How can you treat bowel incontinence?
Treatment can improve bowel control for the most people facing bowel incontinence. There is a lot of treatment for bowel incontinence which helps to reduce the bowel impact in your life. But try not to treat with yourself because treatments depend on the current underlying problems.
Diet Changes
If your bowel incontinence is related to constipation or diarrhea you may have to make changes in your diet
You can reduce constipation problem by
- Drinking plenty of liquid items mainly water
- Eat more high fiber food like fruits, vegetables, beans etc
You can reduce diarrhea by
- Avoiding high fiber foods
- Avoid alcohols
- Avoid using caffeine (such as tea or coffee)
- Avoid products that contain a sweetener called sorbitol
Medicines
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Sometimes medicines may be prescribed to reduce bowel incontinence. They are
- Loperamide to relieve diarrhea
- Laxative for constipation
These medicines are available from pharmacies but only try them on the advice of a doctor or a specialist. Sometimes laxative may not be effective for constipation then enema may be recommended to clear your bowel.
Pelvic floor exercises
If the above treatments are not helped then you may be referred to a specialist continence service for further treatment such as pelvic floor exercises. These exercises are taught by physiotherapist which helps to strengthen the muscles used to control the muscles of opening and closing of the bowels.
Surgery
Surgery for bowel incontinence is considered the last treatment if other treatments are not effective. This surgery is to get a better control over the muscles in your anus. Several procedures are done for the surgery including
- Sphincteroplasty — an operation to repair damage muscles in your anus
- Sacral nerve stimulation- Here in this method they are placing an electronic device under the skin that helps muscles and nerves to work better in the anus
- Another method is to inject some substance into the muscles in the anus to make it stronger.
