Encopresis is the soiling of underwear with stool by children who are big enough to be toilet trained (eg. more than 4 years old).
It affects around 1% of children in US.
And the major cause is prolong constipation.
Here’s what happened when children, or anyone, who forget to clear their bowels:
- more stool is collected in the lower intestine/colon
- colon stretches more and more, and loses the urge to pass bowel
- looser stool higher up leaks down, and small amount leaks out
- as time goes on, child is less aware, and unknowingly pass the entire bowel
So for parents, it is important to prevent constipation. While Baby Log is useful for the initiate diaper stage, it is still useful to track post-diaper stage.
Or we have another app – Poo Keeper – that tracks specifically for poops, including taking photos of it (useful for analysis by doctors), and helpful reminders.