Rectal Prolapse in Children
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Rectal prolapse in 5-year-old
June 2007
Our 5 year old suffered 2 rectal prolapses during a bout of bad stomach flu. Since then we've seen a specialist & been told that there is a retention problem which might have caused the prolapse. She is on a daily dose of Miralax for the indefinite future. No-one seems to knows what or why this has happened. Tests have ruled out celiac disease, but are there other things going on? She is a healthy child with a normal growth curve & has a pretty good diet, except when eating school lunches. Any advice on what this could be, any diet tips, long-term prognosis? anon
Our son went through 3 episodes of rectal prolapsse over a two year period when he was 4 or 5. Needless to say, we were quite disturbed. We tried to have him use a stool under his feet when he sat at the toilet and discouraged him from staying there too long. He was also tested to rule out CF. The doctor's advice was to wait and watch, and that's what we did. It hasn't happened in over 3 years, so I hope it won't happen again. h.
My son had a couple of rectal prolapses when he was 7 or 8. We just advised him not to push so hard, and have not had any problems since. If he's feeling constipated, he's supposed to drink a glass of water and have a couple of prunes, then try again later. eh
Follow up from original poster:
I asked about this before & some people replied, which was comforting, but as this continues, we need more information please!
Our 6 year old daughter has experienced several episodes of this over the last 6 months. She is seeing a GI specialist, who has consulted with a surgeon. Our problem is that everyone says that this is rare, they have never seen it before & she will probably grow out of it. For those of you whose child has experienced this - how long does it take to grow out of, did you see a doctor who had seen this before, was there anything else to do apart from giving the child laxatives, did your child have an operation to correct this? Thank you. Worried anon.
I'm so sorry to hear this. I am an acupuncturist and I have not had personal experience with pediatric prolapse, but I have successfully treated adults with rectal or vaginal prolapse. If you're open to it, I would recommend seeing a pediatric acupuncturist. I've taken my daughter to Den at The Acupuncture Den in Noe Valley in SF. She's wonderful. I hope that's helpful.