Bowel – or fecal - incontinence is very common and refers to a person’s inability to control when stool (aka poop) comes out. This could be simply stool smearing in your underwear all the way up to having a full bowel movement without wanting to.

Another version of this is when a person has the feeling of urgency to get to a bathroom when it’s time to have a bowel movement. This sudden, uncontrollable urge to poop is called “fecal urgency.”  

Fecal smearing refers to when someone has a bowel movement and when they go to wipe, they just cannot get clean as if there is still stool in the rectum or anus that hasn’t come out.

Despite how distressing this sounds, most people do not seek treatment for this issue. But the good news is that there are solutions! Those solutions can be as simple as dietary changes and pelvic floor physical therapy or more aggressive like medication and even surgical treatment. Because bowel and bladder incontinence can hugely affect people’s quality of life and limit their day to day activities, there are many support groups that can also aid in the understanding of this affliction.

At Houston Community Surgical, Dr. Belizaire provides a safe, judgement free environment for patients to discuss all colorectal related health issues, including bowel and bladder incontinence.

Please come see us, I want to help you!