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A brief overview of the signs and symptoms of the disorder, and how it's treated in children and adolescents.
en EspañolEncopresis, also known less formally as soiling, is categorized in the DSM-5 as an elimination disorder and is defined as the repeated passage of feces into inappropriate places. The behavior can be either deliberate or accidental, though in most cases it is involuntary, often resulting from a long period of holding in bowel movements. It can only be diagnosed in children over the age of four, which is past the usual age when children become potty trained. The soiling often results from a child resisting bowel movements until the stool becomes impacted, and softer stool leaks out around the blockage, into his underwear.
Doctors may recommend medication such as laxatives or stool softener to empty the rectum and enable frequent bowel movements. Then the child needs to learn, or relearn, health bowel movement habits, including trying to move the bowels once a day. The goal is to eventually wean children off medication.
Related Illnesses
In the case of deliberate passing of feces, symptoms of oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder may also be present. Enuresis, which is a repeated passage of urine in inappropriate places such as beds or clothes, over the mental age of five, also tends to appear in children with encopresis.
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