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Soiling; Incontinence - stool
Encopresis is the voluntary or involuntary passage of stools in a child over age 4, which causes the soiling of clothes.
See also: Bowel incontinence
Encopresis is frequently is associated with constipation and fecal impaction. Often, hard fecal material remains in the colon and the child only passes a soft or semi-liquid stool around the impacted stool. Leakage of stool may occur during the day or night. There are rarely physical causes other than constipation (sometimes present since infancy).
Other causes may be related to:
Whatever the cause the child may develop associated shame, guilt, or loss of self-esteem. The child may try to hide the discovery of the problem.
The following may increase the risk for encopresis:
Behrman RE. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 17th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2004.
Ferri FF. Ferriās Clinical Advisor 2007: Instant Diagnosis and Treatment. 9th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2007.