How to Manage Bowel Incontinence: The Best Adult Products to Keep You Feeling Fresh

Bowel incontinence can be a challenging condition to manage, impacting both your physical comfort and emotional well-being.

Whether you're experiencing passive or urge incontinence, learning effective management strategies is essential for reclaiming control.

At-home and in-office treatments combined with protective incontinence products can help you maintain dignity in your daily life and manage your symptoms easily.

Bowel incontinence, also called fecal incontinence, is the loss of bowel control, resulting in uncontrolled bowel movements, resulting in leakage of solid stool (poop) or liquid stool (diarrhea).

Your bowel movements are controlled by the muscles in your pelvic floor, rectum, and anus. When these muscles aren't working correctly, you may experience bowel incontinence that results in soiling or accidents. Causes of fecal incontinence include:

• Passive incontinence: When your body can't sense that your rectum is full, resulting in fecal leakage.
• Urge incontinence: When you have a sudden and strong urge to make a bowel movement, resulting in leakage.

• Feeling a sudden and strong urge to make a bowel movement, resulting in fecal leakage.
• Having traces of fecal matter in your undergarments.
• Leaking fecal matter when you exercise or lift heavy objects.

Some lifestyle changes may help you better manage your bowel incontinence, while others should be discussed with your healthcare provider.

• Incontinence products. Bowel leaks can feel embarrassing and challenging to manage, whether you're managing your own leakage or a loved one's. Fecal incontinence can also sometimes cause urinary incontinence due to extra pressure being placed on the bladder from the bowels, so incontinence products may be a great choice for managing both! Bowel control products, like adult briefs (diapers), booster pads, and underpads, make bowel incontinence management much cleaner, and they can lessen your worry and improve your quality of life by controlling leakage no matter where you are. The best part about using bowel control products is that you may qualify to get them for free with Medicaid and Aeroflow Urology! 
• Dietary changes. Bowel incontinence may worsen if you eat foods that irritate your bowels. Ensure you eat a diet full of fiber, whole grains, fresh fruits, and vegetables. Avoid spicy foods, highly processed foods, and dairy products if you're lactose intolerant. Speak with your healthcare provider about which dietary changes you should make based on your type of bowel incontinence.

• Pelvic floor physical therapy. Pelvic floor therapy helps maintain sexual function, core stability, and other critical bodily activities, such as bowel and bladder control. Your general provider may be able to refer you to a pelvic floor physical therapist. During your appointment, you can let your therapist know of your symptoms, and they can help you manage them with different techniques, such as biofeedback or bowel training.

Aeroflow Urology patients receive free bowel incontinence products and other protective products through their Medicaid or Medicaid-managed care plans. The following products are some of the best choices for those managing bowel function conditions.

Disclaimer

Information provided on the Aeroflow Urology blog is not intended as a substitute for medical advice or care from a healthcare professional. Aeroflow recommends consulting your healthcare provider if you are experiencing medical issues relating to incontinence.