Last Updated on November 11, 2022 by Mike Robinson
Encopresis is one of the most frustrating difficulties of childhood. This is so for the child and the father and mother, who often do not know how to respond. It can be traumatic for children to have difficulty controlling their stools. For this reason, we will discuss how to help a child with encopresis.
Furthermore, these children are often teased by their peers and are shamed and blamed by adults for their difficulties. In this article, we will talk about what is important for families to know about encopresis.
What is encopresis?
Learning to regulate one’s bowels is a crucial developmental milestone for kids. Physical and mental health is at risk if bowel control is not acquired by age five or is lost. By the age of four, the majority of kids have complete bowel control, but up to 3% of kids have encopresis.
Encopresis is part of urine and stool elimination disorders, called enuresis and encopresis. According to the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), these types of disorders are called excretion disorders. Although, they were previously called elimination disorders.
According to DSM-5, To receive this diagnosis, the following four characteristics must be present:
- The chronological age of the patients must be at least 4 years.
- The child repeatedly passes his bowel movements in inappropriate places (such as clothing). This can happen involuntarily or voluntarily.
- At least one of these episodes occurs every month for at least 3 months.
- This behavior does not occur as a result of substances (for example, laxatives), nor is it due to some other medical problem.
Infant Encopresis
We can talk about 2 types of encopresis :
Retentive encopresis: This type of encopresis is associated with cases of constipation.
Non-retentive encopresis: This type of encopresis occurs when there is no relationship between incontinence and periods of constipation.
Most of the time, the encopresis is of the retentive type. Children with this type of encopresis have an underlying medical reason for not controlling their bowels.
Non-retentive encopresis, on the other hand, does not have any physical condition that prevents normal behaviors of going to the bathroom.
How to manage Children with encopresis
Mothers and fathers often have difficulties knowing how to handle this delicate situation. Therefore, I would like to give you some tips so that you know how to handle encopresis if your child is in this situation.
First, go to the pediatrician to be able to make a proper diagnosis and explore the possible medical causes of the problem your child is having. The doctor may detect various problems and ask you to make changes to your child’s diet and/or activity level. One of the most important points is to seek early treatment for this problem.
Parents often feel embarrassed when their child has encopresis, which makes it more difficult for them to ask for help. My advice is, don’t wait for this problem to go away on its own. If the problem persists, the child’s self-esteem and confidence may be damaged further unnecessarily.
On the other hand, if your son gets his underwear dirty, don’t be angry or punish him. Don’t embarrass him, either. With these types of reactions, you will only make your child’s self-esteem worse. I am aware that it may seem like intentional behavior at times, but it may not be under your child’s control.
Therefore, don’t blame your child. You won’t improve the problem, but it will make them feel worse about themselves.
It can also be interesting to show the child that there are other children with the same problem that he has. In fact, you can explain to him that other children are likely to go to his school and the same thing happens to them.
Consider teaching your child how the gut works and how it can strengthen the muscles and nerves that control bowel function.
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Using A tracking log as a strategy
For some children, it may be helpful to keep a record of situations in which they have not been able to control their stools and have had an accident. In this way, you can try to discover if there is a pattern in accidents or any specific trigger. For example, if they always occur in the dining room, when you go to a friend’s house, or late in the afternoon.
Keeping track of accidents may cause anxiety for some children, while for others, it helps them feel they have more power and control over the problem. Only use these types of strategies if they benefit your child, and always with the advice of a professional.
Use positive reinforcement
We can also create a reward system. Keep track on your log of how many days pass without a major or minor accident. You can give them a toy or prize when they get to a certain number of days. It is important to note that this approach does not work for all children. In fact, in certain cases, it can be counterproductive.
Therefore, consult a professional who can advise you according to the specific situation and needs of your child. Or at a minimum, try it out for a few days to see how your child responds.
