What is it:
- Encopresis involves having bowel leakage or fecal incontinence – commonly referred to by parents as “accidents”. This can include children soiling their underwear or clothing, as well as skid marks in their underwear.
- Encopresis presents predominantly between 3 and 7 years of age
Causes:
- Constipation! Did you know that more than 90% of encopresis occurs in the context of functional constipation?
- Children can have a bowel movement every day and still be constipated!
- “My child is having diarrhea accidents, not constipation.”
- This is known as break through diarrhea and it’s a sign of chronic constipation! This happens as a result of looser stool leaking or overflowing from a rectum that has been stretched by retained stool.
- Constipation accounts for nearly 5% of all outpatient visits to pediatric clinics and more than 25% of all referrals to pediatric gastroenterologists.
Signs of constipation to watch for:
- Large toilet clogging stools (yikes!)
- Pooping >2 times a day
- Desire to eat only small amounts of food
- Irritability
- Abdominal pain
- Frequent or urgent peeing
Information taken from the American Academy of Pediatrics