pox blocked tear duct; Fever; Glands, swollen; Sinusitis: Sore throat: Tonsillitis Constipation SYMPTOMS • Hard, dry stools • Stools larger in diameter than usual • Pain during bowel movements • Red blood on or around stools • Abdominal cramps • Loss of appetite HOME CARE For immediate, temporary relief: • Use a glycerine suppository or give an enema. For longterm cure: • Include more roughage in your child's diet (fruits, vegetables, and unrefined grains). • Give your child fewer constipating foods, such as milk and milk products. (Check with your physician to ensure that your child's diet is nutritionally adequate, however.) PRECAUTIONS • Do not give laxatives to a child unless recommended by your doctor. • Do not use enemas, suppositories, or laxatives on a regular basis. They are habitforming. • Do not assume that a child is constipated if bowel movements do not occur daily. Constipation is hardness of the stools; it has nothing to do with the number of bowel movements. Normal, healthy children may have several bowel movements a day or only several a week. • If a child becomes constipated during toilet training, stop training efforts. Constipation is a condition in which the stools (bowel movements) are too hard. The function of the colon (large intestine) is to store unabsorbed food waste and to absorb and hold water from the liquid material received from the small intestine. If the colon absorbs too much water, the stools become hard. The frequency of bowel movements is not a factor in constipation. Passage of six toofirm stools a day is considered constipation. Passage of one normal or soft stool every third or fourth day is not constipation. Many normal, healthy children have a bowel movement only every few days and are not constipated. The hardness of a stool is judged by appearance and by diameter. A stool greater than twice the usual diameter is probably too hard. In more than 95 percent of cases, constipation is not caused by any physical abnormality. In such cases, constipation can usually be cured by changes in the diet or by using medications that soften the stools. In children, there are two common causes of constipation. The first is that the diet does not include enough roughage, which holds water in the stools. Foods that prevent constipation are all fruit juices and all fruits (particularly those eaten with the skin on) except bananas: all vegetables, especially if eaten raw, except peeled potatoes; and unrefined grains (wholegrain cereals and breads). If constipation occurs during toilet training, stop training efforts. The second common cause of constipation in children is that the child is resisting the normal impulse to move the bowels. (This often occurs when parents put too much pressure on the child during toilet training.) As a result, the colon continues to absorb water from the retained stools, which then become too hard. As the stools become harder, bowel movements become painful. pox