Overview
Fecal incontinence, also known as a bowel incontinence, is the inability to control bowel movements causing stool (feces) to leak unexpectedly from the rectum. Fecal incontinence may include the following:
Please refer to the Bristol stool chart and observe the kind of stools you have.
Causes
While it is normal to have more than one cause for fecal incontinence, it is also not unusual for fecal incontinence to happen without a clear cause.
There are many potential causes of fecal incontinence, including:
Most incidents of fecal incontinence usually happen when you are having episodes of severe diarrhoea. Some people may have recurring or chronic fecal incontinence that can involve frequent or occasional accidental leakage.
There are two types of fecal incontinence:
Fecal incontinence may also be accompanied by other bowel problems, such as:
Care Management
Procedures/ Nursing Interventions:
1. Do pelvic floor exercises
The pelvic floor muscles are layers of muscles stretched like a hammock from the pubic bone at the front of the bottom of the backbone.
The pelvic floor muscles, if weakened, cannot support the openings effectively.
Pelvic floor exercises help strengthen the pelvic floor muscles, which support the bladder, bowel and in women, the uterus and improve bowel control.
Seek advice from your healthcare professional before doing these exercises to make sure you are doing them properly.
They may also be able to suggest additional exercises, exercise devices or muscle stimulation which could speed up the process.
2. Making changes to your diet
What you eat and drink affects the consistency of your stool. You may be able to gain better control of your bowel movements by:
Food that may worsen fecal incontinence:
3. Taking care of your skin
You can help avoid discomfort from fecal incontinence by keeping the skin around your anus as clean and dry as possible. This will help relieve anal discomfort and prevent any possible odor associated with fecal incontinence:
Specialties & Services
