Natural Laxative for Occasional Constipation

This was a recent post in a mommies’ group:

Any advice? My 2 year old daughter is very constipated. She has been laying on her stomach for the past 2 hours, crying on and off. We are trying to get her to drink prune juice, but what else can we do?? She needs some relief ASAP! I was thinking an enema, but then I read about it online and someone posts a horror story. Not sure what to do.

This plea hit close to home for me. My adored son experienced constant, brutal constipation during the first six years of his life. It seems that more and more kids these days are chronically constipated; 100 years ago this wasn’t the case. Every time I turn around it feels like I hear of another child suffering like he did.

As a mom, I often felt desperate to try to get him to empty his bowels and find some relief. We visited pediatricians, pediatric G.I. specialists, allergists, geneticists, and even x-rayed his colon to see if perhaps there was an anatomical reason behind his evacuation problems. Fortunately, all was well with his DNA and anatomically, except that his colon was swollen and distended and full of solid, impacted stool.When I saw that on the x-ray, it was clear that nothing we had tried to help him with the constipation up to this point had worked.

Before this moment we had tried every typical remedy for constipation. The pediatricians had all recommended daily doses of Miralax brand laxative, which had worked for a while initially, then had no effect. After a year, the only thing I was sure of was that he was not deficient in Miralax.

We had tried prunes and prune juice, giving him extra fiber, magnesium, and hydration. Nothing worked consistently, and I often had to resort to more extreme methods of a glycerin suppository, ExLax, senna tea, or the dreaded-and-not-guaranteed-to-work enema.

I’m telling you all this to assure you that I am an expert in constipation. It wasn’t until we finally realized that his constipation was due to a colon inflamed from hidden food sensitivities and changed his diet according to the results of his MRT food sensitivity test, that his constipation eased up and he became a free-flowing pooper. When he strays from his diet, the constipation returns 48 hours later like clockwork. As long as he has been back eating safe foods, it will be gone by the next morning, but sometimes when we travel or over holidays, he still needs a little help.

These days the only constipation remedy I reach for is Buddy Bear Gentle Lax Chewable Laxative for Kids. On the bottle is says: “Buddy Bear Gentle Lax contains magnesium and natural fig, prune, rhubarb and peach leaf to promote healthy elimination. Contains no yeast, wheat, corn, gluten, soy, salt or artificial ingredients.” Two chewable chocolate-flavored, bear-shaped tablets do wonders to gently clear a clogged colon overnight without any cramping or straining. I know they work well for adults, too, when facing occasional constipation! Gentle, natural, and effective.