About Incontinence - Treatment / Management Options - Bowel Retraining
Medical Reviewer: Carrie Carls , RN, BSN, CWOCN
Consistent bowel movements are crucial to obtaining fecal continence. To retrain your bowel to empty on a regular and consistent basis, begin by increasing fiber and fluid intake (see dietary changes for fecal incontinence, and fiber therapy). Then, set a daily time to empty your bowels that you can stick to (about 20 to 40 minutes following a meal). Every day at the set time, sit on a toilet or commode (or use a bedpan if unable to walk) and relax and empty the bowel by bearing down and contracting the stomach muscles. If unable to have a bowel movement in this way, you may want to speak to your health care professional about a technique called digital stimulation, or by performing an enema just before a desired bowel movement. By increasing your fiber and fluids, and sticking to your scheduled bowel movement time each day, you may find that your bowels begin emptying on their own again.
Who?
Bowel retraining is useful for anyone experiencing constipation, which can cause fecal and/or urinary incontinence.
The Pros
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Like fiber therapy and bladder retraining, bowel retraining is a non-invasive treatment that may bring results without the need for more serious interventions.
The Cons
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Not everyone can achieve a regular bowel schedule through this method, and those who do still may not experience complete continence.
Carrie Carls, BSN, RN, CWOCN, oversees pelvic floor retraining for urinary and fecal incontinence, performs urodynamics testing, treats painful bladder syndrome, and cares for wound and ostomy patients at Passavant Area Hospital in Jacksonville , Illinois . Her article, “Prevalence of Stress Urinary Incontinence in High School and College Age Female Athletes in the Midwest : Implications for Practice” appeared in the Journal of Urologic Nursing, February 2007. Her abstract, “Partial Thickness Wound Resulting from Use of a Penile Clamp to Control Urinary Incontinence in a Patient with Radical Prostatectomy” was presented at the Symposium of Advanced Wound Care in 2005. She teaches content in the areas of wound, ostomy, and continence care to baccalaureate nursing students at MacMurray College , and facilitates the West Central Illinois UOAA ostomy support group.
Page last modified 26 July 2009