CHILDHOOD CONSTIPATION/MIRALAX
@NaturalNurseMomma Constipation Highlight
For many parents of children suffering from constipation, the laxative MiraLax has worked like a miracle. It's frustrating to then learn that this commonly recommended medication was not intended to be used for kids under 17! 😱
What's worse is that MiraLax was intended to be a short term treatment-no longer than 14 days in adults, but some children have been recommended to take it for much longer periods of time in order to treat chronic constipation.
What’s the problem?!?
👉MiraLax contains a toxic ingredient found in anti-freeze- polyethylene glycol (PEG). PEG is now suspected to be the main culprit contributing to the disturbing neuropsychiatric symptoms, reported by many parents after the treatment with MiraLax. These reports include symptoms, such as:
❌Depression
❌Anger
❌Anxiety
❌Paranoia
❌Mood swings
Of course, this is not the experience of every child, but further research must be done surrounding the safety of this medication and specifically, PEG.
The good news: we have many other safe alternatives!! More of that to come!
Has your child been prescribed MiraLax?
Mirialax is a medication and can have side effects!
I posted recently on the most overused medications in kids. Many of you reached out about Miralax. Yes, I could not agree more. This is a medication that is overused. It feels sometimes like it is used like candy.
First of all, was there any discussion on the root cause of the constipation? Your child is not pooping once a week because of a miralax deficiency.
Second, there are many documented potential side effects of Miralax such as mood issues, electrolyte abnormalities, tremors, tics and OCD. The major concern is with the ingredient polyethylene glycol 3350. We should not take side effects lightly.
Once again, I reiterate, it does not mean this medication should never be used. It works very well for most when used appropriately. But it should almost never be the first step for mild constipation.
We should be focusing first and foremost on the diet. What is the child eating? Could they be having a food sensitivity to gluten, dairy or something else? Are they eating too much sugar and processed foods?
Also, there is a long list of natural options available for mild constipation such as juice (prune, pear, apple). I am not a fan of juice in general because of the sugar, but prune juice often works really well and I'll trade a little sugar for avoiding a medication.
What about probiotics??
How about magnesium? There are many magnesium formulations that work incredibly well for constipation.
If you go to your practitioner for some mild constipation, say your child hasn't had a bowel movement for 2-3 days and they are not in any significant pain and not having any other symptoms and you are told to take miralax, PLEASE ASK MORE QUESTIONS. See if the practitioner would be ok with something more natural first.
You can give a medication in a few days if you need to but start naturally first whenever possible!!
Sorry, I said it. Constipation is a symptom and it’s important to know what is causing that symptom.
Here are a few root causes:
-SIBO
-hypothyroidism
-dysbiosis
-parasites
-poor diet
-food intolerances
-dehydration
-magnesium deficiency
-dietary changes
-routine changes
-stress
I see patients with constipation allllll the time in my practice and I even offered an entire gut program to help people with this exact issue. I’ve been there, it is not fun, but you can heal and get to the root cause and not rely on miralax. It is possible!
Head to the link in my bio to read more on my blog.
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