DD and a pain in the bottom - literally - TMI alert

Sorry for the TMI but I'm after suggestions.

DD is 4.5 and on Monday I went to pick her up from preschool but when I got there to collect her she dropped to the floor, squatting like a frog and said her bum was hurting. She ran into the toilet and sat down but didn't do anything. I noticed she had some poo on her knickers. Anyway we left and went down to the shops quickly and she did it again in the shops - dropped to the floor. Some more random times before dinner she said her bum was sore but I had a look and nothing looked irritated so I figured she probably just needed to do #2. That night she did a small #2 and I thought all was good - but... She was then up that night crying saying how her bottom was sore and grabbing at it and crying and generally just carrying on. It got to the point that I called the nurse hotline. I ended up giving her some neurofen and at 10pm put her into a warm bath - she then climbed back in bed and fell straight to sleep. Tuesday morning I got up and she said her bottom felt better but i still took her to the Dr. She looked at her bottom and said it didn't look inflamed but she had alot of content in her bowel and it was probably just constipation. So when we got home I started putting benefibre in everything, she eats quite well, eats alot of fruit, eats wholemeal grainy bread but still occasionally has these issues with constipation. She managed a small "nugget" on Tuesday afternoon which I grabbed as a sample as requested by the Dr. Wednesday after more small nuggets she finally did some serious #2 - I was stunned at the size and quantity I gotta say. It was very loose but she was very proud of herself. She did another one yesterday again around the same quantity and I thought we were all good. I was still getting the occasional "my bottom hurts" but last night she wasn't too bad and I just assumed that she might have been a bit burnt from the loose #2 plus she just won't keep her fingers away..

Today though she gave a few "ow my bottom hurts" during the day but nothing major however tonight we've had almost 2 hours of crying and real discomfort. Her bottom looks irritated and inflamed, she sometimes says it hurts but other times says it's itchy. I've given neurofen and she had a bath but it didn't help. She finally then did another very loose #2 again a good quantity and that seemed to make her bottom worse so I put her back in the bath again. I've now lathered her bottom with zinc cream and her other parts are a little red also.

She is now finally asleep but I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this or knows what it might be. The main thing I'm finding online is that it could be worms but I'm not sure if that would coincide with the constipation. I should be able to find out tomorrow if her sample had worms, which is why the Dr asked me to get a sample but I would say I'll take her back regardless to get it checked due to the irritation she now has. I ended up giving her some combantrin tonight anyway as I just didn't know what else to try. I normally worm her every 3 months at the same time we worm our dog but the packaging doesn't say how often to do it but it did state you could redose in 2-4 weeks so I assumed it would be ok and figured it couldn't hurt at this stage.

Any suggestions welcome as I hate seeing her distressed like that when I can't help or fix it..

My daughter will be 5 in August and has suffered constipation since she was a baby. Usually her bottom hurts when there is a big "plug" of poo holding another back and she needs help to get it out. We use movicol to help keep things moving when it gets too bad. My gp was kind of useless, just said she needs more vegies - even though she eats a bucketload of fruit each day.

We just make her as comfortable as we can, I suspect she has a food intolerance of some description but so far haven't found a gp willing to test her.

It could definitely be worms so I would worm her ASAP, you can't take worm treatments while pregnant so you certainly don't want to catch them from her if hats what it is.

We have had problems like Arimeh too, and the irritation sounds like its from having to get that amount of poo out it stretches and hurts.

The squatting suggests to me that she might be constipated.

Thanks for the replies..

Arimeh: Definetetly no plug there as she has well and truly emptied her bowels now and all has been very soft and loose - nothing has been hard..

Nai: Gave her some combantrin last night in case it is worms but i guess i'll have to wait till i see the Dr this afternoon if any worms were in her sample.

black_rose: I'm thinking it's probably an irritation from the poo as well but i don't think it's a stretch/hurt issue as all her motions have been very soft (no shape at all) and I've been there when she has done them and none involved any straining or look of discomfort.

Tinks: She has been constipated but as mentioned that has now all passed through and I think this is a secondary issue to the original constipation..

I've booked to see the Dr this afternoon so hopefully she will have an answer for me, I've hear "ooowww" from my little girl far too much this week..

The working packages actually say you should re treat after 2 weeks, not that you can. The worm life cycle is around that period of time and the eggs aren't destroyed by the treatment so the second dose is to kill any left. If she doesn't actually have worms it's not a drama bit of you suspect she does you should so it once then again a fortnight later


I am someone that suffers ibs. My body goes in fits and starts of constipation and the runs. If I've been backed up and then get a lot of movement I end up quite tender. The "plug" is often rough/painful as it is dryer and it irritates things. And then the softer movement is higher in liquid (sometimes feels mildly acidic like gastro but not quite as bad). The combination leaves me sore for a couple of days. Just thought is give a grown up perspective cos it sounds similar to what your dd is going through!