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Some links in this article are affiliate links. We may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products we find useful to our readersHaving a leaky anus can be a very difficult a condition and an embarrassing too when some person passes the stool or the anal discharge uncontrollably or unexpectedly. Anal leakage is a serious problem that must be discussed. Anal leakage is also known as fecal incontinence.
What is Anal Leakage?
Anal leakage in when the stool gets expelled from the body suddenly without any warning or without any purpose. Leaky anus is mainly caused because of diarrhea or constipation and the leakage tends to stop only when the digestive system gets back to normal. In the normal situation, when we feel the urge to pass a bowel movement, we quickly run to the toilet to release the stool. When we actually cannot control the same, accidents happen. The feces come out even before we could reach to the toilet. There are several symptoms, diagnosis, causes and treatment process along with preventive measures for the anal leakage problem or leaky anus.
Have you heard of the term anal fissure? Anal fissures are cracks or tears in the anus and the canal of anus. They could be either acute or chronic situation which are primarily caused by several non-traumatic diseases and trauma IQ. These are associated with anal fissures and should be suspected when it occurs in unusual locations. The usual symptoms of anal fissures are pain during passing the bowel movement.
The bowel incontinence can be broken down into the below 2 types:
1. Passive Bowel incontinence:
The person isn’t aware of the passed stool and might realize it only when they change their underwear. Well, the person passes gas, could also experience leakage from the anus.
2. Urge incontinence:
A sudden urge to pass stools and by then the person hasn’t made it to the toilet. It could result in the whole bowel movement on the person’s clothing.
Depending on the reasons of the bowel inconvenience, where are ways in which you could read the leaky anus.
What Causes Anal Leakage?
Causes of anal leakage could be many, and unusually it is possible to find the effective ways to treat it. It is very important to find out why the rectum in your body could not retain stool in order to find the best possible treatment available.
1. Constipation:
One of the most common reasons for Leaky anus is constipation. Constipation can also cause pain in the lower left area of the abdomen and the lower back along with some stomach pain.
As per the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, impacted feces stretch out the muscles in the rectum. In this case, it allows the watery stool mucus to leak past the harder stool and accidentally passes out of the rectum.
2. Diarrhea:
There are various reasons why a person can suffer from diarrhea and it is one of the most common causes of anal leakage. In some people, the rectal muscle cannot hold watery stool very long. Therefore, the loose stools easily make its way out and leaks causing bowel incontinence. The anal discharge can also happen without knowing when a person passes gas. There could be a number of underlying reasons for such health condition that can cause diarrhea. Just be the reason of experiencing anal seepage. Some of the most common reasons of diarrhea that can cause anal leakage:
(a) Inflammatory Bowel Disease:
(IBD) Ulcerative colitis can be one of the reasons for frequent bouts of diarrhea. And I could also cause anal leakage to happen especially during the night time or through the urge of the usage of bathroom. Inflammatory bowel disease can also lead to leaking blood or mucus from the rectum.
(b) Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS):
Another reason of the Leaky anus could be because of diarrhea having irritable bowel syndrome.
(c) Gastroenteritis:
The viruses and bacteria can infect the digestive tract in a body and cause severe diarrhea and vomiting even after eating and leaking in a small amount of stool.
3. Hemorrhoids:
Hemorrhoids is also known as piles which are swollen blood vessels around the bottom part of the rectum. Piles causes bleeding, pain, itching, and a lot of discomfort around the anus. Anal leakages can occur in case of hemorrhoid is inflamed.
4. Damage to Sphincter Muscle:
Any kind of damages to such muscles in the lower rectum could cause accidental bowel leakage. There are various reasons the muscle damage occurs in the anus. The most common reason of such damage of muscle can’t prevent involuntary anal leaking.
- Damage to the sphincter muscles especially during childbirth and it becomes strength or damaged
- Prostate or rectal surgery or radiation treatment
there could be a kind of trauma to the anal region - Inflammatory bowel disease could also cause the damage to the muscle in the rectum
5. Nerve Damage:
Passing a small amount of mucus in stool without realization can also because of nerve damage. Which means a fecal soiling happen the guest the nerve does not control the opening and closing of sphincter muscles as expected. Some reasons for anal leakage by nerve damage are as follows:
- Childbirth
- Stroke
- Multiple sclerosis
- Diabetes
- Frequent and long-term straining to pass stool.
6. Anal Cancer:
Anal cancer can damage the nerves and muscles of the anus. It weakens the function of the anal sphincter. Black may also be one of the leakage is present. It is a life threatening condition when diagnosed with anal cancer. The various causes of leakage of fluid, mucus and feces includes:
- Severe gastroenteritis
- Chronic constipation, particularly where there is fecal impaction
- Gynecological injuries during childbirth or after a hysterectomy
- Nerve disorders like diabetic neuropathy, spinal cord injury, stroke, postoperative nerve injury to the anus, dementia, and multiple sclerosis
- Severe hemorrhoids
- Bowel conditions like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and severe irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Anatomical anomalies of the rectum and anus since birth (congenital anorectal anomalies)
- Fecal impaction
- Food intolerance like lactose intolerance
- Gastroenteritis
- Hemorrhoids
- Anal fissures
- Celiac disease
- Colorectal cancer or anal cancer
- Diverticulitis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Proctitis
- Rectal ulcers
7. Rectal Stiffening:
If laptop becomes diseased, the abilities for the muscles around it to stretch and hold stool becomes impaired. The tissue around that gets scared and as a result, it causes the rectum walls to become stiffer. Here after the rectum does not support largest stools any longer and hence the fluid and wet feces leaks out. The rectal stiffening can also be caused because of any inflammatory bowel disease or surgery and radiation damage.
Signs and Symptoms Of Anal Leakage:
Why is my bottom leaking? Anal leakage symptoms might depend on the particular reason for anal leakage. We have already spoken about the different causes of leaky bottom. The Leaky anus symptoms could variate from the itchy anus, burning anus, itching buttocks to even experiencing a continuous urge to pass stool even after passing the bowel movement.
- Itchy buttocks.
- Itchy anus.
- Pain and discomfort in the anal area.
- Burning Anus.
- Feeling like passing bowel even after bowel movement.
- Altered bowel movement like diarrhea and constipation.
If there is rectal bleeding present, an endoscopic evaluation using a flexible viewing tube or rigid one is necessary to understand the possibilities of more serious diseases in anus or rectum. A sigmoidoscope e is something that examines only the distal part of colon which could be one of the reasons in patients younger than 50 years of age who might have typical anal fissure.
How To Stop Anal Leakage?
Treatment of anal leakage depends on the underlying cause of the situation. It could be a traumatic experience to not be able to control your bowel movement and instead leak it out in your underwear because you couldn’t make it to the toilet in time.
1. Eat More Of Fiber Food:
In case you are suffering from constipation, it is important for you to include more amount of fibrous food in your daily consumption. Fiber helps the digestive system to work properly as expected and soften the stool. Whole wheat grain or any other whole grains like brown rice, whole wheat pasta, whole wheat bread etc. should be included in your daily diet. Beans, popcorn, nuts, and berries make a great source of fiber.
2. Drink Enough Water:
Our body is made up of more than 70% of water. The digestive system needs water to improve the process of digestion. We must make sure to drink at least 8 glasses every day to help the digestion process continue normally and softens fiber which turns into pieces to prevent any anal leakage. Drinking enough water is a great way to keep your body healthy and hydrated throughout the day.
3. If you have anal leakage from diarrhea, it can be pretty serious as the watery stool my seep out without your realization. In this case it could cause not only mental discomfort but also emotional. Where natural ways in which you could treat diarrhea and helps in are reduce inflammation in your digestive tract and prevent anal leakage.
4. Ginger:
Ginger which is very easily available acts as a wonderful therapeutic root that has many health benefits. One of such great benefits of Ginger is to calm the Gastrointestinal cramps and inflammation. Studies about ginger have shown as the beneficial natural ingredient in it that calms the stomach cramps. You could make it delicious by adding into your tea by grating one piece of ginger and letting it seat its juice into the tea. If you drink this type of 80 to 3 times a day, it helps in reducing the inflammation and Health cure digestive tract to cure the anal leakage.
5. Chamomile Tea:
One of the best natural ingredient- chamomiles is called as a Calming herb that works in soothing the mind and your digestive system. Studies about chamomile tea speak about the various benefits of which helps in treating diarrhea. This herbal extract is known to reduce diarrhea symptoms.
6. Probiotics:
Probiotics help in reducing the anal leakage because they improve not only the symptoms of diarrhea but also improved constipation. Research into using probiotics have suggested that it helps the digestive issues and they have also found out the effective reduction of symptoms of diarrhea caused by in taking of antibiotics, viruses and bacterial infections.
7. Changes in the Lifestyle That Might Help:
Gone are the times when we used to follow a routine and lead a very healthy and safe life. Looking at the busy lives today, it is difficult to follow the routine. Hence if you suffer from chronic or recurrent anal leakage, you must have changed your lifestyle in order to help Leaky anus. Q Lifestyle that we can suggest as home remedies for anal leakage are as below:
- You must avoid food that causes gas in the body and bloating in case it is the reason for the seepage of anus
- Avoid excessive spicy food or oily food especially the fried food items. Also, avoid in taking lots of caffeinated drinks as they agree with the bowel incontinence
- You must avoid milk product that contains lactose to stop diarrhea and the inflammation of your digestive system
- Drinking enough of water keeps your bowel movement healthy and regular.
8. Visit Your Doctor:
It is alright to try home remedies for anal leakage, however, in case of prolonged trouble you must always go and get a checkup done. The number of reasons for suffering from the anal leakage like we have already spoken about and hence there are also number of possible treatments to it. Only the medical practitioners can determine the exact cause for such a situation and problem and further to help you with the effective medication and treatment to relieve from the pain and discomfort.