Infant encopresis, causes and treatment
Does your child stain his underwear almost every day? Be careful, because this can affect your self-esteem. The encopresis is also known as fecal incontinence and, as described by pediatricians, is the continuous and repeated escape of stool that occurs in a child over four years in places not suitable for it, often causing the staining of underwear.
Encopresis is suffered by four percent of children, as explained by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics in Early Childhood, who also warn of the consequences for self-esteem and the psychological problems that can be derived from this ailment.
The causes of encopresis
Faecal incontinence can occur after a long constipation. Pediatricians comment that long-term stool retention "causes dilation in the final part of the intestine", which, in turn, leads to a decrease in the sense of desire to defecate," which further increases dilation. "The consequence of this is that the distension of the muscle that controls defecation (external anal sphincter) causes the involuntary escape of the stool
"Rarely occurs in the absence of constipation, is called then non-retentive fecal incontinence, and its cause is unclear, but it seems that it could be associated with psychological and behavioral disorders," nuanced pediatricians, who say it would be very rare that this encopresis was produced by a problem of weakness of the walls of the intestine.
What do I do if my child stains his underwear with poop?
If your child permanently stains his underwear with stools, the first thing to keep in mind is that you should not scold or threaten him, because it is totally involuntary. Therefore, pediatricians recommend going to them before any doubt.
The visit to the pediatrician must occur whenever the child has more than four years and we are observing that you are making stools in places not intended for it or that you are continuously soiling your underwear with stools. "Most of the time there is a long history of constipation, with hard stools, rectal bleeding and intermittent abdominal pain and defecation," the experts comment.
The treatment of encopresis
If the child has encopresis, it must be the pediatrician who sends him a treatment and supervise. Normally the first thing will be to try to empty the stool retained at the end of the intestine; that is, they probably give laxatives to the little one or opt for a enema, a decision that the pediatrician should always take.
Once the bowel is emptied, the child should take laxatives for a variable period of time until he defecates normally. "It is important that the child is fed with a balance diet with the habitual taking of fruits, vegetables and a lot of water ", mention in this respect the doctors, who remember that all this must be accompanied by" intestinal education measures like sitting ten minutes in the toilet after meals. "A trick to this : we can make a positive reinforcement to the child (a prize) if he manages to poop.
As pediatricians explain, this is usually enough and children are cured in a period of between six months and two years. "If the treatment does not work or the child has behavioral problems, it is most likely that the pediatrician advises him to go to the psychologist to assess other treatments," they explain.
Can encopresis be prevented?
Pediatricians give certain keys that can help children have a healthier relationship with bowel movements and, in this way, prevent the onset of encopresis. These are:
- Do not try to get children to control the poop before two years.
- Have patience or the child has difficulty controlling defecation. Avoid punishments or threats for this reason.
- Ensure that the child follows a balanced diet with fruit, vegetables and water.
- Teach the child to sit down daily on the toilet for a few minutes (always at the same time: after eating, at snack time) to create a routine in your body.
- Do exercise.
Damián Montero
