2 year old holding bowel

Our 2 year old son has been holding his bowel on and off for the past year. At the suggestion of our pediatrician we initially tried to give him foods high in fiber which losened his bowel to the point where he could not hold it. However after a couple weeks he was able to hold it again and we had only occasional success with the high fiber diet. About 3 months ago our pediatrician started him on Diocto and we saw a similar pattern as we had with the natural approach. A referral to a pediatric gastroentologist confirmed that there are no physical problems and that the holding is rather behavioral. Again our son was put on another medication Enulose ( stoolsoftener) and again we saw initial success. His holding problem got definitely worse when he started daycare about 5 months ago, but nevertheless had been a problem prior to that.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

At your son's young age, you are following the correct course - i.e., employing a combination of diet adjustments and medically prescribed treatments to keep the stools soft, avoid constipation and encourage bowel movements. You've had your son evaluated by pediatric gastroenterology, which was also a sensible intervention. You are receiving sound medical guidance and I'd stay on the same course.

[amk627]

Well, I just assumed that a child of 2 or 18 mo or 19 mo. would not know how to hold in a bowl movement. My daughter is 19 mo. and she has had trouble with her bm's for the past year. We have tried Lactulose and diet, which help but the problem is as soon as we stop, it starts again. I am not sure she is holding it in on purpose, I do know her bowl movements are painful for her and she pushes and pushes and pushes and sometimes there is a little blood. So thats why we tried these other things. I was hoping she would just grow out of it. We bought some Citricil at the Dr.'s request but she will not drink it. Likewise prune juice.
She won't drink juice of any kind. The only things she will drink are water and milk. Thats it. Any comments would be appreciated... will she just grow out of it or should she see a gastroenterologist ?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It's always sensible to have such things checked out medically, and chances are that she's fine from that perspective. She'll drink water, so that's useful. Try to have her drink water that is not too cold. If she;ll drink lukewarm water, it can work wonders.

[reddew]

my 2 year old forcefully holds in her stools. she stands, squeezes her cheeks, and sometimes even trembles until she doesn't feel the urge to go anymore. and she will not go. should i let her do this, or should i use a suppository to force her to get it out. she screams when we do this, and we even can see the stool coming out, and then she sucks it back up! when she finally can't fight it anymore, her stool is soft when it comes out. so i know she's not constipated1 why does she do this? should i force her, or let her do it on her own?

[RysMomma924]

A related discussion, My 2 1/2 yr old holds her bowel- help! was started.