We are small team working with children experiencing idiopathic constipation. Jemima is the service lead and a constipation nurse specialist, Amy is a constipation nurse specialist and Louise is the service co-ordinator. Constipation is a common childhood condition. It is prevalent in around 5-30% of children, sadly not many people take it seriously. Symptoms can become chronic in more than one third of patients. It is a common misconception that constipation in children can be easily managed with good diet fluids and exercise. This is not the case. There are many reasons that a child might not poo. The exact cause of constipation is often not known. However, contributing factors include, pain, fever, dehydration, dietary, fluid intake, psychological issues, toilet training, medicines and familial history of constipation. We have found that the biggest reason that constipation in childhood becomes chronic is fear!

Constipation is referred to as idiopathic if it cannot be explained by anatomical or physiological abnormalities. Constipation in children cannot be treated in the same way as it can with an adult. Adults will try their hardest to poo whereas children will use with-holding behaviours to prevent themselves from doing a poo. The NICE guidelines state that the first line of treatment of a child with constipation is the use of Macrogols, for example Movicol, laxido and cosmocol. Sadly in many of the referrals that we see, parents have not had the appropriate advice and guidance. This not only affects these poor children physically but also has a profound effect on them psychologically in all aspects of their life, including nursery and school life. As a child once said “it is not a life limiting condition but it is life ruining”

Our nurse led service provides help and support for parents / carers of children suffering from constipation with the emphasis on education. We aim to empower and enable parents / carers to manage their children themselves. Once we have received a referral for a child with constipation from a GP or Doctor we then invite the family to attend a 90 minute group education clinic virtually, via Microsoft Teams. This clinic provides lots of information and resources to help them understand their child’s condition and enables them to feel more confident in managing this during their day-to-day life.