What is faecal incontinence?
Faecal incontinence (FI) is the involuntary loss of liquid or solid stools causing social or hygienic inconvenience. You might also hear it referred to as bowel or stool incontinence.
Though it is less common than urinary incontinence, it can also have a large impact on a person’s quality of life.
What are the causes?
There are many possible causes of faecal incontinence, including:
- Constipation: You might think that sounds counterintuitive, but actually constipation can cause your stools to become hard and dry and difficult to pass. This impaction can then put pressure on the walls of the rectum and cause damage to the nerves that control your bowel movements. As a result, loose and watery stools could leak out.
- Diarrhoea: Now this one seems to make more sense! It is harder to control loose stools, which means that those who suffer from chronic diarrhoea often feel like they have lost control of their bowel. There are many causes of diarrhoea, including certain foods and infections.
- Muscle damage: Just like in urinary incontinence, this can be a result of childbirth, particularly if forceps were used or an episiotomy was performed. If the external or internal sphincter is damaged, then over time the symptoms can increase. It is therefore important to practice pelvic floor exercises.
- Nerve damage: Your nerves are responsible for sensing when you need to go the toilet. If the nerves around the anal sphincter have been damaged, then you may lose control of your bowel function. This can happen as a result of childbirth, stroke, spinal cord injury, diabetes, or any other disease that damages the nerves, such as multiple sclerosis.
- Reduced elasticity: Certain diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, cause inflammation of the bowel, weakening the ability of the rectal wall to hold in faeces. This can also occur after receiving radiation treatment for diseases such as rectal cancer.
- Rectal prolapse, rectocele and haemorrhoids: All of these conditions can lead to incontinence. In the case of rectal prolapse, the rectum drops down into the anus, whereas with rectocele, the rectum droops down through the vagina. Haemorrhoids can cause leakage if the anal sphincter is unable to properly close.
What are the symptoms?
You can assess your own incontinence symptoms here. But basically, the physical signs of faecal incontinence include the following:
- You know when you need to pass a stool but are not able to control it before reaching a toilet.
- You pass stool or mucus from your anus without knowing it.
- You have streaks or stains of stool or mucus on your underwear (soiling).
What are the different types?
Faecal urge incontinence:
- This is when you feel a need to pass a stool but are not able to control it before reaching the toilet.
- It is the most common type of bowel incontinence.
- It can be caused by weak pelvic floor muscles.
Faecal passive incontinence:
- This is when you pass stool or mucus from your anus without knowing it.
- It can be caused by a lack of sensation in your rectum, which stops your body from realising that your bowel is full and that you need to go to the toilet.
What do other sufferers say about it?
Listening to the experiences of people like you is one of most effective ways to feel supported in your incontinence journey. Whether you are a patient or a carer, rest assured that there are people out there who have had the same doubts and worries that you have. Below you can find blog post testimonials that touch on a variety of faecal incontinence issues:
If you found these useful, take a look at the video testimonials in ‘Further resources’.
How can I get help?
In this section, you’ll find tools and advice on how to talk to your healthcare professional with a little more confidence. At the end of the day, it’s worth it when you consider how your life could change with an effective treatment.
References
Definition & Facts of Fecal Incontinence[Internet]. 2017[cited 29 July 2020]. Available from: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/bowel-control-problems-fecal-incontinence/definition-facts.
On this page
What are the causes?
What are the symptoms?
What are the different types?
What do other sufferers say about it?
