4 year old daughter soiling herself everyday.

[katerina1990]

Hiya all, I'm Kat, I'm new here just looking for some advice. My daughter constantly poo's herself (at least once a day) and I can't figure out why. As far as I am aware she is not constipated. She isn't happy when she's had an accident either, she gets quite upset but she keeps doing it. I've tried reward charts, stickers, EVERYTHING. She does this at home, Nursery and at her childminders and there is no pattern :S I hoping someone has experienced something similar and has the answer because I am so frustrated. She starts school in September and I'm so worried for her.

Thanks in advance

Kat x

[Morleyslass]

Hi Kat she sounds very much like my daughter, she has really slow bowels and they never fully empty. Is your daughter on any medication to help ?

[SKY01]

Hi Kat. This sounds like my 4.5 year old son until very recently. We are by no means sorted yet but are (hopefully!) making some progress since discovering that he was actually impacted and full of poo (despite the fact I was sure constipation wasn't the problem!). Does your daughter also poo in the loo? My son always pooed happily in the loo/potty but also soiled daily and at random times, like your daughter. Turns out that he just wasn't pooing enough (possibly rushing to get up/ignoring signals when busy playing etc.) and over time he had got really backed up. I always thought constipation meant hard poos and infrequent poos and as he went daily (often several times) and they were usually soft I just didn't realise that he was impacted:(. May not be the case with your daughter but I wish someone had suggested this to me sooner!! x

[Lolasmummymich]

Hi Katerina

I'm Michelle mummy to lola my 5 year old who also starts school in September!

I'm new here after being recommended eric by my GP.

Lola is in a similar situation and solis herself daily several times a day although she is totally unaware that she is doing it.... she has been diagnosed with encopresis.

Lolas began when she started poo holding at 18 months old.... it's been a long road and to be honest the soiling has now become an issue with reception starting soon so we are also at a bit of a loss as to what to do!

We have been given medication for disimpaction and we are hoping to get some help on here as of where to start after this.... I have a feeling we are going to be on here for a while! X

[Frustratedmum1]

My son was going regularly but messing on more than one occasion through out the day. He wasnt aware of when he had accidents. I found this frustrating and couldn't understand. It turned out he was very compacted. Perhaps start putting her on the toilet 20 mins after meal times. I find fluid intake is very important for my son. To be honest I couldn't believe when I was told my son was constipated because he regularly went.

[Sarah2208]

Hi

My daughter has just turned 5 and has had constipation for nearly a year now.

She has "overflow" constipation so the newer poo leaks round the blocked poo and this is what causes her soiling. She can't alway feel when she's doing it.

She is in reception class. At the beginning of the school year she had a few weeks where she was soiling 4/5 times during the school day and was having to get changed. At this point we arranged a meeting with her teacher. I was dreading the meeting but her teacher was very understanding when we explained and has encouraged my daughter to be independent with self care (daughter wears very thin pant liners so she's only changing the liner rather than taking clothes off to change her pants). She has a bag at school with everything she needs spare pants, liners, nappy bags etc.

School also encourage her to drink lots of water and make sure her water bottle is topped up when needed.

It can be frustrating at times, but you're not alone.

[Louloubelle23]

Hi Kat

This sounds exactly the same as my daughter. I too thought that it couldn't be constipation as she was pooing constantly and it was always very soft and gooey. I tried reward charts etc etc to no avail. Because I thought it was a behaviour / potty training issue I left it far too long before I got help. My daughter is now 10 and this is still a big problem for her (the longer it goes on the harder it is to fix).

My advice is, don't make my mistake. At the age of 4 there's a much higher chance that it can be fixed fairly quickly with laxatives. Go see your GP and if possible ask to be referred to a continence clinic ASAP.

I wish you the best of luck x

[Wagamama]

Hi,

My son did this. It was caused by food intolerances and I didn’t realise! I found out sweetcorn was the main culprit! The minute I cut it out, the soiling stopped completely. After a few months we had relapses and now bananas and watermelon have been added to the list. He would soil many times a day and didn’t realise it! I believed him when he said he didn’t know. Reward charts helped a bit but didn’t solve it. Then he would withhold and refuse to go to the loo I think from the stress of it all. His poo was never hard so I knew in my heart it wasn’t ‘constipation and an over flow’ which is what was suggested time and again.

I would advise looking at her diet and having a think as to what could be causing it...

My son is going to be tested for fructose malabsorption soon and we are just waiting for the appointment to come through as for him, it’s fruit and veg. Ironic isn’t it!

Good luck! It’s horrible. My son also starts school in September I know your pain.

Xx