Re: Bowel problems with children

I can completely relate to what you are going through. My son has had problems with his BMs since he was 2. We had a difficult time potty training him, and he has never been "normal" with his BMs. He is now 9 and I keep thinking he will grow out of this, but I wonder if he is causing permanent physical problems or if his problem is psychological. He will hold his BMs forever if I would let him. As it is now, he only has one about once every three weeks! The last few times he has went, I had to give him an emema. I have heard that if you don't use the bowel muscles, they may lose function. I'm scared that this will happen. He also walks around with mess in his underwear and smelly clothes. He is always wiping the "seepage" from his bottom on toilet paper, so all of the bathrooms stink because the trash cans are full of messy paper.I have also tried everything I can think of to get him to go. I have tried rewards, punishment, making him clean his own dirty underwear, and just leaving him alone about it. I can't understand why he would do this to himself and why he won't just go. I'm scared that since he has been like this since he was 2 that he doesn't know how to be normal. I try to make him eat veggies, take granulated fiber, mineral oil, and juices, but he won't eat any of it. We scream at each other over this and we cry together over this. Any suggestions? Tweet