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Fecal incontinence, or bowel incontinence, is an uncomfortable condition in which you can’t control your bowel movements — passing stools. You experience an accidental leakage of solid or liquid stools from your rectum.
The rectum, anus, and nervous system are essential components that regulate your bowel movements. These components work collectively to prevent accidental bowel leakages. When this regulatory system fails, you lose control of the passing of stools, resulting in accidental bowel leakage.
There are several causes of fecal incontinence including digestive problems such as diarrhea and constipation. Medical management of fecal incontinence includes medicines and surgery to correct the underlying cause. However, dietary and lifestyle changes can also improve this condition and help stop accidental bowel leakage naturally.
According to thereports, 1 in 12 people worldwide is suffering from fecal incontinence. Reports also show that this condition is more common among women and older people.
The signs of fecal incontinence vary depending on the severity of your condition. Some signs which indicate that you may have fecal incontinence include:
You can suddenly develop fecal incontinence for the following causes:
Internal and external sphincter muscles control the passage of stool to the anus. Damage to these muscles can cause accidental bowel leakage. Several factors can damage these muscles such as childbirth, straining during bowel movements, and anal surgery.
Nerves regular bowel movements as they control the activity of muscles in the anal canal — a passage connecting the rectum to the anus.
If there is damage to these nerves, you lose voluntary control of muscles in the anal canal, which results in accidental bowel leakage. Childbirth, straining during bowel movements, diabetes, stroke, and spinal cord lesions or injuries are some of the causes of nerve damage.
Inconstipation, your body makes hard stools that are difficult to pass. The hard stools can trap in the anal canal and stretch the muscles beyond normal, which may lead to leakage of any watery stool.
Sometimes, the straining during constipation can lead to muscle and nerve damage in the anal region - causing accidental bowel leakage.
Diarrhea significantly increases the risk of fecal incontinence. It’s because the muscles in the anal canal can’t hold the watery stools efficiently. Chronic diarrhea can worsen fecal incontinence.
Hemorrhoids or piles is an often painful swelling of veins around your anus. While minor hemorrhoidsmay go unnoticed, severe hemorrhoids can prevent the complete closing of the anus. This can cause the accidental leakage of the liquid and solid stools.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) can causeinflammation of the rectum. Chronic inflammation can cause scarring of the rectum's muscles. The rectum loses its function of regulating bowel movements and can result in accidental bowel leakage.
You can cure fecal incontinence in most cases by addressing the underlying cause. For instance, if fecal incontinence is due to constipation; then treating constipation will cure you. Similarly, treatment of other causes of fecal incontinence such as diarrhea, hemorrhoids, and IBDs, can cure this condition.
Treatment options for fecal incontinence include:
Medications are prescribed for either diarrhea or constipation. These help improve stool consistency and frequency, reducing the risk of accidental bowel leakage. Some commonconstipation medicines include fiber supplements and stool softeners. Similarly,medication for diarrhea includes loperamide and diphenoxylates.
If you have inflammatory bowel disease, your doctor can prescribe certain medications to improve your condition and manage fecal incontinence.
Biofeedback is a technique for improving the function of the muscles responsible for bowel movements. This method uses sensors to identify specific muscles in any region of the body.
For example, to prevent fecal incontinence, you need to strengthen the pelvic floor or anal sphincter muscles. The biofeedback technique helps you understand which exercises can specifically target and stimulate these muscles. By using biofeedback, you can learn to strengthen these muscles and contract them when needed to control the passage of stools.
Studies show that biofeedback is effective in managing fecal incontinence with a success rate of up to 80%.
Surgery is required for fecal incontinence when the above measures fail to improve the condition. Surgery is more common when the cause of fecal incontinence is muscle damage. Here are three common surgical procedures to cure accidental bowel leakage:
Besides medical management, you can stop fecal incontinence naturally. To recover naturally from fecal incontinence, you must modify your diet and lifestyle habits.
Dietary changes involve eating foods that can help manage diarrhea and constipation. Add fiber-rich foods to your diet, asfiber promotes regular bowel movements. Fiber-rich foods to eat for fecal incontinence include:
See Also: 21 Easy Ways to Get More Fiber in Your Diet!
Kegel exercises are specialized exercises for strengthening pelvic floor muscles. These muscles regulate bowel movements by supporting the bladder, bowel, and uterus.
Firstly, you need to identify the right muscles for kegel exercises. To identify the right muscles, try stopping the urine flow when you are in the toilet next time. The muscles you contract to stop the urine flow are pelvic floor muscles, which you need to exercise.
Once you learn how to stimulate and contract the right muscles, this is how to perform kegel exercises:
Bowel training is a technique where you train your body to have bowel movements at the same time each day. To train your body, you have to go for bowel movements at a specific time each day, preferably after meals.
Bowel training may take from a few weeks to months to improve fecal incontinence.
Eating the following foods in fecal incontinence can improve the condition:
Eating leafy green vegetables provides you with plenty of dietary fiber. Dietary fibers can help manage diarrhea and constipation by improving bowel movements. In many cases, fecal incontinence is due to diarrhea or constipation.
Thus, including fiber-rich leafy green vegetables in your diet can improve fecal incontinence.
See Also: The Crucial Need for Fiber in Our Diets and How Fiber Powders Can Help!
Some leafy green vegetables for fecal incontinence include:
Fruits are a good source of fiber but also provide plenty of water. Fiber and adequate water help make soft stools andmanage constipation. Fiberadds bulk to the stool, which is also effective in treating diarrhea. By improving constipation and diarrhea, fruit diets can improve fecal incontinence and prevent accidental bowel leakages.
Some healthy fruits for fecal incontinence include:
Fish has excellent nutritional properties and is a great source of proteins. It also provideshealthy fats, such as omega-3 fatty acids.Studies show fish effectively reduces inflammation, which can help with inflammatory bowel diseases — one of the causes of fecal incontinence.
Anotherstudy reveals that eating fish reduces the risk of constipation. Thus, eating fish can help in improving constipation-related fecal incontinence.
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is an excellent source of healthy fats and antioxidants. With its antioxidant properties, EVOO canreduce the risk of inflammation in the digestive system and improve digestive health.Studies show that EVOO is also effective in reducing the symptoms of constipation, bloating, and fecal urgency, which translates to improved fecal incontinence.
Wondering how to incorporate all these foods in your diet and have all your nutritional needs me? Check out our certified Mediterranean Meal plan here that fits your needs!
Fiber is a fantastic food choice that offers plenty ofhealth benefits, such as improvedgut health, cardiovascular functioning, and weight management. Fiber also reduces the risk of accidental bowel leakage by improving diarrhea and constipation.
Studies show that consuming fiber increases stool frequency, which helps manage constipation. A differentstudy shows that fiber supplementation is effective in improving constipation.
See Also: 6 Surprising Benefits of Plant-Based Diet High In Fiber!
Similarly, dietary fiber is very effective in treating diarrhea. Since your body can’t digest fiber, it becomes part of the stool in the gut. The addition of fiber to the stooladds volume to the stool, which is effective in treating diarrhea.
Another beneficial role of fiber for fecal incontinence is that it improves gut microbiota. Research shows that fiberpromotes the growth of good gut bacteria and improves overall bacterial composition in the gut.Evidence shows that a healthy gut bacteria composition promotes regular bowel movements.
If you have fecal incontinence or want to benefit from the other advantages of fiber, add fiber-rich foods to your diet.According to experts, an adult man should consume about 38 grams and an adult woman should consume about 25 grams of fiber daily.
See Also: What is Dysbiosis? How to Reset Bacterial Imbalance in Your Gut?
Plant-based foods provide plenty of fiber to achieve your daily fiber goal. You can alsoget powdered fiber, which is a convenient way to meet your daily recommended fiber intake.
If you are experiencing bowel incontinence, avoid the following foods as they can worsen the condition:
Studies show that changes in the bacterial composition of the gut can trigger constipation and worsen fecal incontinence.Probiotics help regain the gut’s healthy bacterial composition, which can improve fecal incontinence.
Studies show that a deficiency of vitamin B12 causes digestive problems such as diarrhea. Diarrhea is among the prominent causes of fecal incontinence.
Severe piles or hemorrhoids can inhibit the proper closure of muscles around your anus — incomplete closure of the anus results in the leakage of poop.
Studies show that stress can result in bowel dysfunction. Besides, stress and anxiety are alsoassociated with digestive problems such as constipation and diarrhea. These physiological effects of stress can cause fecal incontinence.
Fecal incontinence is a condition where you can’t control the bowel movements. Many factors can cause this condition, but diarrhea and constipation remain the major factor. So, medical management of this condition mainly involves taking medicines for diarrhea and constipation.
Apart from these, different surgical options are also available to cure fecal incontinence.
However, if you want to stop accidental bowel leakage naturally, specific dietary and lifestyle changes can help. The most important dietary modification for fecal incontinence is adding fiber to your diet. It’s because fiber promotes efficient digestion and regular bowel movements - reducing the risk of accidental bowel leakage.
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