The Medicine Program
The medicine program is used for children whose bodies do not know how to control his or her own bowel movements right now. However, these children have all of the elements to stay clean. This is usually caused by a slow colon (hypomotility issue), that results in constipation.
The built-up stool stretches the nerves in the bowel that sense when it is time to have a bowel movement, so that they do not work normally. The stool will stay in the same place because the bowel is not moving it downward. Laxatives help make the bowel move again so that the build-up of stool can leave the body. With regulation of this, children can learn to have bowel control.
The medicine program may include a combination of:
- Laxatives
- Fiber
- A special diet
The goal is to combine these three things to help the child have 1 to 2 well-formed bowel movements per day. Using this program, successful toilet training is possible.
Laxatives
During Bowel Management Bootcamp, the doctor orders a certain amount of laxative for the child to take based on the size and speed of the colon. The doctor may order different kinds of laxatives at different doses to see what works best for the child. The key active ingredient is senna. You should always know the milligrams of senna needed. the child will, most likely, not need enemas. If the doctor does order an enema, it is usually to remove the built-up stool. It is very important that the bowel is empty when starting the program. This will ‘reset’ the bowel to empty every 24 hours. More laxatives will probably be ordered. If the child is having diarrhea and loose stools, fewer laxatives will probably be ordered. The goal is to make the stool the right consistency, so the child can achieve success with toilet training.
Fiber
The doctor also orders water-soluble fiber to be mixed in the child’s food or drinks. Many fiber products are used to make jam or jelly. The fiber that the child will take will have much the same effect. Water-soluble fiber helps to make the laxative work better by binding watery stools together, without causing constipation.
