Fecal incontinence can is the inability to control normal bowel movements. This lack of control causes feces to leak form the rectum. The condition can lead to occasional leaks of feces to complete loss of bowel control. Fecal incontinence is a common condition but can affect ones self-esteem, their quality of life and their emotional wellbeing.
What are fecal incontinence causes?
Doctors will treat fecal incontinence depending on what caused it. Fecal incontinence causes include;
• Muscle damage – there is a ring of muscle at the end of the rectum that helps in controlling bowel movements. This ring of muscle is called the anal sphincter. If the anal sphincter is damaged one is not able to properly hold back stool. This kind of muscle damage usually occurs during child birth especially if the doctors used forceps when delivering the child.
• Nerve damage – nerves are responsible of sensing when there is stool in the rectum. They are also responsible for controlling the anal sphincter muscles. When these nerves are damaged it is common that one might experience fecal incontinence. Nerve damage mostly occurs during child birth, spinal cord injury and constant staining when going to the toilet. There are some diseases such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis can also affect the nerves.
• Chronic constipation – if a person experiences chronic constipation they might have a mass of dry and hard stool in the rectum. This hard stool might be too hard to pass. Because it is too large, it stretches the rectum and intestine muscles which eventually weaken. This could allow watery stool to bypass the hard stool and leak out. Chronic constipation is also known to cause nerve damage.
• Diarrhea – solid stool is easy to hold in compared to loose stool. Loose stool can cause fecal incontinence or even worsen it.
• Surgery – some complex operations that involve the rectum or the anus can cause nerve or muscle damage contributing to fecal incontinence.
• Rectal prolapse – if the rectum drops down into the anus it could result in fecal incontinence, straining bowel movements, infections and cystic fibrosis has been known to cause rectum prolapse.
To prevent fecal incontinence it is recommended that avoids straining during bowel movements to avoid weakening rectal muscles. It is also advisable to eliminate any causes of diarrhea such as intestinal infections. One should also drink lots of fluids and eat food high in fiber to reduce the chances of constipating. For patients with poor control of their sphincter controls are encouraged to undergo bowel training. This involves doing exercises to restore the strength of the muscles and also use the bathroom at certain intervals. Patients are encouraged to see a doctor to diagnose the problem on time.
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