What Fecal Incontinence Can Reveal About Your Health
Often the most embarrassing health conditions are the ones you need relief from to improve the quality of your life, and fecal incontinence is no exception. Fecal incontinence, or bowel incontinence, as it’s also called, can prevent you from participating in leisure activities or simply leaving the house for daily obligations, like going to work or the grocery store.
Here at Boston Urogyn, the leading health care facility for urogynecology in Wellesley and South Weymouth, Massachusetts, Dr. Neeraj Kohli understands your distress and provides expert diagnosis and treatment for fecal incontinence.
Fecal incontinence is a symptom of an underlying health condition
It’s important to know that fecal incontinence isn’t a disease in and of itself, but rather a symptom of an underlying health condition. If you have fecal incontinence, you may experience a sudden urge to use the toilet, but not be able to make it in time. Or stool may leak from the rectum without warning.
For most adults, fecal incontinence is a temporary problem, but if you experience chronic symptoms, it’s important to seek medical attention. Not only can Dr. Kohli help you get relief, but he can also diagnose and treat the underlying cause of your condition before it leads to additional health complications.
Common causes of fecal incontinence
Conditions that may contribute to fecal incontinence include:
Muscle damage to your anal sphincter, often a result of childbirth
Chronic constipation or diarrhea
Hemorrhoids
Nerve damage in the rectum, sometimes the result of childbirth, spinal cord injuries, or stroke
Loss of storage capacity in the rectum
Previous rectal surgeries
Rectal prolapse in which the rectum lowers into the anus
Rectocele in which the rectum protrudes through the vagina
Getting older, being a woman, and having a physical disability may also contribute to the problem of fecal incontinence. Additionally, what you eat and drink affects the consistency of your stools, so fecal incontinence could reveal a dietary concern.
What your medical history may indicate
If you have a medical history of other bowel conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease or irritable bowel syndrome, it may be an important factor regarding your experience with fecal incontinence. Additionally, if you vaginally delivered a large baby, or you had an episiotomy during vaginal delivery, your anal sphincter may have incurred damage. So when you talk to Dr. Kohli about your symptoms and when they began, it’s important to note this type of past issue along with your overall medical history.
Treatment depends on the underlying condition
After discussing your overall health with you and performing a physical exam, Dr. Kohli may request lab tests, bowel function tests, and imaging tests that provide a visual of your colon and rectum. Once he diagnoses the underlying cause of your condition, Dr. Kohli can recommend effective treatment.
For example, if chronic diarrhea is the culprit, antidiarrheal medications may help alleviate the problem. Conversely, if you’re frequently constipated, a laxative may offer relief. Dr. Kohli may also suggest making dietary and lifestyle changes.
If the cause of your fecal incontinence is muscle damage, Dr. Kohli may recommend a series of exercises and physical therapies that help strengthen sphincter muscles and improve control.
A technologically advanced treatment
Dr. Kohli and the team at Boston Urogyn strive to stay on the cutting edge of medical technology and treatments. If more conservative methods don’t correct the problem, Dr. Kohli also offers the InterStim™ Therapy for Bowel Control system.
The InterStim system is an implantable medical device that sends a continuous, mild electrical pulse to your sacral nerves. This pulse helps strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and sphincter muscles. InterStim is a minimally invasive procedure that can potentially improve the quality of your life if you suffer from bowel incontinence.
Take the first step toward getting your life back and preventing embarrassing accidents by seeking expert medical care in a compassionate environment. Call Boston Urogyn today to schedule an exam or use the online booking system on this website.
