3 year old poo problem, any ideas?

[Dinosaurdrip]

Ds2 is 3.8 and was potty trained at about 2.6 or so. He has always had rather loose stools and never seems to have warning that he needs to go, he'll be sat watching tv one minute then dancing round desperate the next and then sometimes his poo is kind of mucusy?
He sometimes has 'accidents' where he farts and follows through but generally it is just a wet brown patch.

I took him to the gp about 6 months back and dr said it could just be something he'll grow out of and didn't particularly want to be too intrusive medically with someone so young.

My problem is that DS starts school in September and I worry about these accidents and what might happen. Has anyone experienced similar? Any advise?

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

Keep a food diary. See if there appears to be any correlation between what he eats and the severity of the accidents. I'd say keep him well hydrated. How long does he spend on the toilet? Could he be rushing a bit to go off and play and not finishing properly?

[Dinosaurdrip]

Thanks wheresmy, will definitely keep a food diary. I think he spends a normal amount of time on the toilet, sometimes longer than most. He also doesn't seem to ba able to wee without doing a poo, he always seems to make himself poo every time he uses the toilet.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

Is he able to tell you why he is making himself go? Him forcing himself could also explain what's happening. ?

[invicta]

Is he lactose intolerant? That can cause diarrhoea and upset stomach.

[mikkii]

Like Invicta I also thought of lactose intolerance, the description could have been my nephew.

As far as school is concerned, lots of reception kids are bad at wiping properly, but why not speak to his teacher, send in spare pants in his bag.

Our school always asked us to leave spare pants and socks in their PE bag in case of accidents, if there was one, we got the wet stuff back in a plastic bag in their school bag. It was never a drama. I remember one day DS and two of his friends (all August babies)all had accidents.

[Dinosaurdrip]

He just says he needs to go. He really wanted to try stand up wee's like ds1 so I thought maybe this would deter him but no, as I 'pushed' his bum so he was closer to the toilet bowl, well you can probably guess what happened! it's like the action of going for a wee somehow makes him strain iyswim.

I don't think he is lactose intolerant, he never complains about an upset stomach just has very loose, sometimes explosive, poo's.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

There's something called toddler diarrhoea (sp?) where they do temporarily have trouble with lactose. Doesn't always cause pain and if he's used to it he won't necessarily realise.

If he drinks of if milk in between meals or in evening I would definitely lay off it for a bit.

Can you think back to when it all started. Is there anything that sticks in your mind. Like a particularly pain ful poo, or a throw away comment such as " try for a poo while your there" that coulda triggered some kind if idea to try every time he goes to the loo?

[Dinosaurdrip]

I can't think of anything that sticks out, he was pretty easy to do both wee's and poo's when training and has never really had to try to get a poo out so they have never been painful.

He doesn't really drink much milk however he is a cheese fiend, could this have a similar effect? He would be gutted if he had to give up cheese.

[Dinosaurdrip]

Thanks mikkii it makes me feel better that accidents are kind of expected at school, I think I just worry about him being an August born (26th) anyway and don't want this to worry him or Hinder his development at school.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

It's possible. What kind of cheese. Are we talking cheese spread, dairy lee Dunkers , cheese strings etc or your bog standard cheddar?

Perhaps just cut down a little and see how it goes.

[Wheresmycaffeinedrip]

Also, has he been wormed? I apologise for making him sound like a pet but works affect digestion so could also explain and it's really common