What It Is
Chronic Constipation or Encopresis happens when a child holds in their poop. Their rectum becomes enlarged and the child loses the urge to poop. Hard stool builds up in the anus. Often runny stool will leak around the hard stool without the child’s knowledge.
My Experience
Just after my daughter turned three she had a bout of constipation. It hurt to poop so she started holding it. A week had passed by before I realized that she hadn’t pooped. I called her doctor and they had me come in. The nurses tried to use their fingers to pull the poop out. It was too high. So they sent me home with a prescription for a fiber supplement that I was supposed to add to her water. They also told me to by some enemas and give her an enema.
Administering the enema was a horrible experience, we both cried. The fiber worked well. It cleared out her system. The problem was it worked too well. She was pooping 5-6 times a day. She was still in diapers, but she suffered from diaper rash. I tried adjusting the amount of fiber I gave her, but I never got the amount right. It seemed like she was either constipated or had diarrhea. I really wanted to potty train her but I couldn’t when she was pooping so often. So I quit giving her the fiber, hoping that her body had adjusted and she would start pooping on her own. It didn’t happen.
Now over a year later she is still constipated. I have to make her sit on the toilet and poop. She cries, because it is painful. She is still in diapers, because sitting on the toilet is associated with pooping. So she refuses to do it.
I have started using Benefiber, which is tasteless, and adding it to her water. My hope is that I can soften her poop and give her rectum a chance to shrink. Sources I’ve read say it can take a year or more for the rectum to return to normal. Until then I just have to deal with it.
If your child has been constipated for more than a week consult your doctor and start treatment as soon as possible. Just know that you are not alone.
What You Can Do
Your doctor will most likely want to use enemas or suppositories as well as laxatives to loosen the stool and clean out the rectum.
Then you will need to administer some type of laxative or fiber. This will keep the stool loose so your child will begin to have regular bowel movements. Try and stop your child from holding it back. This has been the hardest part for me. When I see her trying to hold it back (she stands funny and tucks in her bum), I have to rush her to the toilet. Then we have to sit and wait for the urge to poop.
You also need to encourage bowel movements. Have your child sit on the toilet after meals for 5-10 minutes. Reward their efforts even if they don’t poop. The goal is for your child to realize that they can poop without pain.
Your doctor will probably recommend dietary changes such as limiting milk products and encouraging whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, and drinking lots of water.
It can take months or even longer before your child’s rectum shrinks and normal pooping takes place.
Additional Information
Possible sources for more information on Encopresis include:
http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/welcome/conditions/encopresis.html
http://www.aboutencopresis.com/