7 hours agoShareSaveKatie Thompson and Jo BlackBBC NewsShareSaveBBCA mother who feared her two-year-old son’s untreated constipation could have killed him is calling for access to children’s continence services to be made a national priority. Elissa Novak said Ivan was constantly vomiting, losing weight and in severe pain when it was at its worst, and a doctor said 2kg of his 10kg (22lb) body weight was estimated to be stool.The number of children aged up to 16 admitted to English hospitals suffering with constipation, among other symptoms, is at a 10-year high, with more than 44,000 admissions in 2023-24, according to NHS figures.Children are being failed by the absence of dedicated bladder and bowel services in some parts of the country, an expert said.About 1.5 million children in the UK suffer with constipation, according to the charity Bladder and Bowel UK.As many children returned to school this week, charities have told the BBC they are seeing a spike in calls to their helplines.”It’s a huge problem and many healthcare professionals don’t consider it a serious issue in children,” said Davina Richardson, a children’s specialist nurse with the charity.”Discussing wee and poo is very un-British. It’s not something that we as a culture do.”Elissa said Ivan, who is now aged five, had been “completely robbed of his toddler years” due to health issues resulting from constipation.He was admitted to hospital 25 times in one six-month period in 2022 for emergency treatment.”It was horrific,” Elissa said. “He was so frail he couldn’t lift himself up or do anything.”He was in pain all the time and either screaming or just lying there because he was too weak.”Elissa NovakElissa, 35, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, said she had constantly gone to her GP to try to get help and answers.At that time in Warwickshire, there was no bowel or bladder community service, which meant they were going to A&E up to four times a week.It was only when things got to a crisis point that Elissa was told constipation was causing Ivan’s pain. She thinks he would have died had there been any further delay in treating it.Elissa was told Ivan’s entire colon was impacted, which had pushed up into his lung cavity and compromised his lungs. ‘Signs missed’ …
