Bowel incontinence

You might have bowel incontinence if you cannot control when you poo. Symptoms of bowel incontinence include:

  • poo leaking out without you being able to stop it
  • feeling like you need to poo, but not being able to get to the toilet in time
  • not being able to get fully clean after going to the toilet
  • seeing streaks or stains of poo in your underwear

See a GP if:

  • you think you have bowel incontinence
  • you have any changes in your poo that are not getting better, such as having softer poo, diarrhoea or constipation that is not usual for you

Try not to be embarrassed. The doctor will be used to talking about these symptoms.

Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:

  • your poo is black or dark red
  • you have bloody diarrhoea

You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.

If a GP thinks you might have bowel incontinence they:

  • will talk to you about your symptoms
  • might ask to examine you by feeling your tummy (abdomen) and feeling inside your bottom with a finger (they'll be wearing gloves)
  • might ask you to give a poo sample

They might refer you to a specialist for more tests such as:

  • blood tests
  • a colonoscopy (a test to check inside your bowels using a thin, flexible tube with a small camera inside it)
  • an ultrasound scan

The treatment you have for bowel incontinence will depend on what's causing your symptoms and how severe they are.

Treatment from a GP

A GP might recommend:

  • a review of your diet and any medicines you take
  • medicines to make you poo less often or medicines to soften your poo (laxatives)
  • incontinence pads or pants
  • plugs that go inside your bottom

If these things do not help, they might refer you to a specialist service.

Treatment from a specialist service

A specialist incontinence service can:

  • review your diet and any medicines you take
  • recommend exercises to strengthen your pelvic floor and your bottom
  • recommend techniques to help empty the lower part of your bowels

If these things do not help, you might be referred for surgery.

Surgery for bowel incontinence

You may have surgery if other treatments have not helped or your symptoms are severe.

Surgery can include:

  • repairing your muscles in your bottom that control when you poo (anal sphincter)
  • making a new anal sphincter using muscle taken from your thigh
  • putting an artificial sphincter in your bottom, so you can control when you poo
  • putting a small device under your skin in your bottom that uses electrical pulses to help you control when you poo
  • having a small tube (catheter) put into your tummy through a small hole to flush water through, which helps empty your bowels
  • making a small opening in your tummy (stoma) to attach a pouch to collect your poo

The surgeon will explain the risks and benefits of the operation, and what will happen.

Find out more about hospital treatment

Having bowel incontinence can affect your mental health. It can help to talk about how you're feeling.

You can get talking therapies for free on the NHS. These services can help you find ways to cope.

Help is available in person, by video, over the phone or as an online course.

Find an NHS talking therapies service

There are also national charities that can offer support and information about bowel incontinence.

Bladder & Bowel Community

Information and support for people with bladder and bowel conditions.

Bladder & Bowel UK

Information and support for people with bladder and bowel conditions.

Get a RADAR key

RADAR keys unlock lots of accessible public toilets in places like cafés, restaurants and shopping centres.

It might help to get one, so you can easily access a toilet when you're in public. You can usually get one from a charity.

Bowel incontinence can happen for lots of reasons and is common. Try not to be embarrassed.

You may get it for reasons such as if you:

  • eat certain foods or drinks, for example spicy foods or drinks with caffeine in them
  • have weaker muscles around your bottom – this can happen as you get older or because of things like hormonal changes or childbirth
  • have a health condition that affects your digestive system such as constipation, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or Crohn's disease
  • have a health condition that makes you less aware of when you need to poo, such as dementia, a learning disability, a stroke or damage to the nerves in your spine

It can be a result of more than one of these things.

Children can also get bowel incontinence. Sometimes they avoid going to the toilet, which means their poo hardens and runny poo leaks out, or they do not make it to the toilet in time.