Sorry, this is a bit disgusting but can anyone help???

[K999]

My nephew is 2 and has suffered on and off with constipation. When he does finally manage to poo (usually at night in bed) he has taken to smeering it all over himself, the walls, bed etc. This has happened at least ten times and my sister is at her wits end about what to do!! She is seeing the HV soon but I wondered if any of you wise MNers had any advice/suggestions????

what if he was in an all-in-one sleepsuit so couldn't get to the poo?

He sometimes wears those but he can take them off!! It seems whatever my sister does he gets round it! He is very determined!

put the sleepsuit on back to front?

Racketys do one that zips up the back- it was the only way to stop my autistic dd doing this, they were a godsend!

He's sub-consciously trying to wipe his bottom in a state of near-sleep.

This young, the only solution is to tackle the cause of the constipation. Not easy, I'll grant, but the smearing is natural given his age and the circumstances.

Sounds strange, but I read on here about duct-taping the nappy on. Have done it (over Velcro and round once overlapping) only a handful of times but it worked.
Agree the constipation issue needs tackling too.

Thanks for that! The constipation issue is being investigated. My sister has tried all the laxatives known to man, fruit, vegetables, water etc - all the usual things. She is now trying refelxology and tummy massages to see if that helps....anyone got any suggestions re the constipation issue??

'tis a very tricky area in young children. Any attempt to deal with it openly will meet with even more constipation!

I think your sis is doing the right thing by trying 'alternative' remedies, but I doubt it will be easy to solve. He may have a physical condition, but if he's otherwise healthy, that may be difficult to diagnose.

Hopefully the HV will have some pertinent advice. Poor lass, though. It must be a nightmare!

bifidabacterium infantis -its a powder that balances the gut flora in the intestines.

i would thoroughly reccomend a book called 'digestive wellness for children'

and cranio sacral therapy

I use movicol sachets in a drink daily for my dd, but you should go to the gp first. Duct tape, yep, can help, but the blighters go in with the hands up the elasticated legs , so the zip up the back sleepsuits are an essential addition-trust me, I don't want to go down as MN's resident expert in poo-smearing, but I probably am

DD is on lactulose morning and eve but agree the constipation needs to be investigated and monitored by GP

your sister needs to get a referral from the GP to the local paediatric continence clinic - chronic constipation can take ages to get sorted so the sooner she gets a referral the better

It took 2 and a half years of treatment to get ds2 sorted out - combination of movicol, laxiberal, increased fluids and watching him like a hawk!

tummy massages may help relax him but there's absolutely no evidence reflexology works at all (completely (non)-scientific baloney )