Inability to retain faeces in the rectum until a movement appropriate to expel them. A common cause is faecal impaction, which often results from long-standing constipation. The rectum becomes overfull causing faecal fluid and small pieces of faeces to be passed involuntarily around the impacted mass of faeces. Temporary loss of continence may also occur in severe diarrhoea. Other causes include injury to the anal muscles (as may occur during childbirth), paraplegia, and dementia.
If the underlying cause of faecal impaction is constipation, recurrence may be prevented by a high-fibre diet. Suppositories containing glycerol or laxative drugs may be recommended. Faecal incontinence in people with dementia or a nerve disorder may be avoided by regular use of enemas or suppositories to empty the rectum.
The inability to retain urine in the bladder for a reasonable length of time. It is can be caused by urethral irritation, loss of tone to the basement muscle of the bladder (the trigone), scarification or growths on the urethral lining, nerve damage, or emotional stress.... incontinence
The presence in the faeces of blood that cannot be seen by the naked eye, but can be detected by chemical tests. Such tests are widely used in screening for cancer of the colon (see colon, cancer of). Faecal occult blood may also be a sign of a gastrointestinal disorder such as oesophagitis, gastritis, or stomach cancer; cancer of the intestine (see intestine, cancer of); rectal cancer (see rectum, cancer of); diverticular disease; polyps in the colon; ulcerative colitis; or irritation of the stomach or intestine by drugs such as aspirin. (See also rectal bleeding.)... occult blood, faecal
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