Liquid paraffin: a reappraisal of its role in the treatment of constipation.

Liquid paraffin or mineral oil is a transparent, colourless, odourless, or almost odourless, oily liquid composed of saturated hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum. Petroleum was used as a medicine at least 400 years before Christ. The article analyzes the role of the liquid paraffin in treatment of constipation among children. The popularity of liquid paraffin as a treatment for constipation and encopresis stems primarily from its tolerability and ease of titration. Authors of the article describe properly designed randomized and controlled study for role of the paraffins.