Nutrition in Acute Phase Constipation Management Part 2: FAQ

This video addresses questions about management of acute constipation. Dietitian Consultant, Kelli Borgman, talks about food allergies, food refusal, and whether fiber and probiotics can substitute for medication.

A full transcript of the video appears below.

Hello, I’m Kelli Borgman. I’m a dietitian consultant with the Vermont Continence Project. In this video, we’re going to talk about some frequent concerns or questions caregivers bring up around nutrition and constipation.

In the early stages of their child’s journey, many parents want to try more natural approaches before medication management, such as fiber and probiotics. These are a good idea to consider. I would recommend focusing on timing to make sure you’re getting the highest return on your efforts and budget investment in supplements. Fiber supplements can sometimes bulk up stools, but if there’s a large or massive stool in a stretched out colon, small amounts of supplements aren’t going to be effective. You also run the risk of causing gas, bloating and further discomfort or even further impacting hard stools.

If your child associates the supplement in an uncomfortable incident or generally timing of increased discomfort, you may have a harder time using that supplement down the road. The same goes for probiotics. They’re not laxatives, though certain strains do wonderful things to help improve gut health. Starting with a low dose and slowly increasing to monitor for bloating and discomfort is always a good idea.

Just keep in mind all the new things your child is going through in the acute phase, including laxative meds that need to be priority prioritized. If you’re wondering if dairy gluten or other food sensitivities or allergies are at play with your child’s constipation, I encourage you to get help from a medical team and consult a pediatric dietitian. This is a minority of kids, but if there’s a personal or family history or symptoms that are concerning, it’s an important factor to address.

Continue with a clean out and medical management while you’re seeking support and answers. Keep in mind, most kids don’t need more complicated nutritional interventions or elimination diets at this stage. If you’re on a food journey with your child at includes frequent food refusal, frequent illness, or both, you may be wondering or concerned about the impact on your child’s gut health.

If malnutrition or under-nutrition has been going on for a few months or frequent illness is causing low appetite or acute weight loss, it may be having an effect on gut and got functions such as loss of bowel function. This happens from impaired immunity because there’s decreased function in the gut barrier and increased inflammation as well as the decreased ability for all the billions of villi or hair like structures lining our gut to absorb and take in nutrition. This is due to decreased vitamins, minerals and other nutrients the digestive system needs to function optimally.

The clean out phase and medical management are key to reversing malnutrition or the undernutrition cycle, and it enables increased appetite for tolerance for foods and supplements needed to increase gut function.

I hope this was helpful. Thanks for listening. The information contained in this video is for informational purposes only. It’s not a substitute for professional health or medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider.