5.7 yo DD suddenly soiling-says she doesn't feel poo coming.....

[Jellybellyrbest]

Sorry if title is TMI, & not sure I'm posting in the right place. Don't want to drip feed so sorry if this is a bit long....

DD had a problem with 'sore poo' a while ago (possibly 9mths..). She got pretty constipated after a period of trying to hold motions in because they hurt to pass. I used prunes & lactulose, linseed ,raisins, increased her fluid intake & though it took a period of a couple of months on & off I felt that the problem was resolved without too much trauma. We also visited the GP who prescribed Movicol, which I dabbled in more than relied upon. The 'sore poo' upset toilet trips gradually ceased & seemed forgotten about.

For the last two weeks, however, she's had varying degrees of poo in her pants at various times of day. Initially I was cross with her; I felt she was getting lazy about going to the loo in time-she has had spells of pants wetting in the past for this reason. She claimed not to know that she needed to open her bowels.

However, I now believe that she's telling me the truth & that these little leaky bits of poo are coming out without her realising. It happened at home this evening & she brought me to the loo with her to show me. She then had a large, but loose & fluffy motion. Which reminded me that I had idly thought recently that her poos have changed lately (they used to be ENORMOUS-she's v petite & I'd marvel at how she could possibly produce such a giant poo). She rarely has a formed motion now. Her motions also do smell of diarrhoea & a couple of times I've worried that she was coming down with a bug but never did. I've casually chatted about it last night & tonight with her, and she tells me she does little rabbit poos sometimes at school & sometimes loose motions, so I do wonder if she's ever clearing her bowel properly.

She's also wet herself twice this week, which I know can be related to constipation.

Last night I read a little on here. I believe lots of you have had experiences like this. Could she be impacted & be having overflow? (I'm a nurse, so understand a little about the process of constipation). Would that be why her bowel control is slipping? She's not in pain though.....What's the best way of dealing with it? TBH, working in General Practice myself, I'm not sure she'll get the sensitivity, sympathy or information I need. I'm loathe to go & just be prescribed more laxatives. Her diet is generally healthy (porridge & fruit for breakfast/fruit at break with milk/cream cheese & grape sandwiches fruit & yog at lunch & veg always inc in dinners). She's mad for milk though...drinks A LOT of it.

I feel so guilty that this has happened & that I've been cross with her up until now. I don't want to make a big deal of it, so that the psychological aspect of witholding doesn't rear it's ugly head.

We had a really good chat tonight; I've apologised for being cross & told her that I think she has 'sneaky poos' coming out without her knowing & that it's not her fault. That we may have to see the GP again but we'll get it sorted out. That she needs to tell me when it's happened so I can help her & that she can bring spare pants to school so she can change. Asked her about her toilet habits at school & After-School to see if there are problems (possibly a few minor issues). She's shy & sensitive & quite clingy to me since DD3 was born. My heart goes out to her, I really want to help. She's enrolled in a few summer camps while I'm at work & I'm worrying that this will cause her anxiety so really want it sorted. I'm off for a week in 2/52 so would ideally tackle it head on then. Any ideas/resources/experiences would be useful & I'm very grateful if you've taken the time to read all of this!

I would suggest getting a referral, if it were an adult I'd think IBS or be cutting back on dairy.

Hmmm..she has eczema & her love of milk has concerned me a little at times. Think I'll swap most of her milk for water for a few weeks. Thx

Hi. I've had very similar problems with my 6 yr old son. Over the past year or so he has had occasional episodes of poo accidents in his pants. Like your dd however, his normal poos tend to be huge and solid but these accidents are very soft and more like diarrhoea and very smelly. Having read quite a lot about it I did feel that it must be overflow, even though I wouldn't really class my son as being constipated.

What I have found really helps is having him sit on the toilet and try for a poo every night before bed. Even though he says he doesn't need he sometimes manages to go and like you said I explain that these 'sneaky' poos can leak out if the poo becomes too big and gets stuck.
As it was starting to happen a bit more often I did go to the Gp and got some movicol. The GP said that he should take it for about 6 months as the bowel can become stretched and this can mean there is less sensation when there is a need to go to the toilet. This is the second month and no accidents so far. I still get him to sit on the toilet and try every night but his pools have been less huge! He takes one sachet a day and I hope that afte the 6 months we will beagle to wean him off it and his bowel will be back to normal.

it does sound like overflow to me..and btw it sounds like you are handling it really well!
My youngest suffered with constipation-holding on-overflow cycles (and is still on movicol now at 16 because his body just doesn't work right otherwise) and I would pop back to the GP and get more movicol and /or treat it quite agressively. If she used to have enormous poos I would place a bet that her colon IS full and stretched. You can be totally backed up with soft stuff.

I don't really 'get' people's reulctance to treat constipation other than with dietry changes. If she IS full of poo and it's sneaking past you need to get her cleared out and get her body back to producing it's normal quantity..diet won't change the back log (for want of a better word). Get the poo cleared so that her bowel can start to feel the signals again and be prepared to make it a long term thing for a good few months so that the problem doesn't return. (My son has disabilities that make his a forever thing..most kids don't!)

Good luck.. it's miserable for them and vital to tackle it beforeit happens at school.

PJM sounds absolutely right. My DD was on Movicol for about 2 years in the end for this problem but hopefully ok now. Movicol worked wonders for us!

Whatever you decide to do about medications / laxatives I'd definitely suggest cutting the dairy right down, if not out, and see if it makes a difference. Raw milk is the worst thing if the gut is sensitive - things like cheese aren't so bad. Does she have any Celtic / Nordic genes? I know it sounds a bit barmy but it can be linked to food sensitivities.

We are Irish LD!! Must have a closer look at all that. My 3 DD have pretty bad eczema..may be a potential dietary trigger. Have persuaded her to swap most of her milk for water over the past 2/7 & she's had Movicol both mornings. No accidents since Fri. Am sending spare pants & a little bag to school tom in case she needs them. Hopefully she won't. Thx so much for all your advice! Fingers crossed...