PLOP is a free application that helps young children and schoolchildren with obstruction to go to the toilet regularly in a fun way. It has already been used by 6000 families.

    Functional constipation in children is common: 10-15% are affected, with a peak during toilet training.1 occurs during toilet training. Although not life-threatening, chronic constipation leads to a considerable reduction in the quality of life of the affected child and their caregivers. The pressure is particularly great when the child is about to start school and is still wearing diapers due to constipation and stool smearing. In addition to laxative therapy, successful treatment requires careful education of the child and their caregivers, regular toilet training and a reward system to motivate the child. A balanced diet and sufficient fluid intake are also important.

    The PLOP application was developed for this purpose. It explains in five languages (German, French, Italian, now English and Ukrainian) how defecation works. Going to the toilet, stool consistency (Bristol stool shape scale) and any pain (pain scale) can be recorded using a diary function. The child receives a reward for participating in the form of a simple “hit and run” dinosaur game and a recognition diploma.

    The diary data recorded is confidential and is therefore only stored on the patient’s smartphone or tablet. However, the diary can be printed out or sent to the treating doctor by email. This allows the child to show what progress they have made and the treatment can be optimized together.

    Plop has already been downloaded more than 6000 times in the Google Play and App Store. It is also recommended by pediatric gastroenterologists and paediatricians. Our many years of experience in caring for children with defecation disorders and as co-developers of the app show that PLOP motivates children to tackle the difficult business of toilet training in a playful and successful way. If defecation works well, the child also loses interest in the simple dinosaur game – there is no potential for addiction. Teenagers and adults can also benefit from using the diary function in PLOP.

    Dr. med. Sandra Shavit
    Specialist pediatric surgeon
    Lucerne Cantonal Hospital
    Children’s Hospital

    Dr. med. Shavit, what has been your experience with the Plop app so far?
    I have had good experiences so far.
    The app is very practical. It offers all the functions I need. Logging and exporting the data is very easy.

    Which function of the Plop app do you find particularly useful?
    Definitely the diary. The ability to document when bowel movements are made and what the consistency was like is very useful. Recording the pain during bowel movements is also helpful, although chronic constipation sufferers have practically no pain, but it’s still good to know. Furthermore, the download function of the logs from several months is very useful, where I can read everything. The recording of “lubrication” could be expanded a little, e.g. with images that you could click on to see how much lubrication was applied. And what’s really important, of course, is the game (laughs).

    What feedback do you receive from the children and parents?
    The parents are very good at using the app. They manage everything wonderfully. The “older” children really enjoy playing the game.

    Authors: Dr. Beatrice Müller (FMH Pediatrics, specializing in gastroenterology, FAPPM) and Conrad E. Müller (FMH Pediatric Surgery)

    Plop was developed in collaboration with the Foundation Pro Universitäts-Kinderspital beider Basel (UKBB), the companies AMWEB (development) and SENZ’ACCA Design (illustrations) and thanks to the financial support of Zambon Schweiz AG.

    1 Hyams JS et al, Gastroenterology 2016;150:1456-1468 (Rome IV Criteria: Childhood Functional. Gastrointestinal Disorders: Child/Adolescent). A copy of the individual references is available on request.