Incontinence Education
What is Fecal Incontinence?
Fecal incontinence is the inability to control your bowel movements, causing stool (feces) to leak unexpectedly from your rectum. Also called bowel incontinence, fecal incontinence ranges from an occasional leakage of stool while passing gas to a complete loss of bowel control. When you feel the urge to have a bowel movement, you may not be able to hold it until you get to a toilet. More than 5.5 million Americans have fecal incontinence. Fecal incontinence affects people of all ages, children as well as adults. Fecal incontinence is more common in women and older adults, but it is not a normal part of aging.
Loss of bowel control can be devastating. People who have fecal incontinence may feel ashamed, embarrassed, or humiliated. Some dont want to leave the house out of fear they might have an accident in public. Most try to hide the problem as long as possible, so they withdraw from friends and family. The social isolation is unfortunate but may be reduced with treatment that improves bowel control and makes incontinence easier to manage.
Fecal incontinence can have several causes:
Constipation
Damage to the anal sphincter muscles
Damage to the nerves of the anal sphincter muscles or the rectum
Loss of storage capacity in the rectum
Diarrhea
Pelvic floor dysfunction
What is Urinary Incontinence?
Urinary incontinence affects more than 12 million American adults. Symptoms can range from mild leaking to uncontrollable wetting. It can happen to anyone but it does become more common with age. Stress incontinence and overactive bladder (OAB) are the main causes of incontinence. Most bladder control problems happen when muscles are too weak or too active. If the muscles that keep your bladder closed are weak, you may have accidents when you sneeze, laugh, or lift a heavy object. This is stress incontinence which is more common in women and causes urine to leak when you laugh or cough. Overactive bladder, also called urge incontinence, is caused by urinary muscle spasms that cause an urgency to urinate. Incontinence can also be caused by multiple pregnancies, being overweight, radiation therapy, genetic weaknesses prostate problems and nerve damage.
Types of Urinary Incontinence:
Stress Incontinence
Stress incontinence is the leakage of small amounts of fluid resulting from an abnormal or weakened sphincter muscle. It is the most common type and affects 65% of incontinent adults. 50% of pregnant women experience this type of incontinence. Bladder leakage may occur when coughing, laughing, sneezing and lifting, or during physical strain. The causes include pregnancy, multiple childbirths, menopause, aging, obesity, surgery and pelvic fractures. Recommended products for this type of incontinence are bladder control pads, belt less undergarments or guards for men.
Urge Incontinence
Urge incontinence is more severe than stress incontinence, resulting from the immediate need to urinate, but the inability to reach a bathroom in time. It is the second most comment type of incontinence and is found most frequently in women. Bladder leakage occurs when the urine fills the bladder, pressure increases on both the bladder and sphincter, causing the sphincter to involuntarily open and release urine with little or no warning. Causes include, stroke, aging and prostate surgery. Recommended products are bladder control pads, guards, protective underwear, briefs and various undergarments.
Overflow Incontinence
Overflow incontinence is the leakage of small amounts of urine when the bladder is full. The individual is unaware the bladder is full because this message is not transmitted to the brain. Leakage occurs when the bladder exceeds its capacity, and as a result, you have a constant or frequent dribble of urine. This is the type of urinary incontinence that most often strikes men. Causes for this type of incontinence include an enlarged prostate, diabetes, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis and pelvic trauma. There are products available to help control this type of incontinence such as bladder control pads, guards for men, protective underwear, briefs and undergarments.
Reflex Incontinence
Reflex incontinence is the leakage of urine when the individual is unaware of the need to urinate. The individual suffers a complete absence of control as the result of nerve damage or structural abnormality and this leakage may be continual or episodic. Causes include mental retardation, brain damage, stroke, birth defects, pelvic trauma and senility. Recommended products to control this type of incontinence are protective underwear, briefs and undergarments.
Treatment Options for Different Types of Urinary Incontinence
To improve or eliminate the problem, you can make lifestyle changes and get treatment for each of the types of urinary incontinence with the help of your doctor and TOTAL eMEDICAL.