People withinflammatory bowel disease (IBD)might experience a bathroom accident for a variety of reasons.
Many people think that incontinence is a problem that only affects older adults.
The truth is that incontinence can happen to anyone, at any stage of life.
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It’s estimated that as many as eight percent of people in the United States experience fecal incontinence.
This article will focus primarily on the causes and conditions of fecal incontinence that are related to IBD.
What Is Incontinence?
Incontinence is when stool leaves the body involuntarily.
We learn as children how to manage our body’s waste and to stay clean.
Defecation is something, most of us are taught, to be done in private into the toilet.
Unfortunately, most people do not ever discuss the problem with a healthcare provider.
Some of the conditions that are associated with fecal incontinence include stroke and nervous system disease.
Women may develop incontinence as a result of injury to the pelvic floorduring childbirth.
It is during these times that bathroom accidents can, and do, happen.
The urgency to move the bowels should improve when the flare-up is treated and diarrhea starts to subside.
An abscess in the anus or the rectum could lead to incontinence, although this is not common.
In some cases, an abscess can cause afistula.
Scarring.Scarring in the rectum is another possible cause of fecal incontinence.
IBD that is causing inflammation in the rectum could lead to scarring of the tissues in that area.
When the rectum is damaged in this way, it can cause the tissue to become less elastic.
Surgery.Surgery in the rectal area could also damage the muscles in the anus.
A problem common to many adults, and those with IBD are no exception, ishemorrhoids.
Hemorrhoids are enlarged blood vessels in the rectum that can bleed or cause other symptoms.
If the muscles in the sphincter are damaged during hemorrhoid surgery, it could lead to incontinence.
Medications.For some people, medications may be prescribed to treat incontinence.
The gel thickens the wall of the anal canal.
Biofeedback.Another treatment for people who have bowel dysfunction is biofeedback.
Biofeedback is a way of re-educating the mind and the body to work together.
Biofeedback is an outpatient therapy that is usually done over a period of weeks.
Bowel retraining.For some people, it may help to focus on healthy bowel habits.
In other cases, a sphincter replacement might be done.
In this surgery, an inflatable tube is inserted in the anal canal.
A colostomy is usually only done when all other therapies have failed.
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