A toddler suffered such severe constipation that it caused his organs to be crushed, leaving him screaming in agony .
At his worst, Ivan Novak was vomiting constantly , losing weight and in excruciating pain. A doctor later estimated that 2kg of his 12kg body weight consisted of stool.
His mum Elissa Novak said her son, now aged five, was "completely robbed" of his toddler years. In one six-month period in 2022, he was admitted to hospital 25 times.
NHS statistics show the number of youngsters under 16 requiring hospital admission for constipation is at its highest in 10 years, the Mirror reports .
35-year-old Elissa, from Nuneaton, Warwickshire, told the BBC: "He was so frail he couldn't lift himself up or do anything.
"He was in pain all the time and either screa