Nearly 5 and still pooing pants

[dizzy100]

Hi,

Im very new to this but really need some help, my little one is nearly 5, he has started school and is still pooing in his pants. We have tried everything from bribes, praise, ignoring the issue, getting angry and even making him wear a nappy. He has been out of nappies since he was 2.5 and never had any probs but all of a sudden at about 3.5 this started and now i really dont no what to do. He keeps coming home from school with new pants, so many that im surprised they have any left. Help.

Classic cause of poo in pants is (believe it or not...!) constipation.

Does ds ever do a nice big well formed poo? Or is he going to the toilet on his own at home so you never get to inspect what he produces?

The poo in pants can be liquid-ish poo "overflowing" around a solid mass of faeces stuck in his rectum and lower bowel. This constipated poo comes out in little bits rahter than a nice big sausage (hope you're not eating...).

If in doubt see you GP and ask them to fell ds's stomach (no internal needed so don't panic).

The treatment for overflow is lots of laxatives to get things going and then maintenance by diet, fluids and maybe some medication.

Look at the ERIC website

www.eric.org.uk/Parents/InformationPacks/tabid/126/Default.aspx

it's really good.

You have my deepest sympathies. We battled pooey pants for months until I had a chat with my DD's (exceptionally lovely and experienced) headteacher and we came up with a plan. I thought I had tried everything, but the plan literally solved the problem overnight.

I posted on a previous thread about this.

Look at www.mumsnet.com/talk/1800/491185

I hope this is helpful.

Ok, that didn't work. It was my first link. I'll try again.

www.mumsnet.com/talk/1800/491185

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/1800/491185

Phew! Third time lucky. Anyway, hope it is helpful.

Hi,

We had a serious pooey pants issue too, went on for ages until we twigged that she probably had constipation. What we were getting was a lot of "skid marks", also very small amounts in her pants, it turned out that she had got constipated, so poos were hard to produce, so she avoided doing them and when it started, she'd squeeze it back in again. We thought she was being naughty and tried all the same things you did, until I was talking to another mum whose son had chronic constipation issues, and it dawned on me that poor Lucy had the same troubles. By then she had probably been suffering with it on/off for a couple of years.

The biggest thing we noticed when we finally got it under control was the effect on her behaviour. She had been absolutely dreadful, very immature, throwing toddler sytle tantrums all the time, totally irrational about almost anything, very stubborn, a real pain to be honest, but once her constipation was under control, she came out of all that and is now the best behaved of my 4 - but if we miss a dose of her medicine and she gets problems brewing again, her behaviour is often the first sign, followed by extremely smelly wind (the wind of a constipated child is often far more offensive than from a child without this problem).

If this rings any bells it's worth going to see your GP about, as it's usually brought under control fairly easily.

Wow, thank u all for replying. I think u could well be right that it is constipation, i hope nobody minds this next bit but he will have a HUGE poo one day then nothing for a while, then lots of smaller ones and i have never smelt anything like him, it is quite honestly obscene. I think a trip to the doc is in order and then if i get ne joy i will follow ur ideas neolara.

Once again thank u, it is nice to no ur not on ur own.

If the constipation has been going on for quite sometime it may take some weeks/months to sort out so don't get disheartened.

GP will prob start on some mild laxative and/or dietary advice; if the probs don't go then it's back to GP for stronger laxatives and once the massive clear out is finished you may find he needs to be on a maintenance dose of soemthing for a while.

Hopefully you'll get any laxatives in time for the easter hols so the nightmare of school toilets will be avoided!

Over the next few weeks try and establish a routine which involves doing a poo directly after breakfast or when he comes in from school (or both).

There is loads of advice on this website

www.childhoodconstipation.com/

Ive made an app with doc, which is not till the 9th so i will keep u all posted, once again thanks for ur help.