Fecal, or bowel, incontinence is the inability to control bowel movements. There are multiple factors that can lead to the condition—the most common being damage to the muscles around the anus. Here is a look at other possible causes:
- Diarrhea: Watery stools can worsen fecal incontinence.
- Nerve damage: If the nerves that sense stool in the rectum or the nerves that control the anus are damaged, then this can result in accidental bowel leakage. Nerve damage is sometimes caused by vaginal childbirth, constant straining during bowel movements, spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, or diabetes.
- Anal surgery: Surgeries that involve the rectum and/or anus, can damage nerves, leading to fecal incontinence.
- Radiation: Radiation treatment for prostate cancer can damage the rectum. It can scar or stiffen the rectal walls, preventing them from stretching to accommodate stool.
- Dementia: Loss of ability to control stool is often seen in patients with late-stage Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
- Constipation: Dry, hard stool in the rectum that is too large to pass can cause chronic constipation. This can lead fecal incontinence, because the muscles of the rectum and intestines stretch and weaken, which enables watery stool located farther up in the digestive tract to move around the impacted stool and leak out.
Have more questions? See more answers from Alot.
