What Causes Bowel Incontinence?

Posted on Fri, 27 Jun 2014

Question: I have an 8 year old grandson that keeps having bowel movement in his pants. is it possible that he doesn't realize it till after he does it. Is there something that can be done to help him

Answered by Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (50 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Its habitual constipation and encopresis

Detailed Answer:
Hi...Thank you for consulting in Health Care magic.

I think your grandson is having habitual constipation. Because of this, what happens is that, they hold back the stools and till they can. It becomes a hard mass in the rectum and large bowel. But the fresh still forming stools seeps around this hard mass and comes out to stain the clothing. This is called encopresis. If we treat constipation, this problem will subside by itself.

I have certain questions and suggestions for you.
Questions:
1. Did your kid pass motion or meconium on day one of life?
2. Since how long is the kid constipated?
3. Does the kid have any bleeding along with hard stools?
4. How much milk does the kid consume per day?
5. Does the kid eat fruits and vegetables (fibre diet) appropriately?

Suggestions:
1. Natural methods are the best to relieve constipation.
2. Constipation is a risk factor for UTI
3. Maximum milk consumption per day should not exceed 300-400ml
4. Minimum 3-4 cups of fruits and vegetables to be consumed per day
5. Toilet training - that is - sitting in XXXXXXX type of lavatory daily at the same time will help a lot.

Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (12 hours later)

IS THERE A MEDICAL REASON FOR AN 8 YR OLD TO HAVE BOWEL MOVEMENT IN HIS PANTS. HE HAS BEEN DOING THIS SINCE BIRTH.ITS LIKE HE DOESNT REALIZE UNDER AFTER HE DOES IT

Answered by Dr. Sumanth Amperayani (9 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Medical reason

Detailed Answer:
Hi...thank you for your trust in me. I understand that you would like to probe further causes for this condition.

The other medical causes could be that, he might be having a lax or patulate anal sphincter due to various reasons like nervous weakness or spinal cord problems like tethered cord etc. These require an evaluation by a neurologist and also some neuroimaging like MRI etc. But these are rare in other wise normal and developmentally normal kid. That is the reason why I asked so many questions for you get back to me with answers and gave you suggestion about encopresis.

The management of encopresis is the same as that of constipation, so that if constipation is relieved the faecal soiling of the undergarments will be totally relieved.

Hope my answer was helpful for you. I am happy to help any time. Further clarifications and consultations on Health care magic are welcome. If you do not have any clarifications, you can close the discussion and rate the answer. Wish your kid good health.
Dr. Sumanth MBBS., DCH., DNB (Paed).,

Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj