My 7 Year Old Is Afraid of Bowel Movement Due to Pain... Not Constipated.

Hi L.,
My son had a similar problem. There was not pain but sometimes he went for 6 days without pooping. His pediatrician recommended mineral oil, that way he was not able to hold it as much. (Check with your doctor). His poops were huge!!! with capital H. The would even plug the toilet!! We were able to tell when he was ready to go but he will say no, I don't have to. Other things, like playing, were more important. He is now 13 and everything is better but he still goes every other day. Hope this helps.

When my girls had problems the doctor put them on polyethelyene glycol for a few weeks until they "unlearned" any bad habits of holding poop and were "retrained" to be regular. Definitely get to the doctor.

This is a medical condition called encopresis. Look it up through Google and you will find a lot of resources. Call his pediatrician's office ASAP for an appt. You can get the official diagnosis and help from the doctor on resolving the problem (it's a combo of psychological and medical problem). The initial strategy is usually trying mineral oil in beverages, adding fiber supplements, using a suppository and trying to get your child on a daily poop schedule.

Our son has this condition and it's one that unfortunately won't resolve itself quickly. We've been dealing with it for a couple years off and on. However, now that our son goes daily, it's not a big issue ... he just goes when he's told (right before bathtime) and it doesn't hurt anymore so he's not afraid.

Good luck! Please do take this seriously and talk to the doctor about encopresis.

The problem could be a little bit of psychological and medical. It definatly should be addressed with the doctor. Maybe his controll issues have caused a true medical problem. Good luck! All I can suggest is adding more fiber and maybe a fiber suplament to help getting the going started without his being able to stop it.

I have never had a constipation problem -until now that I am on antibiotics!

I couldn't go in the morning, and it was painful. I took a couple large glasses of the V8 veg/fruit juice noni berry in the morning and by the afternoon I was doing a huge amount of softer poo. I was thinking.. for myself, If I bought a juicer it might help. I do know apple juice can give people very soft bm's and can even cause the runs!

Even tho your son doesn't have hard poop, he can still have a form of constipation. A huge amount of softer poops mean that the colon and intestine were quite full. Usually those come behind a harder dried stool that is blocking things up.

The other thing I would suggest is magnesium citrate. Maybe you can get it in a powder, and maybe put it in some juice. An adult dose is 200 Ml. I would take it at night because it helps you sleep and relax.
Magnesium deficiency will cause constipation, nervousness, anxiety, hyperactivity, ect. Magnesium will help with normalizing tension of the colon walls and draws water to the colon, relieving backup. It is not habit forming.

Leaning way forward while trying to go may help too.

I think if you add magnesium to his diet and some juice, you will see him going more often than every three days and feeling much better.

Hi there,

Poor things (you and your son!). I really don't have any specific suggestions, but I'd call the doctor for sure. Maybe even a specialist if you can.

I read once here on Mamasource about a woman who had a painful situation with a tear in her rectum muscles or something (internal, not anal fissures). It sounded quite excruciating. Could be that?

And are you sure there are no anal fissures? My little one (she's just 2) has had them and I think the problem was a dairy allergy (she didn't have any other allergy symptoms). According to the gastroenteritis, the diary irritated the skin on her little anus when the poops came out, which caused her to hold her poops and then get constipated and then get the fissures. But maybe he's having pain from the skin being irritated even if the poops are soft?

I would guess it is physical instead of psychological if he is in pain. Even if it is psychological, I would be really patient and attentive, as you are already being. Poor thing!

Hope you get to the bottom of it (oops! no pun intended).

H.

Oh, I feel for him. I had a similar problem myself when I was that age or a little older. Had to have an enema, which was most unpleasant.

What worked when my kids were younger was mandarin oranges (canned). I would mainly make sure that he has plenty of fiber and water to make it easier. I hope the other suggestions help as well.

Hi L..I have a 2 year old boy and 4 year old girl. Getting enough fiber, fluids and exercise are my priorities every day especially for my 2 year old boy. Cian started potty training at the young age of 15 months. He loved to poop on the potty but he strained and when he had the verbal skills would tell me it hurt. Sometime his poop would be a bit bloody and his little tummy would be large and hard. What helps Cian the most is a lot of fluid during the day, not too mcuh dairy, as much fiber as possible as well as exercise. I also give him Fibergummies which you can buy at Walgreens. Also yogurts such as danactive or avitiva seems to help keep Cian regular. If your boy is only going every 3 days that is constipation in my book!Probably since he is 7 now it is probably on his mind how much pain he is going to feel if he lets the poop out.Have you talked with his doctor about this problem lately? I wish you luck.

B.

Hi L.,

I would have him checked out at the doctors to make sure he is alright. I recommend alkaline water for him as it will properly hydrate his body on a cellular level and help to remove the toxins from his body. It is not healthy to not poop every day. The body will build up with toxins if not going on a regular basis.

If you would like more info let me know.

Have a great weekend.

N. Marie

I feel your pain. My daughter is two and only goes every 2 or 3 days and for the entire day and sometimes the day before she stops what she is doing almost every 30 minutes, runs to me and says, "poop poop" or "my tummy hurts". We thought for a long time it was because of something up there hurting when she pooped, especially once her bm got softer. We started adding flax seed to her diet. She gets a smoothie every morning and we add it to that. How it was explained to me from a friend and my mom is that the moister of the oil will sooth the path all the way through and should stop the pain.
Best of luck,
C.
PS. I've been told if they hold it too long it gets compacted and they may end up needing an enema (sp) because of it. Maybe if you explained that to him he may go despite the pain.

I think you need to see a doctor for your son. Your son should poop everyday. Its obvious that he has hemerhoids and they need to treated or it will continue.

It could be an allergy to dairy also. With my youngest daughter it was and in my older years for me. No milk or dairy and all is fine. There is everything in soy now too and your son will not miss any foods.
F.

Hi there,
Although he is not constipated, every 3 days is not good or normal. The belly also indicates that he is not digesting his food properly. It sounds like a slow transit time.
I recommend Peter Gillham's Natural Vitality Kid Calm for constipation but I think it may be helpful here too. This is a magnesium supplement. Most of the US population is deficient in magnesium. But one of the things that magnesium does, it's job per se, is to activate hundreds of enzymes and help your body digest and eliminate properly.
That's the very first thing I would do. The label says to start with 1/2 tsp and increase until the stool is comfortable.
Good luck. Feel free to call me, if you have questions.
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Constance

Hi L.,

I'm not sure if this helps, but I have a 7 year old niece who is going through something similar. My SIL explained it like this: when they hold their poops the rectum gets stretched out and the body doesn't get the sensations the same way anymore. Because of this the anal sphincter muscles don't work right anymore and that causes a lot of pain. My niece is currently seeing a GI specialist who has her on a high fiber diet that includes lots of water and miralax everyday. So, to answer your question, it definitely is psychological, but then becomes a valid medical issue that requires getting those stools out every day to help those muscles regain their strength and elasticity. Good luck!

-H.