Elimination disorders are common in children and can be treated very well. We support you and your child on the way to dryness.

Children with elimination problems have difficulties with bowel and bladder control. Typical complaints, in addition to wetting and soiling, include chronic constipation, pain during bowel movements, fear of using the toilet, or refusal to do so. Often, children with elimination problems also exhibit other behavioural abnormalities.

We distinguish between soiling (encopresis) and wetting (enuresis). Soiling can occur with or without constipation. A very common symptom is stool retention, where more and more stool accumulates in the rectum. This hardens over time as water is withdrawn in the intestine. When this hardened stool is eventually expelled, it causes pain. This often leads to a negative spiral of fear of bowel movements and pain, postponing bowel movements, and increasingly hardened stool. As a result, children lose their sensitivity to the urge to defecate, leading to smearing or soiling.

If there are no organic causes for wetting, we speak of functional urinary incontinence or enuresis. Affected children show, among other things, difficulty waking up and/or increased nighttime urine production that exceeds bladder capacity. Daytime wetting is mainly due to an overactive bladder or postponing the urge to urinate. In children, a disturbed perception of bladder fullness is suspected as the cause.

Our treatment focuses on relieving pressure from your child and reducing the burden on the whole family. The therapeutic goal is for your child to fully control their elimination organs. We choose individual and realistic therapy steps to enable quick success experiences. Important for the success of the therapy is that the child cooperates and is supported by you as parents and the immediate environment.

Before registering for our special consultation, a preliminary examination by your pediatrician should take place. If they suspect a psychological cause, they can refer you directly to our consultation. If the cause is unclear, a referral to the IntestTeam consultation at UKBB should take place first (initial consultations always on Mondays from 9am to 12pm). There, any cause of physical nature will be excluded.