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6 year old Girl toilet issues

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  • 06-11-2019 10:31pm
    #1
    Lord Trollington
    Registered Users Posts: 4,411 ✭✭✭


    Hi,

    I am looking for some help/advice with an issue my 6 year old girl is having.

    Back when she was 2, almost 3 she developed a painful fissure in her bum which caused great pain and discomfort when doing poos in the toilet . We had her with a specialist in Blackrock clinic who decided it didnt need any operative intervention and opted to prescribe her stool softening medication to help it heal . It did heal over time but since then she has developed a serious phobia or mental issue with doing a no.2 in the toilet.

    We had her back with the specialist in BlackRock after 6 months and he confirmed that the fissure had healed and it was a battle of will to get her to use the toilet as normal rather than holding onto her no.2 to the point where she became constipated.

    When she gets the urge to do a no.2 she will not tell anyone and will opt to hold onto it . This is causing her to have a number of issues. 1.She holds onto her poo to the point of constipation. 2. In cases where she cannot hold onto her poo she is having a leakage or "accident" as we call it into her pants . She is in senior infants now , and it's to the stage where we are afraid of other kids becoming aware of her phobia due to her accidents.

    We've have tried everything. Adjusted her diet numerous times, incentive for doing daily poos, incentives for having no accidents. Had her at another specialist who felt she was gluten intolerant because she had bags under her eyes - another diet change.

    At this stage I feel it's to the point that we need her to talk to someone about it . I and we've tried every angle ourselves.

    I open to any help or any suggestions or guidance from any parent who's had the same or similar issues.


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    #2
    2xj3hplqgsbkym
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,181 ✭✭✭2xj3hplqgsbkym


    I have had very similar experience with this with my child when he was a similar age. It is horrible, I used to have nightmares about poo! It is hard not to get angry also and to have to cope with the soiling.
    I found this information helpful, especially the part about not recognizing the signals and the muscles not working correctly.
    https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=encopresis-90-P01992

    Making him sit on toilet every day twice a day for 10 minutes eventually worked.
    He will still try to hold off on having a bowel movement. I still have to tell him to go, every morning but apart from that it is all good and he no longer needs the stool softener.
    Good luck.


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    #3
    [Deleted User]
    Posts: 0 ✭ [Deleted User]


    If you can identify a normal time of day when she is usually ready to go it can be an idea to sit her on the toilet and engage in some kinda of distraction. Reading a book, doing a sticker thing with her, telling a story - anything at all to keep her mind off where she is sitting and why.

    Over time this will build up the positive feelings of that location - even if nothing happens.

    But if a movement commences then she is in the right place too and will build up experience of that being ok too.

    Also while it is of course possible that she remembers the earlier trauma - it does seem a little young. It is possible that it is less her tension and stress about the bathroom that is giving her issues - but yours and how it is communicating from you to her. The more of a deal you make of it - positive or negative - perhaps the worse it might get. Of course I do not know you or how you act around this situation so I only throw it out as a possibility not a claim. Aim to make it a mostly neutral thing perhaps - without getting too agro it is not going well or too overly energetic about it going right.


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    #4
    ellejay
    Registered Users Posts: 1,254 ✭✭✭ellejay


    Routine toilet times and make them fun, looking forward to it.
    If your girl could eat apple or pear an hour before toilet time (they're good for constipation) you'll know she's not constipated although you say you're happy with the diet.
    Don't get stressed at all, she'll pick up on it.

    My sister had similar issue and granny came up with the poo song.

    If you can imagine the tune of Jonny Cash "I heard a poo was coming, coming down the tracks, I heard that poo poo coming and it's never going back, oh poo poo!
    Everyone in the house joined in, bathroom door left open.

    Poo changed to wee for when required for initial training.


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    #5
    xalot
    Registered Users Posts: 1,091 ✭✭✭xalot


    I feel your pain.

    Sounds psychological and will probably just take time for her to get comfortable again but something that helped a friend of mine is the 'poo goes to pooland' app. It comes in a pdf too, it's attached.

    Best of luck.


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