Fecal Incontinence: Causes, Symptoms and Effective Home Treatments

What to do if you have fecal incontinence or loss of bowel control? Discover 5 common causes, 3 simple home exercises and a permanent treatment solution to regain your confidence in life!

1. What is Impolite Behavior?

Incontinence is a condition. incontinence, leading to fecal leakage outside when sneezing, coughing, or vigorous exerciseThe disease is not life-threatening but has a serious impact on psychology, daily life, quality of life and makes people feel inferior and reluctant to communicate.

Susceptible subjects:

  • Women after childbirth (due to pelvic floor injuries).
  • Elderly, people with diabetes, stroke.
  • People with a history of anal surgery.

2. Early Warning Signs

  • Fecal leakage when laughing loudly, sneezing, carrying heavy objects.
  • Sudden diarrhea, did not have time to go to the bathroom.
  • Underwear sticky even though it has been cleaned.
  • Anal pain, itching due to skin irritation.

⚠️ Note: Đừng chủ quan nếu triệu chứng xuất hiện trên 2 lần/tuần!

3. Common Causes

3.1. Anal muscle injury

  • After normal birth (episiotomy).
  • Surgery anal area 
  • Injury anal area

3.2. Neurological diseases

  • Stroke
  • Spinal cord injury.
  • Parkinson's disease
  • Diabetes nerve damage

3.3. Other causes

  • Chronic constipation or diarrhea
  • Rectal prolapse
  • Pelvic floor muscle weakness

4. Diagnosis

4.1. Information You Need to Prepare Before Examination

Your doctor will ask you the following questions to narrow down the cause:

  • Toilet habits:

    • How many times a day do you poop? Loose stools or constipation?
    • Have bloody, mucus in the stool?
  • Health history:

    • Previous surgery or trauma to the anal area or normal birth (with women).
    • Sick diabetes, stroke, Parkinson's, or spinal cord injury.
  • Living habits:

    • Low fiber diet, or holding in bowel movements.

⚠️ Tips: Let diary in 1 week about the time of fecal incontinence, stool properties and bring it to the examination!

4.2. Doctor's Examination Process

Clinical examination

  • Anal examination: The doctor uses his hands to gently examine and assess:

    • Sphincter strength (ability to contract when you push/hold).
    • Detect tumor, fissure, or rectal prolapse.

Testing, specialized paraclinical (if necessary)

  • Anal soft tissue ultrasound: Check the muscle structure, the software detects the damage towards what cause?
  • Colonoscopy: Detect inflammation, polyps, tumors causing bowel disorders.
  • Pelvic MRI: Assess for nerve or muscle damage.
  • Pelvic floor dynamic MRI, defecography (Defecography –MR): assess the function and structure of the pelvic floor during defecation

5. Effective Home Treatment

5.1. Change your diet

  • Increase fiber: Eat sweet potato leaves, papaya, sweet potatoes to soften stools and make them easier to eliminate.
  • Drink 2 liters of water/day, avoid coffee, spicy foods.
  • Toilet habits at one hour of the day.

5.2. Exercise the anal and pelvic floor muscles

Kegel exercises strengthen the anal sphincter muscles

  • Step 1: Tighten your anal muscles like hold in, hold 5 – 10 seconds.
  • Step 2: Relax for 10 seconds. Repeat. 10 – 15 times.
  • Step 3: Repeat this exercise 3 times/day
  • Effective after 4–6 weeks if practiced regularly.

Abdominal breathing exercises: Inhale through the nose, expand the belly, exhale, pull the belly in, helps improve

better bowel movements and bowel control.

Rub your belly clockwise: Stimulates natural intestinal motility.

Walk gently after meals to stimulate digestion.

5.3. Use supportive drugs AS PRESCRIBED BY YOUR DOCTOR

  • Antidiarrheal drugs: Loperamide, Diosmectite
  • Add soluble fiber for constipation: Psyllium husk, infogos helps to define shape.
  • Laxatives for constipation: Lactulose, Macrogol

6. Other methods 

In Vietnam, there are indications for intervention related to sphincter surgery such as:

  • Anal sphincteroplasty due to trauma or after childbirth.
  • Rectal prolapse surgery to fix the rectum to its normal position
  • Rectal introitus hernia surgery to prevent abnormal movement of the rectum into the vagina.
  • There are also other therapies such as InterStim, a sacral nerve stimulation method used to treat fecal incontinence. Or injecting Solesta gel into the tissue layer below the anal mucosa causes the surrounding tissue to grow, narrowing the anus. However, these two methods are not yet popular in Vietnam.

7. When Should I Go to the Hospital?

  • Bloody stool, severe abdominal pain.
  • 1 month of training no improvement.
  • Psychological stress, depression due to illness.

Conclude:

Fecal incontinence not terminal! Let's start by eat scientifically, do Kegel exercises every day and consult a doctor if symptoms are severe. Don’t be afraid to share – you can get your life back on track!

Reference document

National Library of Medicine. Bowel incontinence. MedlinePlus. April 24, 2024. Accessed May 31, 2024. https://medlineplus.gov/bowelincontinence.html

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