Q: My 13 months old baby is having persistent constipation, and he passes stools only twice in a week. A paediatrician has asked us to use Duphalac lactulose which we are using for the last 20 days. When we stop the medicine, he again gets constipated. Can you please tell if this medicine can be used for long periods and does it have any side effects? At present we are feeding him Lactogen-2. How long should this be continued and is it okay till the age of 3 years or we should switch over to buffalo milk?

A:Top feed in any form is constipating, whether it is Lactogen or buffalo milk. The best would be breast milk. hen your baby is older than 4-6 months, he can be started on some semisolids which most often improves the constipation. Nonetheless see your pediatrician to rule out any other cause of constipation. Lactulose is a safe stool softener, but we should be looking at removing the underlying cause of constipation rather than giving medicines endlessly.