Re: 5yr old with severe constipation! Help!

Oh duh silly me, we're dealing with a 5 year old!!! LOL!

Okay. There's a fruit-based laxative that actually strengthens the colon rather than creating dependency. It's an Ayurvedic herbal remedy called "Triphala" and it's sold in most health food stores and online everywhere. It's usually simple caplets - you know, the kind that look like compacted material, rather than powder in a gelatin pill? So you can cut them in half for a children's dosage easily.

That really should be a great great help.

The balloon in her rectum procedure is basically a way to introduce something into her rectum that they can inflate and deflate at will and exercise her rectal sphincter as she expels it. I think once you explain that she'll want to take the Triphala! ;)

I got the hiccoughs a lot when I was a kid too. Don't know what it meant, it was weird but I got them most when walking into a mall. Something about the enclosed air and all the environmental pollutants is my best guess. I think kids are just more sensitive.

For grownups it can be indicative of kidney problems but kidney problems don't lead to constipation.

Hope that helps!!!