Holding in stools

I do not believe holding in your poop, in-and-of-itself, has any negative affect on her UC. The only plausible thing I could see being problematic, is that her pentasa is a topical medication that can only reach the whole colon daily when she is emptying her bowels normally. If she's not going for multiple sequential days, then her medication may not be delivered and working as expected during that timeframe.

8-days is a long trip. Where is she going?

Thank you both, we are UK based and its a trip to mainland Europe so I am not overly concerned but I hadn't even considered the usefulness of Pentasa. Its completely a mental issue so I will keep trying to encourage her not to do this as it could make more problems. Thank you!

Thank you for taking the time to reply Andrina, I just wonder whether it’s fair on her at 12 to limit what she does “just in case” as I said she is currently symptom free and I have no reason to think that will change any time soon so why would I want to stop her experienceing things, this is a ski trip and she’s never been before and she is so excited 😆 whilst I understand being cautious I think perhaps keeping her wrapped up in cotton wool is helpful - but thank you for replying 😊

It is really hard when kids gets diagnosed. If your daughter is feeling good, I would let her make the trip. It is far more healthier for her from an emotional standpoint to encourage to do normal things kids do. This will benefit her much more than planting the seed that she has a condition that makes her different from other kids her age. I think as long as she is feeling good & you are comfortable with the decision to let her go, that is what matters. I have some friends with an 11 year old who was dx'd 2 years ago. He was extremely ill & spent a lot of time in & out of the hospital. He has improved but still having problems. His parents encourage him to participate in all activities that he can do in spite of the disease. Consider the product mentioned by the above poster for bathroom smell.

Take care.

Have you talked to her about why she won't use the toilet outside the home? You need to understand what her exact fear is so that you and her can work on a plan to overcome it. She's old enough to have this conversation and she can't hide from public (or even hotel!) restrooms forever. (I, for example, always carry flushable wipes & a pair of undies in a sealable bag).

My main concern would be that this could cause some bad constipation, which will irritate her colon, and if she has any lingering inflammation or hemorrhoids, it could be an issue. If you don't poop when you need to, the stool stays in your colon, which absorbs more of the water, making the stool harder. This could lead to fecal impaction and a blockage (not common, but it can happen). Even if there is no impaction, I would imagine that she would become very uncomfortable and get some bad tummy aches and not enjoy herself, so perhaps part of the conversation needs to be about not letting her UC interfere with all the fun things she can do, especially when she is feeling fine.