Stool Impaction Is Difficult To Diagnose
Stool impaction can be easily overlooked by both patients and doctors. Early diagnosis of stool impaction helps easier dis-impaction.
Early-stage stool impaction is similar to severe constipation in symptoms. Only your doctor can know the difference by:
- Performing a rectaliexam .
- However, the stool impaction can be at a higher level in the sigmoid .
- So, if your doctor still suspects fecal impaction, he will order an abdominal radiograph to diagnose the condition.
Giving Miralax To Kids
Miralax For Kids And Babies
MiraLAX is approved for over-the-counter use in adults and adolescents aged 17 years and older. Its also effective for treating constipation in younger children, including babies younger than 2 years of age.
According to the North American Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, MiraLAX is a first-choice medication for treating and preventing constipation in children. However, it shouldnt be used in young children without the direction of your childs doctor.
MiraLAX dosage will depend on several factors. These include:
- the reason MiraLAX is being used
- the age of the person using MiraLAX
Typically, you should use the smallest dosage that provides the desired effect.
The following information describes dosages that are commonly used or recommended. If youre unsure about what dosage to use, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
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The Dose And The Method Of Miralax For Fecal Impaction
After disimpaction of the stool mass, a large dose of MiraLax should be given.
Use MiraLax as directed by your doctor or as follows :
- The preferred dose is 17 grams of MiraLax® one daily.
- Measure your dose with the medicine cap on the bottle.
- Pour the powder into 4-8 ounces of beverage.
- The beverage can be a cold or hot one.
- For example, Water, Juice, Soda, coffee, or tea.
- Your doctor may give you MiraLax during the processes of disimpaction.
- Your doctor may prescribe MiraLax after the disimpaction for long periods to prevent its recurrence.
DONâT:
- Use MiraLax if youâre pregnant or lactating unless prescribed by your doctor .
- Donât Use with suspected bowel obstruction .
- Use for more than a week without permission from your doctor.
- Use MiraLax if you experience severe abdominal distension or vomiting.
Related:
- Mechanical obstruction by a tumor or mass.
- Neurological diseases such as Parkinsonâs, Alzheimerâs, spinal cord injury, and cerebral palsy.
In certain cases, the cause may be severe . This may cause MiraLax® to fail in restoring bowel movements.
Consult your doctor if MiraLax doesnât Produce bowel movements for 3 days or more. Your doctor will:
LEARN MORE:
Is Miralax Safe For Use After Surgery

MiraLAX is sometimes used after surgery to prevent and treat constipation. However, if youve had surgery and are having constipation, talk with your doctor. Your doctor may want to evaluate the cause of your symptoms. Depending on the cause, your doctor may recommend MiraLAX or other treatments.
Taking too much MiraLAX can increase your risk of side effects.
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High Fiber Nutrition Therapy
Fiber and fluid may relieve constipation in children. Fiber is not digested in the body. Instead, when it is in the colon, it absorbs water and helps form a soft stool, which is more easily passed. The child with constipation will likely improve when adequate amounts of fiber are in the diet.
The whole family will benefit from having more fiber in the diet, and when everybody changes their eating habits together, it is more likely that your child also will eat these new foods.
Drinking An Adult Dose Of Miralax
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How To Use Miralax And Gatorade For Colonoscopy Bowel Preparation
by BowelPrepGuide | Bowel Prep
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Miralax and Gatorade can be used alone or in conjunction with over the counter laxatives like bisacodyl. If an over the counter laxative is also recommended by your physician, it is usually used about 1 hour before the bowel cleansing agent. There are 2 main ways to take your bowel cleansing agent: the day before regimen or the split dose regimen. This regimen has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for bowel cleansing prior to colonoscopy. It is however popular among some gastroenterology practices and patients.
The Day Of Your Colonoscopy
- At 4AM: Mix the other HALF of Miralax with 2nd 32 oz bottle of Gatorade. Drink an 8oz glass of the solution every 15 minutes until you finish the mixture.
- Continue clear liquids until 4 hours before your procedure. At this point, you must stop all liquids, including water, gum, candy, mints, and cough drops.
- NOTE Failure to take the preparation as indicated may result in a poorly cleansed colon and possible cancellation of the procedure.
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Follow A Clear Liquid Diet
You will need to follow a clear liquid diet the day before your surgery or procedure. A clear liquid diet includes only liquids you can see through. Examples are listed in the table below.
While youre on the clear liquid diet:
- Dont eat any solid foods.
- Make sure to drink plenty of liquids in addition to water, coffee, and tea. This helps to make sure that you get enough calories and is an important part of your bowel preparation.
- Try to drink at least 1 glass every hour while youre awake.
- If you have diabetes:
- Tell the doctor who prescribes your diabetes medication that you will be following a clear liquid diet. Ask them if you should include clear liquids that have sugar.
- While youre following the clear liquid diet, check your blood sugar level often.
- If you have any other questions, talk with your healthcare provider.
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How Long Will It Take For The Preparation To Start Working
Everyone is different. Some people begin having their bowels move within one hour of drinking all of their preparation. Some people are very sensitive to laxatives and will have accidents. This is especially true for patients who have had accidents in the past with routine GI bugs. Other patients may not have their bowels move for four hours. These patients usually require a little extra laxative preparation in order to get their colon clean.
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Your Procedure Is At:
- Ridgeline Endoscopy Center: 6028 S Ridgeline Dr. Suite 100, main door. Suite 100is through the stained glass door. Arrive 40 minutes before your scheduled appointmenttime
- McKay-Dee Hospital: Take main elevator to 2nd floor, turn left, and go down hall to Suite 2670, Endoscopy Lab. Arrive 45 minutes early.
- Ogden Regional Medical Center: Go to admitting at the Main Entrance. Arrive 40 minutes early.
- Davis Hospital Medical Center: Enter through door in front on west side of bldg. Door is marked GI Entrance. Arrive 40 minutes early.
How To Give This Medicine To Your Child

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Arrange For Someone To Take You Home
You must have a responsible care partner take you home after your procedure. A responsible care partner is someone who can help you get home safely and report concerns to your healthcare providers, if needed. Make sure to plan this before the day of your procedure.
If you dont have a responsible care partner to take you home, call one of the agencies below. Theyll send someone to go home with you. Theres usually a charge for this service, and youll need to provide transportation. Its OK to use a taxi or car service, but you must still have a responsible care partner with you.
Agencies in New York |
How To Begin A Maintenance Dosing Of Medicine After Clean
- After the clean-out is completed begin taking a lower dose of Miralax daily as instructed by your provider.
- Give ½ to 1 capful in 8 ounces of juice or water each day. Please tolerate loose apple-sauce-to-pudding consistency stools for 1 to 2 months to ensure full treatment. You may decrease or increase the dose if needed.
- Some children also need ex-lax chocolate flavored squares a few times a week in addition to Miralax. If so, start with ½ square in the afternoon after school so the child will have a good bowel movement before the next school day.
**The goal is for your child to have a soft bowel movement every day. This is important for bladder and bowel health**
HH-II-238 1/19 | Copyright 2019, Nationwide Children’s Hospital
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Several Days Before Procedure:
- It is very important that you remain well hydrated for a number of days prior to and after the procedure. Gatorade® or sports drinks will result in better hydration than drinking just water alone.
- Purchase a bottle of Miralax at any pharmacy. No prescription needed.
- Purchase 4 Dulcolax 5 mg laxative tablets. No prescription needed.
- Purchase 125mg of Simethicone . No prescription needed.
How Should I Take Miralax
Use MiraLAX exactly as directed on the label, or as it has been prescribed by your doctor. Do not use this medicine in larger or smaller amounts or for longer than recommended.
To use MiraLAX powder, measure your dose with the medicine cap on the bottle. This cap should contain dose marks on the inside of it. Pour the powder into 4 to 8 ounces of a cold or hot beverage such as water, juice, soda, coffee, or tea. Stir this mixture and drink it right away. Do not save for later use.
MiraLAX should produce a bowel movement within 1 to 3 days of using the medication. Polyethylene glycol 3350 normally causes loose or even watery stools.
Do not use MiraLAX more than once per day. Call your doctor if you are still constipated or irregular after using this medication for 7 days in a row.
Store at room temperature away from moisture and heat.
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What You Need To Know
Miralax works for fecal impaction only after the dis-impaction using mineral oil enema or manual impaction. Using MiraLax before removing the impacted stool mass might not work and may cause worsening of the condition.
You can use MiraLax in cases of severe constipation or early mild stool impaction.
However, vomiting, severe abdominal distension, and abdominal colics can complicate the early use of MiraLax in severe cases of impaction .
Either way, You have to consult your doctor. Fecal impaction is a serious medical condition. The trial to disimpact stool by yourself may lead to failure or complications.
What Are The Best Natural Alternatives To Miralax For Adults
Of the list of natural alternatives to miralax above, these are the best alternatives for adults. They work quickly and safely to produce a bowel movement.
- Enema
- Natural Calm
- Epsom salt or salt water flush
These will produce the quickest bowel movement when you are in need of fast relief from constipation. However, to fix the problem long-term, probiotics, fermented foods, diatomaceous earth taken daily are my ultimate favorites.
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What Is A Colonoscopy
A colonoscopy involves inserting a thin, flexible tube called a colonoscope into the body through the anus to examine the colon and rectum. The main purpose of a colonoscopy is to investigate symptoms which may be coming from the colon and colorectal area, such as:
- Abdominal pain
During a colonoscopy it is possible to identify growths and other intestinal problems including:
- Non-cancerous polyps
- Bleeding
- Areas of inflammation
It is necessary for the whole colon to be visible to the video camera on the end of the colonoscope, otherwise it is impossible to carry out this screening process effectively. If you are concerned about the health of yourself or a loved one, download the Ada app for a free assessment.
People are recommended to follow particular instructions in preparation for a colonoscopy, including following a specialized colonoscopy prep diet and activity plan. The purpose of this is to induce a kind of diarrhea, emptying the area to be screened of stool and other waste to ensure full visibility. This process is known as colonoscopy prep.
Data Extraction And Data Analysis

Data was collected retrospectively through the ProVation database at a single, large community hospital and ambulatory endoscopy center. Preparation quality was graded as excellent , good , fair and poor . Age, gender, history of diabetes, BMI, American Society of Anesthesiology risk class, and time of day procedure was done and length of the recommended follow-up interval were also recorded. Frequency of serious adverse events was reviewed based upon endoscopic reports which only report peri-procedure adverse events. Serious adverse events occurring after the procedure were not obtained. Serum chemistries were not routinely obtained before colonoscopy.
Bivariate statistics were used to assess the differences between MiraLAX® + Gatorade + bisacodyl combination and GoLytely® preparations in the study population for the distributions of patient age, gender, diabetes status, BMI, ASA risk class, time of day procedure and for frequency of excellent/good bowel cleansing. In order to assess the frequency of excellent, good, fair, poor preps between both groups, Pearson’s chi-square was utilized. All p-values are two-sided.
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Inclusion And Exclusion Criteria
All average risk, outpatient, asymptomatic patients 50 years old getting screening colonoscopy during an 8-month period at a single large community medical center/ambulatory surgery center were eligible for this study. Only patients receiving 4L GoLytely® or the 238 grams MiraLAX® + 64 ounces Gatorade + four 5-mg tablets bisacodyl combination were included, and only patients with a normal colonoscopy were included. All patients did PM-only dosing of bowel purgative and all patients remained on clear liquids for the entire day before the colonoscopy. All colonoscopies were performed by 15 board-certified gastroenterologists from a large group private practice. In the middle of this 8-month period , the preferred bowel purgative for average-risk individuals undergoing screening colonoscopy changed from PM-only 4L GoLytely® to the MiraLAX® + Gatorade + bisacodyl combination.
Daily Bowel Management To Achieve One Very Soft Bm Every Day For 6
We suggest giving 1 capful of Miralax mixed in 8 ounces of a good tasting clear liquid daily. If one capful does not result in your child having a very soft BM per day then increase the amount of Miralax given:
- 1 ¼ capful are mixed in 10 ounces of clear liquid
- 1 ½ capful are mixed in 12 ounces of clear liquid
- 1 ¾ capful are mixed in 14 ounces of clear liquid
- 2 capfuls are mixed in 16 ounces of clear liquid.
- If one capful of Miralax results in diarrhea, reduce the amount of Miralax given:
- ¾ capful is mixed in 6 ounces of clear liquid
- ½ capful is mixed in 4 ounces of clear liquid
Reduce the amount of cows milk dairy products that your child is consuming every day to 8-12 ounces per day. Alternative milks and milk products, such as soy/rice/almond, can be consumed in unlimited amounts.
Increase the daily fiber in your childs diet to 25-30 grams per day. Review the high fiber food list below. You may also consider using Fiber Gummies or Benefiber, with each product listing how many grams of fiber are available in each serving.
You must also increase the amount of clear liquid that your child is drinking every day to a minimum of 32 ounces per day.
Encourage your child to get at least one hour or aerobic activity per day.
Have your child practice a regular daily toilet schedule by sitting on the toilet for 3-5 minutes after most meals.
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