Soiling of pants in children (encopresis)
Introduction
Encopresis is the medical term for a toilet-trained child (aged four or older) soiling their clothes. The soiling usually happens during the day, when the child is awake and active.
Although parentsmay finditfrustrating,encopresis is very rarely thought to be caused by a child misbehaving. They usually can't help it and some children may not even realise they've had an accident.
Children who have this problem may feel ashamed, guilty, frustrated or angry, and may act secretively to tryto hide the problem.
If your child is aged four or older and soiling their clothes, or if they're constipated and reluctant to pass stools, see your GP.
In the meantime, you can read on to learn the likely cause of your child's problems and how you can help them.
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 24 Nov 2016
Introduction
Encopresis is the medical term for a toilet-trained child (aged four or older) soiling their clothes.
Why is my child doing this?
Most children who soil their pants are severely constipated. They may ignore the urge to go to the toilet and "hold on" to avoid the pain of passing stools. This leads to faecal impaction when a larg
How would my GP diagnose and treat it?
Your GP may want to physically examine your child to see if they have faecal impaction. This normally just involves feeling your child's tummy. Sometimes an X-ray is needed to see how much stool is
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