Incontinence Symptoms and Treatment

Incontinence is defined as "inability of the body to control the discharge of waste products". Incontinence of feces comes in 3 ways, diarrhea, gas, and bloating. In many instances it is not known what is causing fecal incontinence. One group that commonly will experience fecal incontinence is new mothers. Childbirth can end up placing excess amounts of stress on the pelvic floor muscles and it can weaken them. This makes it so they are not able to hold in the stools the way that they should. Treating Incontinence Immediately after childbirth exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles and can help to improve your condition.

There are many different conditions that can end up causing fecal incontinence. Here are the most common:

• Constipation - this is the most common type because it causes impacted stool and it usually ends up being too large for you to pass through the bowels. When this happens the rectum and the intestines will end up stretching and they will get weaker. When the watery stool that is up in the rectum slowly moves down around the harder mass, it can end up dripping out of the rectum.

• Diarrhea - like constipation, watery stool can end up also causing problems on the rectum and anus. With diarrhea you will have loose stool that is hard to keep in the rectum and it can easily dribble out.

• Nerve damage - in a number of cases nerve damage is what is causing incontinence. You may have damage thanks to childbirth or having a lot of problems with constipation.

• Muscle damage - when the anal sphincter are not able to work correctly, it is considered muscular damage to the rectum. Childbirth is the most common reason for having muscle damage of the anus, especially if you had a hard labor that required forceps or an episiotomy.

Unfortunately for women, fecal incontinence is much more common among them than it is among males. As our bodies age, it is also quite common to see problems with fecal incontinence as the muscles that help to control the bladder and bowels are getting weaker and are unable to cope with the urine and feces properly.

Fecal incontinence can lead to a number of problems from depression to serious skin rashes. It is important to learn how to treat fecal incontinence in order to avoid these serious conditions. Talking to your doctor is the best step to take as they will examine your rectum and diagnose which type of fecal incontinence you have and will help you take steps to work on correcting and living with your situation. It helps to learn more about incontinence and how it does impact the body so you can figure out the right type of treatment program that will work for you.

Most of the treatment options can be done at home and it helps to make it much easier for you to manage fecal incontinence. First, you need to purchase some adult diapers that will be able to catch the excess feces that does leak out. You can purchase disposable diapers or you can choose to purchase some reusable diapers. Second, start looking at the foods you eat. Some of the foods you eat may be to blame for a lot of the problems. These foods could be causing you to have diarrhea or they may lead to constipation. Your doctor may ask that you start using anti-diarrhea drugs in your diet to help reduce diarrhea. They may also suggest that you use laxatives if you have a lot of problems with constipation. Increasing your fiber intake is important as fiber helps to bulk up the stool but it does make the stool softer and much easier to pass. In severe cases it may be necessary to undergo surgery to repair damage to the rectum.