9 year son with faecal incontinence

My 9 year old son has annonfoing problem with not being able to hold his stool. He has "accidents" regularly and they smell really terrible, unlike normal faeces. When it happens he gets red, hot and pimply.

At first I thought it was lactose but now it seems to happen after he eats almost anything or if he exercises. His whole body smells like it and sometimes his breath.

He has started to be called smelly at school and it hurts his confidence. He has been to the dr and had courses of antibiotics, a scan and stool samples and nothing has shown up. I don't know what to do. Any advice would be really appreciated.

[Ratnakar Kini, MD]

Hi,
It could be constipation with overflow incontinence.
High fiber diet with plenty of fluids would be helpful.
If there is no improvement biofeedback may be tried.
You need to consult a  Pediatric gastroenterologist and child psychiatrist for evaluation and further management including the above the mentioned one.