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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 can range from an occasional leakage of stool while passing gas to a complete loss of bowel control.

Common causes of fecal incontinence include constipation, diarrhea, and muscle or nerve damage. The condition may be due to a weakened anal sphincter associated with aging. Fecal incontinence can also occur as a result of childbirth. Injury to the nerves and muscles of the rectum and anus while giving birth can cause a woman to lose control of her bowel movements.

Whatever the cause, fecal incontinence can be embarrassing. It may cause you to stay at home and withdraw from social events because you're afraid of an accident. But, you're hardly alone. Fecal incontinence is a common condition — more common in older people and in women.

Although bringing up the subject of fecal incontinence with your doctor may be difficult, don't shy away from talking to your doctor. Many treatments — some of them simple — are available that can improve, if not correct, fecal incontinence.

Having control over your bowel movements is something most people take for granted. Generally, adults don't have "accidents" except for an occasional short-lived bout of severe diarrhea.

But that's not the case for people with recurring, or chronic, fecal incontinence. If you have fecal incontinence, you can't control the passage of gas or stools, which may be liquid or solid, from your bowels. Sometimes, you may not even be able to make it to the toilet in time to avoid an accident.

For some people, including children, fecal incontinence is a relatively minor problem, limited to occasional soiling of their underwear. For others, the condition can be devastating due to a complete lack of bowel control.

Fecal incontinence may be accompanied by other bowel troubles, such as:

• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Gas and bloating
• Abdominal cramping

Your body's digestive tract begins at your mouth and nears its end with your rectum, the lower portion of the large intestine and anus. Your digestive tract contains a complex system of organs that conveys the food you eat, digests and absorbs the nutrients, converts them into energy and tissues, and removes the waste that your body can't digest.

As food waste passes through the upper portion of your large intestine (colon), your body absorbs nearly all of the water from the waste. The remaining residue, called stool, is usually soft but formed. It consists of undigested foods such as fiber, unabsorbed water, bacteria, mucus and dead cells.

Sphincter muscles, external and internal, in your anus — a short canal that's the outlet for your rectum — serve as the final valve. As your rectal walls stretch, they signal the need to have a bowel movement. When you defecate, your sphincter muscles relax and your rectal walls contract to increase pressure. Sometimes, you have to exert pressure from your abdominal muscles, which put pressure on the outside of your colon and rectum. With this coordination of muscles and also nerves, stool is expelled through the anus.

Critical to normal bowel function are:

• Anal sphincter muscles. External and internal anal muscles contract to prevent stool from leaving your rectum.
• Rectal sensation. This feeling warns you to go to the toilet.
• Rectal accommodation. Rectal stretching allows you to hold stool for some time until you can get to a toilet.

The ability to hold stool requires the normal function of your rectum, anus and nervous system. In addition, you have to have the physical and mental capabilities to recognize and appropriately respond to the urge to defecate. If something is wrong with any of these factors, fecal incontinence can occur.

A broad range of conditions and disorders can cause fecal incontinence, including:

• Constipation. It's ironic, but a common cause of fecal incontinence is constipation. That's because chronic constipation may lead to impacted stool — a large mass of dry, hard stool within your rectum. This mass can be too large for you to pass, and as a result, the muscles of your rectum and intestines stretch, and then eventually weaken. Watery stool from farther up in the digestive system may move around the hard mass and leak out, causing fecal incontinence.

  Besides causing the muscles of your anus to stretch and weaken, chronic constipation may also make the nerves of the anus and rectum less responsive to the presence of stool in the rectum. Additionally, weakened muscles don't move stool as efficiently through the digestive system.

• Diarrhea. Solid stool is easier to retain in the rectum than is loose stool, so the loose stools of diarrhea can cause or worsen fecal incontinence.

• Muscle damage. Often, the cause of fecal incontinence is injury to the anal sphincter — the rings of muscle at the end of the rectum that help you hold in stool. If these muscles are damaged, they're simply not strong enough to hold stool back properly, and some may leak out. This kind of damage can occur during childbirth, especially if you have an episiotomy or forceps are used during delivery. However, such damage may not be evident until years later.
• Nerve damage. If the nerves that control the anal sphincter or those that sense stool in the rectum are damaged, fecal incontinence can result. Nerve damage can be caused by childbirth, constantly straining when having a bowel movement, spinal cord injury and stroke. There are also diseases that can affect these nerves, such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis, and cause damage leading to fecal incontinence.
• Loss of storage capacity (accommodation) in the rectum. Normally, your rectum stretches to accommodate stool. If your rectum is scarred or your rectal walls have stiffened from surgery, radiation treatment or inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, the rectum can't stretch as much as it needs to, so the excess stool leaks out.
• Surgery. Surgery to treat hemorrhoids — enlarged veins in the rectum or anus — can cause damage to the anus and fecal incontinence, as can more complex operations involving your rectum and anus.
• Rectal cancer. Cancers of the anus and rectum can lead to fecal incontinence if the cancer invades the muscle walls or disrupts the nerve impulses needed for defecation.
• Other conditions. If your rectum drops down into your anus (rectal prolapse) or, in women, if the rectum protrudes through the vagina (rectocele), fecal incontinence can result. Hemorrhoids may prevent complete closure of the anal sphincter, leading to fecal incontinence.
• Loss of muscle strength with age. Over time, muscles and ligaments that support your pelvis, as well as your anal sphincter muscles, can weaken, leading to incontinence.
• Chronic laxative abuse. Relying on laxatives to maintain regularity can lead to incontinence.

Fecal incontinence in children
Fecal incontinence can occur at any age — even in children. Newly toilet-trained children simply may not make it to the toilet in time to defecate, and then soil their pants. Constipation is a common cause of fecal incontinence in young children. This problem is known as encopresis. Fecal incontinence can also be due to an underlying condition, including mental retardation or other birth defects.

Constipation and impacted stools aren't uncommon in children. Toilet-trained children often get constipated simply because they don't go to the bathroom as soon as they feel the urge — they're too busy playing, or they're too embarrassed to use a public toilet. The child holds the stool, the stool hardens, and then it's painful to pass. Then, the next time the child has to move his or her bowels, the fear of passing hardened stool keeps him or her from even trying.

Soiled underpants are often a sign of constipation. This occurs because softer stool moves through the bowel around the hardened stool and then leaks out. A child who is constipated may soil his or her underpants — and try to hide it from others.

Fecal incontinence can occur at any age. But it's most common among older people who sometimes have to cope with a lack of bladder control (urinary incontinence) as well. Other risk factors include:

• Sex. Fecal incontinence is more common in women than in men because the condition can be a complication of childbirth.
• Nerve damage. People who have long-standing diabetes or multiple sclerosis — conditions that can damage nerves that help control defecation — may be at risk of fecal incontinence.
• Alzheimer's disease. Fecal incontinence is often a sign of late-stage Alzheimer's disease, in which both dementia and nerve damage play a role.
• Physical disability. Being physically disabled for any number of reasons makes it difficult to reach a toilet in time.

See your doctor if you develop fecal incontinence or if your child develops fecal incontinence. Often, new mothers are reluctant to tell their doctors about their fecal incontinence problems after childbirth. But repairing a torn anal sphincter muscle soon after delivery may prevent long-term complications.

A number of tests are available to help diagnose what's causing the problem and determine the right treatment.

To determine the cause of fecal incontinence, your doctor will ask you questions related to your condition — such as when and how often you experience an inability to control your bowels.

In addition to talking with you, your doctor may also perform a physical examination. The exam usually includes a visual inspection of your anus and the area lying between your anus and genitals (perineum) for hemorrhoids, infections and other conditions. Your doctor may use a pin or probe to examine this area of skin. Normally this touching causes your anal sphincter to contract and the anus to pucker. This test helps your doctor check for nerve damage.

Your doctor may perform a digital exam. This involves him or her inserting a gloved and lubricated finger into your rectum to evaluate the strength of your sphincter muscles and to check for any abnormalities of the rectal area. During the exam, your doctor may ask you to bear down. Bearing down helps him or her check whether rectal prolapse or certain other conditions exist.

A number of medical tests also are available to help pinpoint the cause of fecal incontinence. These may include:

• Anal manometry. In this commonly used test, your doctor inserts a narrow, flexible tube into your anus and rectum. Once the tube is in place, a small balloon at the tip of the tube may be expanded. This test lets your doctor know how tight your anal sphincter is. It also measures the sensitivity and function of your rectum.
• Anorectal ultrasonography. In this procedure, which evaluates the structure of your sphincter, your doctor inserts a narrow, wand-like instrument into your anus and rectum. This instrument, which is attached to a computer and video screen, emits sound waves. The waves bounce off the walls of your rectum and anus, producing video images of these internal structures.
• Proctography. In this procedure, also known as defecography, your doctor uses a small amount of liquid called barium to coat the walls of your rectum. Barium makes your rectum more visible on X-rays, which are then taken. This test measures how much stool your rectum can hold. It also evaluates how well stool is evacuated from your rectum.
• Proctosigmoidoscopy. In this test, your doctor uses a long, slender tube with a tiny video camera attached to examine your rectum and sigmoid — approximately the last 2 feet of your colon. This test detects signs of inflammation, tumors or scar tissue that may cause fecal incontinence.
• Anal electromyography. This test involves the insertion of tiny needle electrodes into muscles around your anus that can reveal signs of nerve damage.

Fecal incontinence can be a source of embarrassment and shame. It's not uncommon for someone with fecal incontinence to try to hide the problem or to avoid social engagements. The loss of dignity associated with losing control over one's bodily functions can lead to frustration, anger and depression.

Besides the emotional aspects, fecal incontinence can irritate the skin. Because the skin around the anus is delicate and sensitive, repeated contact with stool can lead to pain, itching and, potentially, sores (ulcers) that require medical treatment.

Fortunately, effective treatments are available for fecal incontinence. Your primary care physician may be able to assist you, or you may need to see a doctor who specializes in treating conditions that affect the colon, rectum and anus, such as a gastroenterologist, proctologist or colorectal surgeon. Treatment for fecal incontinence can usually help restore bowel control or at least substantially reduce the severity of the condition.

Depending on the cause of your incontinence, treatment may include dietary changes, medications, special exercises that help you better control your bowels, or surgery.

Dietary changes
What you eat and drink affects stool consistency. Your doctor may recommend changes to your diet to help improve your bowel movements.

For example, if chronic constipation is to blame for fecal incontinence, your doctor may recommend that you drink plenty of fluids and eat fiber-rich foods that aren't constipating. If diarrhea is contributing to the problem, your doctor may recommend that you increase your intake of high-fiber foods to add bulk to your stools, making them less watery. In general, your doctor will recommend a diet that helps you gain good stool consistency for increased control of your bowels.

Medications
Sometimes, doctors recommend medications to treat fecal incontinence, such as:

• Anti-diarrheal drugs. Your doctor may recommend medications to reduce diarrhea and help you avoid accidents. A drug called loperamide (Imodium) may be used because it helps treat diarrhea.
• Laxatives. If chronic constipation is to blame for your incontinence, your doctor may recommend the temporary use of mild laxatives, such as milk of magnesia, to help restore normal bowel movements.
• Stool softeners. To prevent stool impaction, your doctor may recommend a stool-softening medication.
• Other medications. If diarrhea is the cause of your fecal incontinence, your doctor may recommend drugs that decrease the spontaneous motion of your bowel (bowel motility) or medications that decrease the water content of your stool.

Bowel training
If fecal incontinence is due to a lack of anal sphincter control or decreased awareness of the urge to defecate, you may benefit from a bowel training program and exercise therapies aimed at helping you restore muscle strength.

In some cases, bowel training means learning to go to the toilet at a specific time of day. For example, your doctor may recommend that you make a conscious effort to have a bowel movement after eating. This helps you gain greater control by establishing with some predictability when you need to use the toilet. This technique can work well for children who have constipation and fecal incontinence because they forget to use the toilet. Children can learn to use the toilet at scheduled times.

In other cases, bowel training involves an exercise therapy called biofeedback. Biofeedback as a treatment for fecal incontinence involves inserting a pressure-sensitive probe into your anus. This probe registers muscle strength and activity of your anal sphincter as it contracts around the probe. You can practice sphincter contractions and learn to strengthen your own muscles by viewing the scale's readout as a visual aid. These exercises can strengthen your rectal muscles.

Treatment for stool impaction
Your doctor may have to remove an impacted stool if taking laxatives or using enemas doesn't help you pass the hardened mass. To remove an impacted stool, your doctor inserts one or two fingers into your rectum to break apart the impacted stool. These smaller pieces are easier to expel.

Surgical options
For some people, treatment of fecal incontinence requires surgery to correct an underlying problem. Surgical procedures to treat fecal incontinence aren't necessarily easy or free of complications. But, certain causes of fecal incontinence — anal sphincter damage caused by childbirth or rectal prolapse, for example — can often be effectively treated with surgery. Surgical options include:

• Sphincteroplasty. This is surgery to repair a damaged or weakened anal sphincter. In this procedure, an injured area of muscle is identified and its edges are freed from the surrounding tissue. The muscle edges are then brought back and sewn together in an overlapping fashion. This strengthens the muscle, tightening the sphincter.
• Operations to treat rectal prolapse, a rectocele or hemorrhoids. Rectal prolapse, a condition in which a portion of your rectum protrudes through your anus, weakens the anal sphincter. In certain circumstances, such as chronic constipation and straining, the ligaments to the rectum can become stretched and lose their ability to hold the rectum in place. Surgical correction of the rectal prolapse may be needed along with sphincter muscle repair. In women, a protrusion of the rectum into the vaginal wall (rectocele) may need to be treated surgically to correct fecal incontinence. Prolapsed internal hemorrhoids may prevent complete closure of the anal sphincter, leading to fecal incontinence. Hemorrhoids may be near the upper part or beginning of the anal canal (internal hemorrhoids) or at the lower portion or anal opening (external hemorrhoids). Hemorrhoids can be treated by conventional hemorrhoidectomy, a surgical procedure to remove the hemorrhoidal tissue.
• Sphincter replacement. An artificial anal sphincter can be used to replace a damaged anal sphincter. The device is essentially an inflatable cuff, which is implanted around your anal canal. When inflated, the device keeps your anal sphincter shut tight until you're ready to defecate. To go to the toilet, you use a small external pump to deflate the device and allow stool to be released. It then reinflates itself about 10 minutes later.
• Sphincter repair. During a surgical procedure called a gracilis muscle transplant, a muscle is taken from your inner thigh and wrapped around your sphincter. This restores muscle tone to your sphincter.
• Colostomy. As a last resort, a colostomy may be the most definitive way to correct fecal incontinence. Colostomy is generally considered only after other treatments have failed. A colostomy is an operation that diverts stool through an opening in the abdomen instead of through the rectum. A special bag is attached to this opening to collect the stool.

Sacral nerve stimulation
Another possible treatment for fecal incontinence is sacral nerve stimulation. The sacral nerves run from your spinal cord to muscles in your pelvis. These nerves regulate the sensation and strength of your rectal and anal sphincter muscles. Direct electrical stimulation of these nerves is a promising treatment option for fecal incontinence caused by nerve damage.

Sacral nerve stimulation is carried out in stages. First, four to six small needles are positioned in the muscles of your lower bowel, and these muscles are stimulated by an external pulse generator. The muscle response to the stimulation generally isn't uncomfortable. After a successful response, you may have a permanent pulse generator implanted in your abdomen.

A wire from the small, battery-driven device is connected to the sacral nerves. Through the wire, the device generates electrical impulses that stimulate the nerves, helping you regain continence.

It may be possible to prevent fecal incontinence, depending on the cause. These actions may help:

• Reduce constipation. Fecal incontinence due to chronic constipation can be improved or eliminated by treating the constipation. Getting more exercise, eating high-fiber foods and drinking plenty of fluids are generally advised to avoid constipation. 
• Control diarrhea. If diarrhea is to blame, treating or eliminating the cause of the diarrhea, such as an intestinal infection, may help you avoid accidents.
• Avoid straining. Straining during bowel movements eventually may weaken anal sphincter muscles and, at times, lead to fecal incontinence, so avoid straining when possible.

If fecal incontinence is due to a problem that can't be completely corrected, you can still help limit the number of accidents you have by taking better control of your bowel movements. You can start by making changes in your diet:

• Watch what you eat. Keep a list of what you eat for a week. You may discover a connection between certain foods and your bouts of incontinence. Once you've identified which foods are problems for you, stop eating them and see if your incontinence improves. Foods that can cause diarrhea and worsen fecal incontinence include spicy foods, fatty and greasy foods, cured or smoked meat, and dairy products (if you're lactose intolerant). Caffeine-containing beverages and alcohol also can act as laxatives, as can products such as sugar-free gum and diet soda, which contain artificial sweeteners.
• Eat smaller meals. Try to eat several small meals throughout the day, rather than three large ones, because large meals sometimes trigger bowel contractions that may cause diarrhea.
• Eat more fiber. Fiber makes stool soft, formed and easier to control. Fiber is present in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain breads and cereals. Aim for 20 to 30 grams of fiber a day, but add it to your diet slowly. Too much fiber all at once can cause bloating, gas or even diarrhea.
• Drink more water. To keep stools soft and formed, drink at least eight glasses of liquid, preferably water, a day.

In addition to managing fecal incontinence through changes to your diet, you can help avoid further discomfort by keeping the skin around your anus as clean and dry as possible. To relieve anal discomfort and eliminate any possible odor associated with fecal incontinence:

• Wash with water. Gently wash the area with water after each bowel movement — do this by using wet toilet paper, showering or, better yet, soaking in a bath. Soap can dry and irritate the skin. So can rubbing with dry toilet paper. Pre-moistened, alcohol-free towelettes or wipes may be a good alternative for cleaning the area.
• Dry thoroughly. Allow the area to air-dry after washing. If you're short on time, you can also gently pat the area dry with toilet paper or a clean washcloth.
• Apply a cream or powder. Moisture-barrier creams help keep irritated skin from having direct contact with feces. Ask your doctor to recommend a product. Be sure the area is clean and dry before you apply any cream. Nonmedicated talcum powder or cornstarch also may help relieve anal discomfort.
• Wear cotton underwear and loose clothing. Tight clothing can restrict airflow, making skin problems worse. Change soiled underwear quickly.

When medical treatments can't completely eliminate incontinence, products such as absorbent pads and disposable underwear can help you better manage the problem. You can purchase incontinence products at drugstores, supermarkets and medical supply stores. If you use pads or adult diapers, be sure they have an absorbent wicking layer on top. Products with this layer wick moisture away from your skin.

If you have fecal incontinence, you may not want to leave your house out of fear you might have an accident. To overcome that fear, try these practical tips:

• Use the toilet right before you go out.
• If you expect you'll be incontinent, wear a pad or a disposable undergarment.
• Carry cleanup supplies and a change of clothing with you.
• Know where toilets are before you need them so that you can get to them quickly.

Because fecal incontinence can be distressing, it's important to take steps to deal with it. Treatment can help improve your quality of life and raise your self-esteem. If you haven't been to a doctor yet, make an appointment.

If you care for someone with fecal incontinence, try to be supportive. Be careful not to criticize. In addition:

• Take him or her to the doctor to see what treatment options are available.
• Take your loved one to the toilet regularly to help him or her avoid an accident.
• Make sure clothing can be easily removed.
• Place a commode near the bed.
• Put washable cushions or slipcovers on furniture.
• At night, have your loved one use absorbent undergarments and put washable pads on the bed.