Bowel incontinence
Overview
Bowel incontinence is when you cannot control when you poo. See a GP if you think you have bowel incontinence as there are treatments that can help.
Causes
Bowel incontinence can happen for lots of reasons and is common. Try not to be embarrassed. You may get it for reasons such as if you: eat certain foods or drinks, for example spicy foods or drinks with caffeine in themhave weaker muscles around your bottom – this can happen as you get older or because of things like hormonal changes or childbirthhave a health condition that affects your digestive system such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or Crohn's diseasehave a health condition that makes you less aware of when you need to poo, such as dementia, a learning disability, a stroke or damage to the nerves in your spine It can be a result of more than one of these things. Children can also get bowel incontinence. Sometimes they avoid going to the toilet, which means their poo hardens and runny poo leaks out, or they do not make it to the toilet in time.
Treatment
The treatment you have for bowel incontinence will depend on what's causing your symptoms and how severe they are. A GP might recommend: a review of your diet and any medicines you takemedicines to make you poo less often, such asloperamide, or medicines to soften your poo (laxatives)products to help with bowel incontinence, such as incontinence pants, or pads for inside your clothes or on your bedplugs that go inside your bottom to stop leaking (anal plugs) – the doctor will explain how to use theseproducts to protect your skin, such as barrier cream or ointment – they may also give you advice on how to keep your skin clean If these things do not help, they might refer you to a specialist service. A specialist incontinence service can: review your diet and any medicines you takerecommend exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor and the muscles around your bottom (biofeedback)recommend techniques to help you empty your bowels fully and develop a controlled routine for emptying them (bowel retraining) If these things do not help, you might be referred for surgery.