Mild Constipation Treatment in Adults and Children

Featuring Dr. David Israel, BSc, MD, FRCPC, Gastroenterologist

For simple, straightforward constipation, one really needs to follow simple rules.

Have a lot of fibre, and we talked about 20 to 30 grams a day of fibre, and more recent recommendations goes even higher. If we’re to look at people, most of them take about 10 or less, so there’s a huge deficit in fibre in the normal, regular diet in our culture. And that’s where a good talk with a dietitian can help a lot.

In addition, fibre doesn’t work on its own. You need to take a lot of fluid. So for adults, one-and-a half to two litres is a reasonable amount, and one discounts alcoholic beverages and coffee because those cause diuretics and should not count within your liquid intake.

For children, most children around four to six and the adolescent, even eight cups a day would be a reasonable amount. With this regime and good activity, those children with mild constipation should be cured, and so would most adults.

If you’re still not sure that things are going well, if you’re not certain your child is healthy and thriving, you should ask your physician to have a good look and help you out.

Presenter: Dr. David Israel, Pediatrician, Vancouver, BC

Local Practitioners: Pediatrician