FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
Sneaky poos
Also known as encopresis (or kids who poo in
their pants), sneaky
poos is accidental passing of a bowel motion in children
who have already been toilet trained.
THEY SAY
Medical authorities regard encopresis as commonly
caused by constipation or various neurological disorders.
Management: They
generally recommend that the child should be required to sit on the toilet and
and ‘try to go’ for 10-15 minutes immediately after eating in the hopes that
creating a regular toileting schedule will encourage the child to achieve a
normal toileting pattern.
Medication: Laxatives
are also commonly recommended.
WE SAY
Kids with sneaky poos usually respond to a change in
diet, especially in food intolerant families. If anyone in your extended family
suffers from migraines, ADHD-type behaviours, difficulty falling asleep, or
irritable bowel symptoms, it is worth considering the failsafe diet.
Foods most
commonly associated with sneaky poos, in this order (worst first):
* MSG – about 70% of people with irritable bowel
symptoms are affected
* Salicylates
* Preservatives
* Amines
* Colours
* Antioxidants like BHA – about 50% of people with IBS are affected
* dairy foods or wheat/gluten – a much smaller number
are affected
Some
failsafers’ experiences
* Regarding my son and salicylates, he found the last
of the watermelon yesterday and today we had the worst case of soiling I can
ever recall. He told me it just slipped out. He is nearly 6! He did try to clean himself up but as they do
he made a bigger mess. We are very strict with his diet, well, normally.
There’s no watermelon left now, the chooks enjoyed it. Thanks heaps.
* We did the failsafe diet as a family for our seven
year old’s behaviour issues. I would have said there was nothing wrong with the
four year old. He used to poo in his pants sometimes but I just put it down to
being too busy to listen to what his body was telling him. Now we’ve just
finished our salicylate challenge, I realise how wrong I was. It was
salicylates! And I used to nag at him to eat fruit and vegetables thinking I
was doing the right thing!
* I’m writing to say thank you for your work that has
made such a huge difference to our twelve year old son. He used to live on
stuff like cheese, ham, bacon but now he knows his sneaky poos are related to
amines, he sticks to his diet really strictly. Of all the problems caused by
foods, soiling really is the worst. No one ever talks about it but the stigma
at school is terrible. The other kids used to call him names and make fun of
him. My heart breaks for him when I think of what he had to go through, and no
one else has been able to help us.
More
information
Sneaky poos is one manifestation of irritable bowel
symptoms, thought to affect about one in five Australians, and due to
antibiotic overuse, Giardia, rotavirus, etc.
Other symptoms include bloating, stomach discomfort,
reflux (in babies and adults), colic, constipation and/or diarrhoea (can be
alternating), and a feeling of incomplete evacuation.
Factsheet: Constipation
or incomplete evacuation
The Failsafe Cookbook
by Sue Dengate, available in libraries and bookstores
www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info
The information given is not intended as
medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before
beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food
intolerance. You can find a supportive dietitian through the Dietitians
Association of
© Sue Dengate update April 2005
