constipation/bowel control

[Mumkinstein]

I would like to raise awareness of a condition called Encopresis. It is VERY common. Symptoms are as follows:-
Constipation, sometimes very dry and hard pellet like poos and intermittent diarrhoea.
The child has previously been fully toilet trained and starts to have accidents, sometimes at night.
Headaches , tummy aches, feeling sick and unwell.
Secretive behavior and loss of confidence/self esteem.
It can be caused simply by poor diet but also for physical or psychological reasons. For this reason it needs a pediatricians care to assess the underlying cause.
The bowel gets impacted and becomes overstretched. numbing nerve endings, hence loss of sensation and control. The bowel needs unblocking and retraining usually using a combination of Senekot and Lactulose.
It is very distressing for the child and frustrating for the parents who often don't understand why the child can't control themselves, believing they are just being lazy or naughty if any of this sounds familiar, check it out.

Would totally agree, except we used Movicol and I found it much better than Senekot and Lactulose.

I suppose it depends on the paediatricians drug of choice.

It can cause months of worry and can take up to two years to recover bowel feeling and control.

The website, ERIC a charity in Bristol is excellent for advice, and has discussion boards with other parents who are going through the same thing.