Fecal incontinence, or accidental bowel leakage (ABL), causes stool or mucus to ooze from your anus or rectum. It happens because your rectum and pelvic muscles or nerves are damaged or weak.
This can happen due to childbirth, damage from surgery or radiation in your pelvic area, certain diseases that affect stool consistency and hemorrhoids.
Nerve Damage
A person can experience fecal incontinence (stool leakage) when the muscles that control the anal opening and the nerves that sense stool in the rectum become damaged. This damage can occur during vaginal childbirth or after surgery for hemorrhoids. It can also happen due to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, radiation treatment for cancer, spinal cord injury or multiple sclerosis that affect the nerves that go to the pelvic area. It can be caused by anal surgery or a long-term habit of straining during bowel movements.
The rings of muscle that close the anal opening are called the anal sphincters. These can get injured during vaginal delivery, particularly when a doctor uses an episiotomy or forceps during labor and delivery. This can lead to hidden tears in the sphincter muscles. The damage may be temporary, but over time the sphincter muscles can weaken, leading to anal leakage and other problems such as rectal prolapse and bladder incontinence.
During a physical exam, your doctor will insert a lubricated finger into your anus and rectum to check the strength of the anal sphincter muscles and nerves. They will also look for any signs of anal prolapse. If the test results indicate that your anal sphincter muscles are weak or damaged, they can repair it with a surgical procedure called anal sphincter surgery – These details are the handiwork of the website’s editorial board https://sexxmoi.com. If the underlying cause is too severe, a colostomy can be performed. During this operation, the large intestine is attached to an opening in the abdominal wall and feces are collected in a bag outside of your body.
Rectal Prolapse
In rectal prolapse, the lining of your large intestine slides out through your anal opening, causing a bulge. This is more common in women than men, and tends to occur after childbirth. It can also be caused by straining during bowel movements or by weak pelvic floor muscles. You may notice soiling of your underwear, or see a reddish-coloured mass sticking out through your anal opening. Your GP can diagnose this problem by carrying out a rectal exam. This can be embarrassing, but it’s necessary to get a good picture of your condition. Your GP will ask you to sit on a toilet and try to poop, then examine your anal canal to check for prolapse. They will also test how strong your anal sphincter is by using an electromyography (EMG) and anal manometry.
You can take steps to prevent this problem by eating a high-fibre diet, drinking plenty of fluids, and avoiding straining when you have bowel movements. If you do have a prolapse, your GP will gently push it back inside with their fingers or a soft cloth. They may also recommend a barrier cream, like baby nappy rash cream, to use around your anus. If your condition doesn’t improve with self-care, your GP will probably refer you to a colorectal surgeon, who will be able to do surgery on your rectum and attach it to the muscles of your pelvic floor and lower abdomen.
Rectocele
A rectocele is a type of pelvic organ prolapse that occurs when the front wall of your rectum pushes forward onto the back wall of your vagina. It can cause pressure within the vagina, which is exacerbated when you use the toilet. A rectocele can also cause pain in your lower back. Some women with a small rectocele don’t notice any symptoms at all. Health professionals carrying out routine physical examinations may detect a rectocele, however.
Many different things can cause a rectocele, including childbirth and having multiple vaginal births. This is because the muscles, ligaments and tissues in the vagina can stretch and weaken over time. It is also more common in women who have a vaginal delivery than those who have a C-section.
The most common symptom is pain when you attempt to have a bowel movement. The pain can feel like a mass is in your anus, or that there’s something hanging out down below the pelvis. Other symptoms include constipation, pain during sexual intercourse and a feeling of something falling out from the anus or down through the vagina. Your doctor will recommend the best course of treatment for your rectocele based on how severe your symptoms are. This could involve increasing your fiber intake, performing Kegel exercises, using a pessary or having surgery.
Pelvic Floor Muscles
The pelvic floor muscles are a layer of muscles that run from the tailbone (coccyx) to the pubic bone within the pelvis. They help support the rectum and bladder (for men) and the uterus and vagina for women. These muscles wrap quite firmly around these passages to keep them closed. However, sometimes they don’t work as they should and fecal leakage occurs.
Accidental bowel leakage can happen for a number of reasons. The nerves of the rectum, anus and pelvic floor may be damaged or weakened by trauma, certain medications, long-term straining to poop or by a heavy body weight. The muscle layer can be stretched or torn by surgery, a stroke or other conditions that affect the nerves, such as diabetes or multiple sclerosis.
Childbirth can also increase your risk for accidental bowel leakage, especially if you deliver a large baby vaginally with forceps or vacuum or a C-section. You may develop a condition called paradoxical puborectalis contraction, which causes the muscles to contract and hold in stool when they should relax during a bowel movement. You can also have pain in your coccyx or tailbone that’s worse after a bowel movement, known as coccygodynia. Or, you might have a sudden pain in your rectum that comes and goes without explanation, called proctalgia fugax. The pain might be felt when sitting down, sleeping or moving around.
