and chronic malnutrition. 
• Loss of bowel reflexes: Prolonged constipation makes the baby lost bowel reflexes. stasis in the intestine causes abdominal recurrent pain, increases the risk of colon cancer in the future.
• Stool holding behavior: When your baby often has pain during bowel movements, he will afraid of bowel and want to hold back. It causes the stool to stay stagnant for longer, becoming harder and severe constipation. This creates a vicious spiral that makes constipation difficult to treat.
• Psychological effects: Prolonged constipation affects the baby's temperament making them uncomfortable and irritable.​

If your baby has suspected symptoms of constipation, take them to see the doctor for early detection and prompt treatment in order to prevent the effects of prolonged constipation on physical health and mental health.

----