Nursing Constipation Essay

For the purpose of this assignment I have changed the chosen patients name to Scott to maintain patient confidentiality (Nursing & Midwifery Council 2004). Scott is a young boy that is 7 years of age who stays at home, in the suburbs of Aberdeen, with his mother and father and has no siblings. His mother is unemployed and father works offshore so is often not at home for long periods of time. Scott was admitted to hospital after having not had any bowl movements for a week and the previous week having only passed two stools. He reported pain whilst he passed these stools along with anal bleeding. This was not the first time he had been admitted to hospital with these symptoms in the past year. These symptoms lead to his diagnoses of suffering from chronic constipation. It was found that there were no underlying organic causes for his constipation. The modern diet of children, with a lack of fibre, can be the cause of constipation (SULLIVAN, P.B. et al, 2006). This could be true in Scott’s case as he is fussy with what foods he eats which may be a contributing factor to his constipation.
Constipation is very common throughout childhood and constipation is internationally reported to affect 0.3% to 36% of children (Smith and Derrett 2006). Many factors can influence constipation in children such as pain, dehydration, issues with toilet training, dietary and fluid intake and history of constipation within their families (NICE GUIDELINES). There are many symptoms for constipation and these can vary slightly in infants and children. When assessing constipation it is important that any more serious underlying causes are ruled out such as Hirschprungs’s disease, Cystic fibrosis, metabolic causes, heavy-metal poisoning or sexual abuse. This is because normal treatment for constipation in these cases will not always be the first course of action. Constipation that has no organic cause or cannot be explained by any physiological abnormalities is described as idiopathic