5 Year Old with Bowl Problem

Yes!! We had this problem. I've posted on the subject many times so feel free to click on my name and check through my posts, however, there are a lot
O-:

My daughter is 5 as well and went through this for about 2.5 years of her life. We too went to childrens (waste of time). That is another story.

I can say with complete confidence that your daughter has Encopresis. There is nothing you can do to talk her in to going poop on the toilet. Occasionally she'll have a toilet plugging blow out, other than that, she'll just give you squirts. Her poop is becoming impacted and only the liquid can get by. She needs to be emptied out and then given something to help her go daily. Diet/water are very important but won't get the poop out. Continue to make sure she is drinking plenty of water and eating whole grain foods, veggies, fruits, flax oil, etc.. no processed stuff. Get her eating great, (if she isn't already) that way, once you have her emptied and on the path of pooping daily, she won't have any set backs. It is very easy even once being emptied and pooping daily to become impacted again. It will also take her colon 3-6 months to get back to normal - it gets stretched out when they hold it and become impacted.

What we had to do, on the advice of a Pediatric specialist was the following: (this if FYI only - I am not a Dr., so please OK this through your Dr. first). Our Dr. called this the 5 day cleanout. For 5 days my daughter got an enema one day, suppository the next (not as bad as you would think, especially at this age where they understand you are trying to make the feel better). She got a 1/2 scoop of Miralax in water/juice every day and at night before bed, 2 tablespoons of mineral oil in a drink before bed. On about day 5, my daughter started pooping on her own in the toilet. We did this in Dec. 07 and she has been fine ever since. I NEVER thought we'd be here. After the 5 days were up, the Dr. told us to continue with the 1/2 scoop of Miralax until further notice. I haven't been back to see the Dr., but I no longer give it to her daily. She gets it when I think of it, maybe once every week or two weeks.

What your daughter is going through technically isn't constipation. This is where I think these kids get misdiagnosed so often and end up having issues for years. What your daughter has is very common. Get help now. My daughter was a new kid once we got this under control.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions. The specialist we saw is in Murrieta.
M.
____@____.com

my heart goes out to you i myself have ibs these types of prob. are frustrating and at times can consume chunks of our daily lives. ive invested now a lot of time in getting to the root of why anyone has any med. problems and modern meds. should be a last resort!!! i have a friend whos daughter had very simular problem as your daughter she was very little when it began and on up till she was around age 11 the dr.s tryed everything even taking a chunck of her intest. out turns out it all could have been avoided. it was a neutritionalist. but even that takes time finding one whos methods work with her. i strongly recommand finding an iridologyst neer you and have her do a check on her its the ONLY way to get to the root of prob. wont cost much, it may turn out to be a problem in her back and getting adgusted could fix. keep in mind also it poss. being psyc. in that i know nothing but good luck

I have a friend who went through the same thing. She went to a therapist who told her that no matter what, it was an issue of control and no matter how much she tried to fix it, it just got worse until she stopped trying to control the poop. Her doctor put her son on Mirilax, which, after doing some research, she found to be an extremely bad option. It causes the poop to turn into diarrhea which makes it come out, but the child never confronts the fear of the pain, or learning how to poop. She started hearing about children who were unable to get off of the Mirilax and some who were having behavioral problems. If you want, you can give me your email address and I will contact her and see if you can email her directly to get some good advice on how to handle this touchy situation. My email is: ____@____.com

Buy Miralax. I use it everyday in my son's juice or water, or chocolate milk. It is tasteless and it will soften the stool enough that they can push it out. They sell it at costco or any drug store, you can get a generic prescription for it, as it just came over the counter. Don't mess around with this issue, trust me! My son has been on Miralax daily for 5 years now. Every time we try to get off of it, he goes back to holding them in and TROUBLE awaits.

Some kids need help with the bathroom, anyway you look at it, they need help. This helps.

Hi C.,
I had a similar issue with my son when he was 4 yrs old. He refused to go in the toilet and would have very large bowel movements that caused great pain, he would avoid them at all costs! I finally took him to see Dr. Mitchell Katz (714) ____@____.com really did a great job at determining the root of the problem and ended up putting us on Miralax. He had a multi-part approach to what we were up against and urged us to take it slow. Fortunately, within a week of going on the Miralax, my son ASKED to use the toilet and he's been fine ever since. He's nine now and we still need to make sure that he goes regularly but he hasn't had any issues such as he experienced when he was much younger.
Good luck.
N.

Liquid acidophilus (milk based, not soy based) works great for naturally regulating bowel movements. I sometimes give my 5 year old that or I just open a capsule of PB8 (probiotic 8) and dump it in his mouth before bed. He's never constipated anymore and has a bowel movement like clockwork everyday between 4pm and 7pm.

I take PB8 at night as well for immune system strength and regularity...as well as to keep any candida at bay.

Hi C.,

My daughter had that problem for a while and I just started giving her children's senecot. It softens the stools and makes it easier to go. Once they finally get a routine, you can stop giving it to her.

V.

My daughter used to hold her poop also, until it was so hard she couldn't even have a bowl movement without it hurting. Recommended by her doctor, I started putting a teaspoon of mineral oil in her juice and it did the trick. It softened it up for her. When I took her back to the doctor she told him that he gave her "magic" because it no longer hurt for her to go to the bathroom.

Miralax. It's sold over the counter. Your daughter is constipated and Miralax will help her to become more regular. My son s 3 1/2 and has been on it for 2 yrs. Initially it was prescription, but now it's otc. Just mix 1/2 teaspoon in with her juice every other day. Once her bm's become more regular yu can go to every 3 days and so on. It's the only thing that works with my son.

My two year old daughter has been holding her bowel movements for a day and then having abnormally large movements the next day. When I asked the pediatrician about it, she suggested that I allow my daughter to have Apple, Grape or prune juice daily(4-6oz). Unfortunatly this didn't help, she would have little accidents in her panties. I found that my husband and son were sort of making her self conscious by saying,"P U, Lola. That's stinky" So she started holding it in. As soon as I started praising her again(stopped praising every potty because she has been toilet trained for almost a year)She started going more spontaiously when I am home. I think that she probably felt that poop was so icky that she didn't want to be "caught" doing it. Now that we are all aware, there is no more teasing. I feel happy to have found the problem, but irritated that my guys have such power, and they didn't have a clue.

I have 2 grandchildren with the same problem. Here is some of the things we have done and it has helped tremendously, changing the diet and increasing potty time. Substitute pastas for vegetable pastas, a little more costly but worth it, instead of regular cereals, give her shredded wheat, for snacks give her raisins, dried or fresh fruits, apple or orange juice daily and try activia yogurt in the evening. Cut down the cheeses but do encourage her to drink milk, and lots of water. And the most important thing was that we made the older (5) sit on the potty for at least 20 minutes in the morning before school and in the evening before his bath time. My daughter has books by the toilet and even hand held video games. He used to be so constipated he would bleed and cry until the first big lump would come out. He would also hold it in as much as possible because he knew it was going to be painful. Since we began this regiment the only times he has problems is if he over does the pizzas or breads. By the way he is now 8 years old. His sister seems to have the same problems but we are starting early and she eats baby yogurt in the evenings instead of baby cereals. Also she eats rice cereal instead of oatmeal. It seems she digests it better.

I had a similar problem with my son that lasted for about 3 years. Finally, our pediatrician prescribed Glycolax (generic brand name). It is a powder that you dissolve in liquid. It is not a stimulant so it does not cause any pain or cramps. But it does help the child get the urge to go and to go with out pain. Our pediatrician thought that our son probably had a painful experience having a BM and that after that just did not want to go and held it in. This product worked great though we did have to use it about 2 years before my son felt confident enough to go on his own when he needed to and we have to continue with a high fiber diet. Hope this helps a little.

Two of my nieces had issues with bowels, they say a child chiropractor! I know it seemed strange to me too. Talk to your childs doc about this, sometimes there might me a slight back problem. This worked great with both my nieces. After each appointment they had no trouble passing stool, but my sister did have to talk them thru the fear of going, (pain was a slight issue at first. The girls finally learned that it no longer hurt and now they are both regular and healthy. God bless and good luck.

Hello C., I have experienced this when my daughter was same age, a turning point for me was getting the bowel movement to be as soft as toothpaste, and then lubricating around the area with plenty of vaseline (all the time) to allow the bowel movement to pass without any discomfort. I think that once the bowel movement gets too big to pass they get little cuts (fissures) in the area where it passes inside and this causes them to be sore when going, and this then just becomes a vicious cycle. So 1st i would put the vaseline on in and around the anus and then look at some over the counter bowel softener to get the movements to be softer and hopefully this will break the cycle of the soreness and discomfort. I would be tempted to keep her from Kindergarten until sorted out so as to cut out the embarrassment too. Hope this helps.

We had a similar problem which corrected itself when I stopped letting her eat Goldfish crackers. Good luck.

Hi C.,
I'm so sorry for what you're going through. My daughter had a similar problem and didn't potty train until over four years old. I agree with several points that have already been stated. I do think it's a psychological issue. My daughter only poops at home now. Nowhere else. Two, the pediatric gastroenterologist I was referred to prescribed Miralax to get the bowel movements going on a regular basis and we've steadily decreased the dosage from where she first started. Third, we mix her organic fat free milk with soy milk on the recommendation of friend. Seems to be working good. No cheese, rice, bananas, wheat bread only. We watered down her milk and even her juice, too. Lastly, perhaps you should pull her out of kindergarten if the problem is affecting her this much. Lots of my friends hold their children back a year for various reasons so do not see it as a failure or misstep on your part. I'm sure you're a wonderful mother:) Best of luck to you and your little one:)

Have you talked to your pediatrician about this? This sounds like it could be encopresis---have you always had difficulty with this since potty training? In other words, was she ever 100% successful out of diapers? If it's encopresis, you're probably going to need some therapy to help you through this now that she's in kindergarten. It's totally an issue of power and control, as someone else said. Until you get yourself to a therapist, I'd recommend setting up some paramenters with her and then backing off and not letting her see your frustration, impatience, etc. Try really hard to keep your emotions out of this. Going to the bathroom has become an issue for her and she's getting attention for it. So, back off. However, let her know she's responsible for cleaning herself up, along with her clothes. Set up a system---have her put her dirties in a diaper pail, the washer, whatever, clean herself up and get dressed again in clean clothes. Show her what to do, maybe help her the first time, and then don't help her with this---it's her issue and she's old enough to take care of this. Make sure her diet has lots of fiber---look for whole wheat bread w/3-4 grams of fiber per slice, sprinkle a little bran on her cereal, giver her 2 cups of raw veggies per day with lots of water. Maybe set up an incentive chart where she gets a star for every day she goes in the toilet or doesn't have a leaky accident, and after so many stars, she gets a reward---preferrably something centered around time with you---game night and she picks the game, bike ride for an ice-cream, etc. Stay away from "present" type rewards. These are just some steps to lead you in the right direction, but you'll need some professional help with this. Good luck, this must be really frustrating.

Hi C.. My younger son, now 16, went through the same thing has a toddler. He was almost 4 by the time we had him completely potty trained. He was so bad we were doing daily enimas. Believe it or not, he still has difficulty going and already has hemorrhoids at this early age because of the strain of going. Mineral oil is helpful and you may consider some type of stool softener. We also used warm wet rags/towels across his stomach to help soften the stool. I'm sure the doctors have already advised on limiting "binding" types of food. I wish you luck with your little one.

My son had the big poop problem. We (a) reduced the refined starches (bread/pasta) and sugars and give him more fruits for snacks instead of cookies; (b) give him a fizzy magnesium supplement in his juice (magnesium in small doses has mild laxative effect). Or you can try prune juice. He's fine now!

I just have to through in my two cents: Prunes is as good as most medicines and it is natural and good for you, and kids love them! All they need is 2 a day (I can only give my 3 1/2 year old 1, and only when her poop is hard). Also, dried apricots keeps you regular. Also, a regular diet of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, etc. ...food from the ground! Cook and eat with your kids, they will learn to love good food.

I went through the same thing. My 5 yr old was diagnosed with encopresis. Did anyone say she might have that? My son has been on prescription miralax for about 8 weeks and it is working great. My pediatric gastro doctor said he'll have to be on it for 6 months. If you want more info let me know.

PS-I just read some other responses and I want to add that I was told it is not a control issue. She may have been constipated or holding it in at one time but what happens is the rectum gets so stretched over time that the child loses all sensation of needing to go poop. So the child does not know that they have pooped until it is already outside the body. The miralax helps keep the poop soft and keeps the kids regular so rectum can shrink back down to normal size and the nerves have time to heal. Then the child will start feeling the sensation again.

Also, my pediatrician looked at my son's xray and said it was clear nothing wrong. Guess what, the pediatric gastro doctor looked at it and showed me how backed up my son was with poop.

Good Luck!!!

Hi, My son has had this problem. The doctor, Dr. Lebel at childrens gave him some constulose to clean out his system. I would put it in his chocolate milk in the mornings. And put him on the toliet at the same time everyday. He is ten now and I still have to say go on the toliet, and he goes, and he rarely takes the contulose anymore. It has been a struggle, but consistency worked best for us.

Dr Lebel said it was pretty normal, that people just don't want talk about it.

I feel for you and you daughter. Good luck!

I'm going to guess that she will start to get embarrassed if this is happening at school. I think it is mostly a "control" issue and in psychology classes they teach you about theories explaining some children fear they are losing part of their own body when they go to the bathroom. It seems like a stool softener would help. I'm sure the hospital would have recommended that. Since she is very stubborn about it, maybe some type of reward system for going?????

S.
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Work at home medical transcriptionist

My daughter had this issue when we were potty training her. Our ped prescribed kristalose (not sure of spelling) and it helped. However, we were told that we should only use it for a short period of time because she didn't want her to become dependent on it. It was just to help her initially, but once she started going regularly, we were to stop. It took awhile, but she's no longer on kristalose and is having regular bowel movements. When we do see that she hasn't gone in more than 2 days, we make sure she eats lots of oranges because that seems to help. I hope you're able to resolve the problem. I know how hard it must be!

WOW! Lots of responses. I have twins and they actually switch off every 6-8 months with this issue. They are 4 now. Instead of stimulants, I give them Plum Juice, several times a week. Especially on weekends. It tastes good, and juice is a part of their "normal" routine, so they like I am giving them something "extra" to make them go! It works for me! Good Luck!

i worked as a nurse in a GI office for 20 years and we saw this problem alot. I think you should seek a Peds GI MD==phone is 562-933-690o. All the docs are familiar with this problem. It takes awhile to solve this problem because the bowel stretches out and has to go back to it's original size after the bowels normalize. If you have an HMO you will need a referral from your PCP. This can be treated, but do it soon since you can see the problems school can bring!

My daughter had the same exact problem when she was 5. She missed the beginning week of 1st grade due to this. I took her to the dr. and he prescribed enemas. Every morning we would do the enema and after 3 times she decided not to hold it in and that it was better to go when she had to go than to have to have an enema. It was her choice all along. She would sit and squirm with a painful expression on her face. I know it was painful but it was more of an embarrassment to her.

After 3 days she was fine. I still keep a bottle of children's enema in the medicine closet just as a reminder to her that it would be used if she didn't go #2.

It will stop when she wants it to because she has to get past the painful part where the stool is compact and hard. Feeding her grapes helped too because it softened the by-product and made it easier to expel.

Two things kids have full control of that is there eating habits and they bowels, I did not see you say anything about a stool softner, Miralax used to be by prescription only, until the FDA decided it was safe enough to place on the market,it is non addicting, doesnt work over night, but keeps the stool soft enough to go with out hurting them, has no taste to it, you can mix it with food or drink. Check with your doctor first. We have used it with our son, its been a life saver.

I have a niece who had this issue....my sister resorted to stool softeners to ease the trouble with larger bowel movements. After a while of regular taking (stool softeners are safe - not laxatives)she went more regularly and without issue on size etc.. I know she must be embarassed (and maybe you too) but, she needs to know that she isn't the only one it has ever happened to and that you are doing everything you can to help make it better. It will get better. Good luck & God Bless You!!!!

Hi C.,

My best friend had this issue with her 3 year old in Santa Cruz. I don't know what the Dr.'s told you but the actual intestinal area gets stretched out and they don't have the urge to "go" and when they do it is too hard to push out.

They have the child on a high fiber diet but they also told my friend it could be A YEAR before this gets any better. Stool softeners do nothing to help. Don't give up, let her know this will get better.

I am sure she is also scared to go. Maybe the Dr. can recommend a fiber pill/powder and then each time your Daughter takes it let her know this is the medicine that will help her so she needs to do her part and try go potty.

Also... since the Urge is gone. Maybe you can have a time of day where she can sit on the potty for a few minutes trying to go and she gets great treats for it?

My heart goes out to you. Keep asking questions and looking for Fiber solutions.

H.

Try a teaspoon of castor oil. It will help her go. and/or, prunes.

You might want to research something called Encopresis. From what I have read the cause is uncertain, but some kids have trouble with BM and hold them in. After awhile the bowels become clogged. So much so that some fluid oozes out and stains the underwear. It sounds a little like what you wrote, but if what you are explaining is true I am surprised that doctors at Children's haven't spotted these symptoms. I have found that sometimes with doctors you need to press the issue if you truly feel something is wrong. My heart goes out to you and your daughter.

My son had/has this problem. The couple of times I took him to the doctor, he was put on a regimen of mineral oil. I don't remember the doses. The first time, my son was 3 years old and it took him almost 2 weeks for the mineral oil to work and it was a mess - he went in his carseat. But, that helped and he was able to successfully potty train that summer. It happened again whe he was five and in kindergarten and that time the mineral oil worked in a few days.

I have also given him Benefiber or Trader Joe's inulin fiber - these brands mix clear in juice or milk and he can drink them.

Now, my son eats oatmeal everyday and still has problems making a bowel movement. He might only have one like every 3 days or so. He sits and tries, but it just doesn't come out.

The other thing that has worked well for my son is very regular exercise like swimming - he goes much more easily in the summer when he is in the pool every day. The doctor says maybe he gets more fluids that way, too.

The exercises that work for him best are running, swimming and bicycling. He was just having problems this week and he told me that after he ran a lap at school yesterday he went to the bathroom.

Here is something else to consider - my mother told me that she has always had problems making bowel movements and sometimes wouldn't have one until she got her period each month. When she went to have a colonoscopy (routine exam for her age) she couldn't have it done because her intestines are all twisted up. She had to have a virtual colonscopy instead. Anyway, she figured that's why she always had problems going.