Our award-winning paediatric childhood constipation service supports parents who need help in managing their child with constipation, who may not have responded to medication for a period of more than 3 months. Many children have withholding behaviours to prevent them from passing poo and are too young to know they need to poo. This often means that this can’t be remedied by diet, fluids and exercise.
Our service includes a 3-hour group education clinic for parents and carers to learn strategies for dealing with childhood constipation to help manage this on a daily basis. Sessions include recognising the signs and symptoms of constipation, supporting children with toileting difficulties; and coping with constipation and this can be managed. Group sessions are followed up, if required, by an individual telephone consultation.
The clinic take place at Darent Valley Hospital. There is no charge for the clinic but all places need to be booked in advance.
Alternatively, our new childhood constipation film provides a step-by-step guide on how to spot the signs and symptoms of childhood constipation and how this can be effectively managed with a Macrogal laxative. The film can be viewed at: https://www.thepoonurses.uk/ which also offers additional advice and support and also some useful links. Here patients can also download the Bristol Stool Form Scale to help identify whether a child is constipated.