Your Concerns About Encopresis with Constipation and Overflow Incontinence

You said that your child often has times when s/he poops in places other than the toilet. You said that this has happened at least once a month for the past 3 months. You also said that your child has problems with constipation. When your child has a bowel movement, his/her poop may be poorly formed. S/he may have some problems with leakage that happens both day and night. The type of soiling trouble you reported is a fairly common medical problem. Children who have the problems you reported often have a disorder called Encopresis.

You reported some of the following:

• Your child poops in inappropriate places (e.g. in clothing or on the floor). This can either be an accident or on purpose.
• Your child does this at least once a month for 3 months.
• Your child is at least 4 years old.
• Your child is not using laxatives. and does not have a medical problem that could lead to these types of soiling problems.

About 1 in 100 5-year-olds has these types of soiling problems. It is more common in boys than girls.

Children with this type of problem may feel self-conscious about it. They may try to avoid places (e.g. daycare or preschool) where they think they might have a soiling accident. Children with soiling problems may be made fun of or teased by other children. This leads some children to feel badly about themselves.

Adapted in part from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) and the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (1994) .