Soiling

[jlp]

Ds#2 is 5 1/2 and is diagnosed with PDA and PDD-NOS (atypical autism).

 

He's always soiled since about 3 years of age (although to be strictly true he was in nappies till then so it might be more correct just to say he always soiled!) Usually this happens in the bath but quite often it happens in his clothes too.

 

After years of taking him to the GP and being advised to use star charts and the like, we were referred to the constipation clinic at the hosptial. He was treated for constipation and impaction - although he was never examined as he won't let anyone near him, he's never been examined properly. He won't even succomb to having his chest listened to!

 

His constipation treatment involved a huge clear out dose of movicol and he still has 2 sachets a day. His bowels mostly move at evening / night so not too much of a problem at school. He does soil in the daytime at home sometimes.

 

It's not been decided that his problems are behavioural, not physical (this is probably true but as I say, he hasn't been properly examined) and we're now waiting to be see by a nursing team from the child and family unit.

 

I'm now at the point where I'm absolutely worn out with cleaning up poo - wiping walls, changing beds, throwing away pants, bleaching the bath, scrubbing carpets. Is there any help out there? Or does anyone have any practical tips on living with poo?! I'm thinking of investing in a decent carpet cleaner (we can't have wooden floors as too noisy, we have floorboards under the carpet and that's noisy enough with a bouncer) He's not bothered by poo and gets it all over his hands which ends up everywhere.

 

We were assessed by social services a few months ago but they went away and we've heard nothing since (this happened a few years ago too - they come out assess you and you don't even get a letter to say sorry but we can't help )

 

Any advice on where to turn? Or practical advice on living with soiling?

 

 

 

 

[Paula]

I could wirte a book to rivel war and peace on bowel movements and poo and constipation.............

 

To cut a long smelly story short my son suffered from seveare constipation combined with anal leakage and a realy bloated stomach.he did suppositries,movicol alsorts.............id constant dirty underrpants alsorts it wa anightmare went on for years and years..............hte peadiatricion took samples alsorts.

 

 

In the end i looked at his diet.............i cut out fizzy drinks,processed foods,cakes basically rubbish and i put him on wholewheat nutty bread,flax seeds ,pune juice and fesh meats and home made veggie soups...........it was hard going but it did the trick.................it took a few weeks but eventually his movements improved and now he goes regulary every day to the toilet and his stomach is flat no bloat no leakage no soiling.............

 

I often wonder if it would have sorted out with time and age.....maybe it would have........weve relaxed the regeme on food now i mean hes a teenager after all.............perhaps it was just a stage a phase but its one we could have lived without.

[thomastank]

 

Hi there, my son is nearly 5 and we are toilet training now. He always poos in his pants (only been out of nappies for a month or so so one thing at a time!!!) unless I am there to spot the signs (his face goes white) and rush him to the loo. There is a website which might be able to help you, www.eric.org.uk

 

My son was seen by a continence advisor who came with a specialist health visitor, I wonder whether you might have one in your area???

 

Hope this helps x

 

[Karen A]

Hi there, my son is nearly 5 and we are toilet training now. He always poos in his pants (only been out of nappies for a month or so so one thing at a time!!!) unless I am there to spot the signs (his face goes white) and rush him to the loo. There is a website which might be able to help you, www.eric.org.uk

 

My son was seen by a continence advisor who came with a specialist health visitor, I wonder whether you might have one in your area???

 

Hope this helps x

 

Hi.There should be a continence advisor in every PCT I think.

The GP,Health Visitor or PCT may welll be able to give you a contact number.The contince advisor might also be able to help with supplies of pull up pants or protection for the bed which can be provided free on the NHS once an assessment has been done.Karen.

 

[bluefish]

Hi I really sympathise, ds had this problem and pooed in his pants everyday he also smeared if I wasn't quick on my toes.I totally understand. I remember I once took a phone call and left ds in the lounge..... the smell made me quickly end the call. He had hand printed the hall....even bleach was not enough and I had to re-paint to get rid of the stained prints!

I was at my wits end. We went back to using nappies for a bit as they were just so much eaiser than pants or pull ups, then I re introduced the potty, we went and bought a poo potty(I probably sound ridiculus at this point) and it really worked for ds. touching wood as we speak we used the potty for about six months and he progressed to the toilet. When we are out we still have the odd accident but the smearing has stopped. As far as I am aware there was nothing wrong with ds bowl just a behavior thing and he could not cope with using the loo. So this advice may be of no help. But I wanted you to know I have been on my knees in tears cleaning up and hope you find a solution soon

thinking of you x

[jlp]

Thanks to the lovely KarenT who told me there were replies here - for some reason I didn't get an email notification.

 

I'm so torn between it being a behavioural thing and a physical thing - he's always got a tummy ache.

 

Today we went out with our Barnardos group and ds#2 was complaining about his tummy and not happy, when I finally persuaded him into the toilet to have a go, he'd had diarohhea (I really should be able to spell that in our circumstances!) and was covered - his pants, his legs, up his back. It took most of a new pack of wipes to clean him up with him screaming because he doesn't like anyone to see him (I have to clean him up with my eyes shut and if I peep he gets hysterical) and because he was so red and sore.

 

I bought pull ups a while ago but he was having nothing to do with them, he was mortified by the idea.

 

Our Barnardos support worker mentioned the incontinence service and I'll speak to her in more depth about it and I'll chase up the Child and Family nursing team. I may even ring the bowel consultant again as he's having so many tummy pains, they really upset him and put him off eating (although he's not underweight). Problem is he won't let anyone near to examine him - not even near.

 

Just feeling frustrated that we're seemingly not being helped by anyone with this.

[helen1970]

Thanks to the lovely KarenT who told me there were replies here - for some reason I didn't get an email notification.

 

I'm so torn between it being a behavioural thing and a physical thing - he's always got a tummy ache.

 

Today we went out with our Barnardos group and ds#2 was complaining about his tummy and not happy, when I finally persuaded him into the toilet to have a go, he'd had diarohhea (I really should be able to spell that in our circumstances!) and was covered - his pants, his legs, up his back. It took most of a new pack of wipes to clean him up with him screaming because he doesn't like anyone to see him (I have to clean him up with my eyes shut and if I peep he gets hysterical) and because he was so red and sore.

 

I bought pull ups a while ago but he was having nothing to do with them, he was mortified by the idea.

 

Our Barnardos support worker mentioned the incontinence service and I'll speak to her in more depth about it and I'll chase up the Child and Family nursing team. I may even ring the bowel consultant again as he's having so many tummy pains, they really upset him and put him off eating (although he's not underweight). Problem is he won't let anyone near to examine him - not even near.

 

Just feeling frustrated that we're seemingly not being helped by anyone with this.

 

[helen1970]

can i just say you are not alone, my son unforunately is nearly 8 and still soils at leats once a day, up to 3 or 4 times. its an absolute nightmare effecting school, his peers smelling it, general public if we are out etc etc. we have tried everything and are in and out of the doctors regularly, she has referred him to a different specialist in huddersfield so fingers crossed.

i see some one has mentioned 'eric' to you. they are reallly nice and although didn't find a solution for us maybe you'll have more luck. with you mentioning the stomach ache have you tried stopping dairy products, according to some experts we all have an intolerance to dairy to some degree. beware it is in everthing specialk, soreen.etc etc . your dietician can give you a list of all the different names for 'lactose' and i highly recommend sainsburys fresh sweetened soya milk 97p- much cheaper than alpro soya, we tried them all and all the others are revolting, its fine in sauces etc.

good luck, and if anyone has any suggestions that can help my son- we have exhauseted all the main ones it would be very very appreciated. helen

[johnsons50]

My 6 year old daughter wears pull-ups at night and when out and about as we have real problems with toileting although we are trying our best at home and school. The major issue for us is that she will often take herself off somewhere to have a poo and by the time we get to her it is everywhere! It is definitely behavioral as it doesn't occur all the time and is often for a reaction.

 

Her school advised her to give her a cold shower after she smears, not as punishment but she needs cleaning up and a nice warm bath or shower might be rewarding her behaviour. If she poos on the toilet or in her nappy and doesn't smear it then we give her some shampoo in her hands over the sink for her to play with. This satisfies her sensory need.

 

We occasionally have problems with constipation and it can really affect her mood. She is non-verbal so we keep a diary at home and in school to record her bowel movements. If she hasn't been for a couple of days we know to expect her to become naggy.