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Stool Soiling in Children
Natural Medicine Help for Encopresis
When Gina’s parents asked if I could help with their daughter’s constipation, I thought well, sure. This is a common complaint that many family doctors, pediatricians, gastroenterologists, naturopathic doctors and other providers treat. Whether for kids or adults, I have found a number of natural medicine approaches quite helpful.
But Gina had more issues. At 5, she refuses to use the toilet on any regular basis. She urinates fine, but she might go 5–6 days without a bowel movement and then when she does need to move her bowels, she holds it in, sometimes with great force. That said, softer stool pushes past the harder stool and often Gina has small accidents, or bits of stool in her underwear, also known as encopreisis. An otherwise healthy and robust child, she is mortified about this and will not tell anyone. But the odor is a dead giveaway and she has also developed ongoing irritation around the anus and the vaginal area from stool sitting at the skin.
I like to understand my patients symptoms in the context of the rest of their health and to create a treatment plant that addresses root causes of issues, so I set out to learn more about Gina.
She was born of an uncomplicated pregnancy, breastfed for a year and developed well, achieving all her milestones either early or on time. She spoke precociously and clearly and was mother’s helper when her sister was born when Gina was age three. It was around that time that her father notices that Gina’s typical bowel habits start to change. Her stool is harder and more difficult to pass. And then her parents realize that days go by without Gina using the bathroom at all.
While it’s true that a new family member or any shift in living situation (alongside other stressors) impact health, but just because something happens in a particular time frame, does not mean it is causative. I ask, from a number of different angles, if there is anything else that occurred around the time that Gina’s little sister was born. As it turned out, Gina had a strept throat in the weeks leading up to her sister’s arrival. She was put on antibiotics, the first one she had an allergic reaction to with a blossoming of hives. She was put on another antibiotic, which took care of the throat pain. Her parents thought they…
