Poo everywhere after swimming!

[shouldbeworkingtoday]

My five year old gets the terrible squits almost every time he goes swimming. I think his stomach is reacting to the tons of water he swallows but it's getting to be a bit of a problem. I put a happy nappy thing on so it contains it if it does happen but it makes an awful mess to get him changed afterwards.

He doesn't have any other bowel problems, no trouble potty training or anything and no other issues with the toilet or his stomach.

Wondered if anyone else's dcs have/had the same problem, what you did about it if anything. Did they grow out of it, is there anything I can do to prevent it and if anyone has any ideas about how to limit the damage? I don't want to use a nappy since it's going to be humiliating for him but it's obviously distressing for him as it is!

Help!

Does he go to different pools? Does it happen at others?

Is your/ child going to swimming lessons or just with you? He should not be swallowing more than a mouthful of water in a half hour of swimming. If you suspect this is happening, you need to let his teacher know that he has no breath control and is not handling water in his mouth.

You can help by teaching him this in the bath. He needs to learn to spit any water that comes his way out and to hold his breath (blow his.cheeks up like a balloon) and blow the water away. You can check he isn't sucking it in by getting him to blow raspberries.

He really really shouldn't be drinking enough water to affect his bowel, even if he was a tiny baby. (My son used to drink a ton.and I am retrospectively quite cross with his teacher for not noticing it when he was in preschool swimming lessons. I teach preschool lessons myself and breath control is now massively my priority)

We have had to constantly reinforce to DD (5) that she should not swallow the water in swimming lessons. She swallowed so much one week that she was sick in the pool!

It bothers me that they don't seem to teach anything about breathing. She's in stage 2 and the whole group are spluttering and choking across the pool as they try to obey the teacher's instructions to have their faces in the water. I don't know why they don't help them with this.

Nag to spit the water out don't swallow it. Spitting is not natural elsewhere, but it has to done in pool to make swimming work.

Breathing control is most of what swimming is about, SueG, but it takes a while to learn.

It happens in lessons and when he's swimming with me. Most pools as well. It was a bit better recently when I nagged about the water but I hadn't thought of telling his teacher. I'm going to do that next week thanks so much!! And we'll get practicing too. Thanks again everyone!

Update! Thanks specialmagic, I discussed this with the swimming teacher (ds has 121 lessons) and she covered it with him. I reinforced, and we haven't had another problem since. No longer dread the public changing room. Thanks again!!