Question
After eating bananas to help soften his stool, a 7-year-old child still had very hard stools, leading to anal injury and bleeding. Various medications and dietary adjustments have been tried, but the situation has not improved. How should this be handled?
Answer
For the 7-year-old’s hard stool issue, first, use warm water to clean the child’s buttocks, maintaining the area’s cleanliness. Dietarily, increase the intake of coarse fiber foods such as sweet potato congee, cooked carrots, apples, and bananas. Meanwhile, it is suggested to adopt acupuncture treatment from traditional Chinese medicine. It is usually due to excessive intestinal fire that causes dry stools in children, and there will be a significant improvement after several massage treatments. Additionally, it is recommended to give the child more water.