Management of children with constipation in the community

Constipation is a common problem in children and affects around 5-30 per cent of the child population, depending on the criteria used for diagnosis; accounting for 10 per cent of the referrals to the paediatric services. ^{1, 2}

Constipation is often a painful, debilitating condition where the whole family may need support. Physical symptoms of constipation may be just one of the problems.

Morbidity

True morbidity may go under-reported as embarrassment or fear of receiving negative responses from health professionals or failure to realise that symptoms are a result of constipation, can prevent parents or older children seeking advice.

Some parents and older children may keep chasing serious pathologies leading to unnecessary investigations.^1,3 Studies have shown around one third of children presenting with constipation suffer from chronic symptoms and one third of these children continue to have significant problems with constipation into adulthood.³