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…
