Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Constipation in 3yo means constant soiling, any ideas?

20 replies

preggersagain2 · 03/09/2008 08:34

Help! Ds been having trouble for months now with regular blockages; overspill(sorry, tmi) means can spend entire days backwards and forwards to loo and constantly soiled pants. Following day or two days later 'blockage' appears and whole cycle starts again. Thing is, he eats really well, loads of fruit, veg, etc. and am doing best to keep fluid intake up too. Stool when appear are soft and no problem passing. Has anyone else had this? Gearing up for doc's appoint. but don't want phobbed off with dietary advice or really want him on meds unless absolutely nec? .

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

magso · 03/09/2008 14:08

You have my sympathy! The continual soiling used to really upset me! Sounds like you have an appointment for the GP already. That is the first thing to do. If after seeing your GP problems persist ask for a referral to a paediatrician.
My son has suffered with constipation for most of his life (he is nearly 9 and has ASD with poor body needs awareness amongst other things!) and has always eaten fruit and veg and drinks well. He is now treated with paediatric movicol (sachets of powder you mix into drinks). We also have a regular sitting time (story on the loo) which made a big difference to 'getting on with it/not putting it off'! I know of other children who get a chocolate button for sitting and 2 for sucsess. Whatever encourages suitable habits. It has literally taken years to get ds on an even keel hense believing children should see a paediatrician if constipation ( with overflow) does not resolve quickly! Appreciate your son is only 3 so still getting the hang of when he needs to go etc.
There was a thread a while back which gave links to websites on encopresis. You may find a newish book 'constipation, witholding and your child' by Anthony Cohn ( publishers see www.jkp.com) if you think he avoids or forgets!Good luck!

desperatehousewifetoo · 03/09/2008 19:22

Definitely see your doctor. Speaking from experience, ds probably needs to be on some sort of softening laxative for quite a while to re-train the bowel.

Do a search on here for encorpesis, then soiling, then pooing. They should give you lots of lod threads all with loads of suggestions.

My ds suffered from this for 18months and I eventually went to the doctor's nearly a year ago. He is now just starting to poo regularly and I have stopped being obsessed about when he 'goes'!

We needed a combination of good diet, regular drinks and laxative to sort it out.

I'm sure if you tell your gp that you have tried sorting out the problem by improving his diet, they should see that he requires some medical intervention i.e. lactulose/movicol.

Good luck. Let us know how you get on.

Original poster

preggersagain2 · 04/09/2008 10:01

Thanks Magso and DesparateHW, loads of really helpful info there - what a minefield it all is . Sympathy to you both (and you're LOs) for having to go through it all.
Am really kicking myself now for not having picked up on all of this sooner - it's been going on for months (since toilet training, on and off), but because he generally eats so well - and no pain - it took me ages to work out was constipation and not to do with toilet training. Now am really worried has caused more problems as he is definately getting more reluctant about going, and having accidents wetting himself too, which he hasn't done before. Have GP appt. next Fri, so will go armed with loads of questions and hopefully get it sorted before gets any worse. Found a 'poo' chart (!!) on one of the sites, so am going to keep a record and take that along. Hopefully will mean we are taken seriously. Yes, will let you know how it goes.

OP posts:

desperatehousewifetoo · 04/09/2008 10:15

Well done for making a doc appointment.

The wetting is probably a symptom of the constipation. My ds didn't do that but others do seem to as the full bowel, apparently, presses on the bladder.

I did the same as you and gave ds loads of fruit, etc which made it worse (initially) as the leakage increased but the blockage didn't go away.

I found the biggest step for both me and ds was to tell him that it was not his fault and to always let me know if he needed clean pants (he used to hide his dirty ones)

Once he realised that it was a medical problem and I knew he was not just being lazy, he was much happier.

He is back at school today so I am hoping that we can keep up the fruit and water intake. At least he has a packed lunch, which helps.

desperatehousewifetoo · 04/09/2008 10:16

ps: I bought loads of cheap pants and threw away the worst ones.

Treeny · 04/09/2008 10:18

Are you sure it's not to do with toilet-training? I had this problem for about a year with DD1 (from 2.5 to 3.5) and it was definitely behavioural - her constipation was real, but it was caused by her 'holding it in' for so long. It was a nightmare for months, because of the constant soiling, and I got crosser and more desperate.

Saw our GP several times, who prescribed laxatives etc - but the problem was that she was just determined not to go to the loo. Her diet was good, she had plenty of fruit and veg and plenty of fluids. In the end we saw a fantastic paediatrician, who advised us to take all the pressure off DD1 (I was regularly asking her if she needed to 'go' and telling her to use the loo if I could see that she needed to poo but was trying not to). The paediatrician advised us to let DD1 take responsibility for it herself, not to talk about it at all, and to get her to clean herself up as far as possible when she made a mess. Above all, not to make an issue of it.

It was hard work, because the problem had become so ingrained (started as a reluctance to use the loo, ended up with her body all mixed up about what it should be doing) but we got there in the end. I told DD1 that I wasn't going to tell her to go to the loo, now she was a big girl she could 'tell herself'. And eventually she did - I remember the first time she took herself properly to the loo, did her poo and was so pleased - 'Mummy, I telled myself'. And there have been no problems with constipation etc ever since (she's now 5 and hasn't messed her pants for two years!)

Sorry to go on at length. Hope it might be some help.

desperatehousewifetoo · 04/09/2008 11:29

I think you are right, treeny. It's taking all the pressure off that's the biggest help.

Whatever the cause, psychological or physical, the bowel has to retrain to move regularly and they have to begin to learn the signals of needing the loo again.

In our case, it was the laxatives that made him go regularly and him learning the 'feeling' of needing to go again.. and not ignoring it!

I always knew when ds needed to go too and would badger him to sit on the loo. Poor thing, it must have ben horrible for him

Treeny · 04/09/2008 11:51

I fully intend to get DD1 to take responsibility for toilet-training DD2 when the time comes!

bundle · 04/09/2008 11:52

Definitely sounds like constipation with overflow, I think you need help from a paediatrician to sort this out

Original poster

preggersagain2 · 04/09/2008 14:45

Oh dear,this all sounds so familiar. DH and I definately guilty of lots of badgering - so difficult not to when you can see he needs to go....

Treeny - thanks - my feeling is probably started as physical, but definately heading towards psychological as well now. I just hope we can 'catch' quickly now before he gets too much of a 'thing' about it all. Will be heeding all the good advice on trying to take the pressure off from now on - and on buying more cheap pants!!

OP posts:

Original poster

preggersagain2 · 14/09/2008 18:57

thanks again everyone, just posting to say we saw the doc on friday and have come away with lactulose and senna, so we will have to see how we get on. The doc was very sympathetic and we are reviewing everything in a month, so I'm pleased with how things went. And, leaving DS to his own devices is def paying off, as he is much more relaxed about it all too, so hopefully things are on the up Keep your fingers crossed for us!

OP posts:

kbaby · 14/09/2008 21:19

Theres a similar thread on general health about a 9yr old girl. It may help you to read that.

We had a constipation problem with DD and gp perscribed movicol and lactalose which all worked wonders. She now just has lactalose if she complains that her poos hurt.

amidaiwish · 14/09/2008 21:24

DD2 has issues with pooing/constipation etc and we go through phases of needing movicol etc...

it may not be your thing but i have found seeing a homeopathic helpful for her, especially when it is behavioural/psychological rather than physical.

emmabillie · 16/09/2008 14:49

Hello All, I have a 13m girl and she has not pooed for 5 days now. I went to the GP yesterday and was told to give her juices, undiluted. She eats wheat, raisins and the usual fruit and veg. Should I be worried? (I am as she will probably be in a lot of pain when she eventually goes). It is not unsual for her to wait 3 days but not 5???
Many thanks!

amidaiwish · 16/09/2008 22:02

have you tried steaming some apricots, apples and prunes until soft, mix with custard and give them to her as a pudding? That used to work well with mine at that age to get things out!
Make sure she is drinking plenty of liquid not just milk. Prune juice is really good if she will drink it. Maybe make an ice lolly or mix it with apple juice?
Avoid banana, yoghurt, and don't give too much wheat as it can make it worse.
My DDs can often go for 5 days.

emmabillie · 18/09/2008 20:21

Hello amidaiwish, sorry for the late reply! I have tried lots of rainsins and fig syrup but does not always work. She finally managed the next day. what a relief for both of us! Not sure what to change for next time as she has a fairly good diet but I am not going to worry about that one now. Thanks again!

DesperateTooDyson · 18/09/2008 20:38

As well as adding the foods suggested, make sure your dd has plenty of water (lots of tea parties with teddy and dolly!).

Avoid giving too many 'binding' foods like bananas and eggs.

Glad she managed to 'go' eventually

sasamax · 10/10/2008 13:58

I am going through same thing.
Have just ordered that book - fingers crossed!

sasamax · 10/10/2008 13:59

Well - my son is - not me lol
Thanks magso for link

Original poster

preggersagain2 · 16/10/2008 10:42

Hello, sorry just catching up again on messages. I like the pudding idea amidaiwish, may gave that one a go. It sounds yummy too!

Sympathy to you Sasamax, hope all works out quickly for you both.

We've been on senna and lactulose now for a month, alas we started off fairly well with about a week of regular 'movements' but then it went down hill again. We upped our doeses but then went too far the other way... just had phone call from nursery to say he had a big accident there this morning. Oh dear, does anyone have any tips for getting the dosages right with the meds??? Help!

OP posts:

Flip