How do you know if you have bowel incontinence? This embarrassing condition can become conspicuous and hard to hide. If you are lucky, you will only soil your underwear without knowing it, but there are other tell-tale signs to watch for.
Signs and Types of Bowel Incontinence
There are two types of bowel incontinence, also known as fecal incontinence:
- Urge incontinence is when you need to move your bowels, but you cannot control it to reach the toilet in time.
- Passive incontinence is when you don’t realize you have leaked feces and or mucus, and you find it in your underwear. This is also known as soiling. It can occur when passing gas or coughing.
Bowel incontinence can happen only occasionally, or it can become a regular problem. This can lead to resisting social encounters and depression. If you are finding fecal incontinence occurring more frequently, don’t be embarrassed to consult with Colorectal Surgical Associates in Kansas City. Physicians have heard it all and can help you find some solutions and/or treatments.
Some Causes of Bowel Incontinence
In general, bowel incontinence occurs due to a chronic medical condition, digestive tract disorder, or childbirth by vaginal delivery.
More specifically, it can be the result of diarrhea, constipation, hemorrhoids, diseases or injuries to the spinal cord, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease like Crohn’s disease, dementia, birth defects, plus others.
Let’s look at several of the common causes in depth.
Constipation
With constipation hard feces back up and stretch out the muscles in the rectum. This allows loose and watery feces to slip around the bulk and leak out.
Neurologic Diseases
These include conditions like: MS, Parkinson’s, a stroke, type 2 Diabetes, and dementia. They affect the nerves of the anus, pelvic floor, and rectum.
Childbirth by Vaginal Delivery
If your child was large, if forceps were used, you had a vacuum assisted delivery, or if a cut was made to accommodate the baby’s head, these situations can cause an injury to the anal sphincters leading to bowel incontinence.
Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoids are swollen veins in the rectum which can keep the anus from completely closing. This allows feces to leak out.
Treatments Are Available
Don’t give up as there are various ways to treat bowel incontinence including medications, muscle training, diet, removable devices, and biofeedback to name a few.
Sometimes surgery is recommended to fix structural problems.
If you are experiencing bowel incontinence, contact Colorectal Surgical Associates at (816) 941-0800 for a diagnosis and your treatment options.