Question re Rusty Tea water showing disimpaction - how is this even possible?

[tartufo]

If we are waiting for 3 days of elusive rusty tea water with no bits in it to say we have achieved disimpaction - how is this possible when the child is still eating food alongside the movicol? Surely there has to be some bits of food/poo that is made from the food they are eating alongside the movicol?

We are getting such runny nappies with plenty of rusty tea water, that they are leaking through his nappies and into clothes and sheets etc, but there are still some bits of undigested food and brown very soft poo looking substance - but forums say to keep going! I don't understand how just rusty tea coloured water is possible when food is being consumed as well. Could understand if child was not eating anything, but where is the food going???

[Yaleamanda]

You will see food, what you don't want is lumps of poo

[ERIC-Charity Partner]

Dear tartufo , it sounds as though you may have been given some incorrect information. You only need to see watery poo with bits in on 2 consecutive occasions to know that the backlog is cleared. As you quite rightly say, because the child is still eating, it would be almost impossible to have 3 days or rusty water type poo. eric.org.uk/childrens-bowel... here's a great podcast from our Nurse: eric.org.uk/podcast/episode...

[tartufo in reply to ERIC-Charity]

oh thank you... yes I did really wonder how it works for this 3 days of rusty tea that keeps getting mentioned in forums etc. He eats yoghurt, fruits and porridge which are all quite soft and sludgy so guessing this will add some solid sludge to his poos. There is definitely lots of water though as he is leaking through the nappies nearly consistently. I really just don't want to stop too soon as he never got down to one or two poos per day since last disimpaction... he has always done 5 or 6,.... which guessing is soiling!