TMI! 7yo dd's poo- either diaroehhoa or constipated, what to do?

[popgoestheweezel]

dd has always had sloppy poo but sometimes suffers from constipation too. A normal poo for her is a 5 or 6 on the bristol stool chart and she sometimes does a 7. I can't remember her ever having a 3 or 4. She eats a good diet, a wide variety of different foods, plenty of fibre too. I try to cook as much as I can from scratch so we don't rely on prepared foods and a Mcdonalds is a very rare treat. She doesn't have too much juice (less than 1 small glass a day), I encourage her to drink plenty of water instead.
Should I be concerned?

I got the text below from a site called Gutsense and it seems good....it's a breakdown of what to think when your child does certain types of stools...

Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges

I consider this form ideal. It is typical for a person who has stools twice or three times daily, after major meals. The diameter is 1 to 1.5 cm (0.4?0.6?).

» Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool

This form is close to the margins of comfort in several respects. First, it may be difficult to control the urge, especially when you don?t have immediate access to a bathroom. Second, it is a rather messy affair to manage with toilet paper alone, unless you have access to a flexible shower or bidet. Otherwise, I consider it borderline normal. These kind of stools may suggest a slightly hyperactive colon (fast motility), excess dietary potassium, or sudden dehydration or spike in blood pressure related to stress (both cause the rapid release of water and potassium from blood plasma into the intestinal cavity). It can also indicate a hypersensitive personality prone to stress, too many spices, drinking water with a high mineral content, or the use of osmotic (mineral salts) laxatives.

» Type 7: Watery, no solid pieces

This, of course, is diarrhea, a subject outside the scope of this chapter with just one important and notable exception?so-called paradoxical diarrhea. It?s typical for people (especially young children and infirm or convalescing adults) affected by fecal impaction?a condition that follows or accompanies type 1 stools. During paradoxical diarrhea the liquid contents of the small intestine (up to 1.5?2 liters/quarts daily) have no place to go but down, because the large intestine is stuffed with impacted stools throughout its entire length. Some water gets absorbed, the rest accumulates in the rectum. The reason this type of diarrhea is called paradoxical is not because its nature isn?t known or understood, but because being severely constipated and experiencing diarrhea all at once, is, indeed, a paradoxical situation. Unfortunately, it?s all too common.

it's possible that the diarrhoea is actually constipation, but with poo leaking round the stuck bits (sorry to be so graphic!)

I'd suggest you take her to the GP, not urgently, but not in months either, the longer the situation goers on for the more difficult it'll be to deal with it :(

It sounds typical of faecal impaction with overflow. You need to get a proper diagnosis asap. If it is impaction, treatment is a very long process, but really important to sort it out, because the longer it goes on, the more it affects the child socially and psychologically.

Hmm, thanks, yes I will get her to the GP tomorrow.