Faecal incontinence is the involuntary leakage of faecal material from the anus (back passage). The substance that leaks away may be semi-solid or liquid. It usually stains pants and bed clothes brownish or brownish-yellow. Leakage from the anus of a clear slimy substance is probably not faecal incontinence and is most frequently caused by inflammation or other diseases of the rectum.

Faecal incontinence may occur only occasionally or it may be a persistent problem of many years' duration.

How common is faecal incontinence?

Few people will go through life without experiencing faecal leakage on at least one or two occasions after they have achieved control of their bowel actions in early childhood. Although very embarrassing at the time this is nothing to worry about. When it occurs more frequently, faecal incontinence can present a real problem for the sufferer.

We don't know for certain how common faecal incontinence is. Unlike urinary incontinence, large scale surveys about it have not been carried out. Faecal incontinence is something people do not talk about and a sufferer may feel totally isolated, thinking he or she is the only person who is troubled by the condition. It does, however, occur much more frequently than people may think.

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