Fecal incontinence, hemorrhoids, and rectal prolapse

These pages describe accidental bowel leakage. ahem has not examined anyone and does not treat it. A hemorrhoid that protrudes and a rectum that slips out are compared on a prolapsed hemorrhoid and rectal prolapse.

NIDDK's definition page, last reviewed in July 2017 and opened October 30, 2026, says fecal incontinence is also called accidental bowel leakage or bowel incontinence. Urge incontinence, which it calls the most common type, is a strong urge that cannot be stopped before reaching a toilet. It says the pelvic floor muscles may be too weak to hold a bowel movement because of muscle injury or nerve damage. Passive incontinence is leakage without the person knowing it, when the body may not sense that the rectum is full.

Mayo Clinic dates its page November 27, 2024. Opened October 30, 2026, it calls fecal incontinence accidental passing of solid or liquid stool. Urge incontinence is a sudden urge that cannot be controlled, sometimes so sudden that reaching a toilet in time is not possible. Passive incontinence is passing stool without awareness of the need, including when a person cannot feel that the rectum is full. Mayo Clinic also lists leakage of stool when a person passes gas. NIDDK's symptoms page adds that some experts include streaks or stains of stool or mucus on underwear, which it calls soiling.

NIDDK's definition page, opened October 30, 2026, says medical experts consider fecal incontinence common, affecting about 1 in 3 people who see a primary health care provider. Among adults who are not in hospitals or nursing homes, it says between 7 and 15 out of 100 have fecal incontinence. Among adults in hospitals, between 18 and 33 out of 100. Among adults in nursing homes, between 50 and 70 out of 100. It says fecal incontinence occurs in about 2 out of 100 children. Those groups are different. The figures were not averaged.

NIDDK says a person may be more likely to have fecal incontinence if they are older than age 65, are not physically active, have had the gallbladder removed, or are a current smoker, among other health problems. Mayo Clinic says fecal incontinence is more likely in adults over 65, and that it is more common in women, which it links to possible injuries during delivery. Hormone treatments for menopause may also increase the risk, on Mayo Clinic's page. Mayo Clinic does not print the 1-in-3 line or the hospital and nursing-home ranges.

NIDDK's symptoms page says hemorrhoids can keep the muscles around the anus from closing completely, which lets small amounts of stool or mucus leak out. Rectal prolapse, which it describes as the rectum dropping down through the anus, can do the same thing. Mayo Clinic's physical-problems list includes hemorrhoids that may prevent the anal muscles from closing, and dropping of the rectum through the anus, called rectal prolapse. Mayo Clinic's hemorrhoid bullet does not add the words "small amounts." That phrase stays with NIDDK.

NIDDK also lists surgery to remove hemorrhoids, and surgery to treat anal abscesses and fistulas, among the operations that can injure or weaken the muscles of the anus, pelvic floor, or rectum. What those hemorrhoid operations are is on hemorrhoidectomy and stapling. An abscess is on an anorectal abscess. What the prolapse pages say to do for an adult and for a child is on rectal prolapse in adults and children.

NIDDK says diarrhea is the most common risk factor for fecal incontinence among people who are not staying in hospitals, nursing homes, or similar institutions, because loose stool fills the rectum quickly and is harder to hold. It names inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and proctitis as digestive problems that may cause that diarrhea. Constipation, on the same page, can lead to large, hard stools that stretch and weaken the rectal muscles, so watery stool behind the hard stool leaks out.

Mayo Clinic groups loose or watery stool and large, hard stool that blocks the rectum, with softer stool leaking around it, under diarrhea and constipation. Both pages list muscle injury from vaginal delivery, including forceps and a surgical cut called an episiotomy. NIDDK adds a vacuum-assisted delivery and a large baby. Both list nerve and brain conditions, including stroke, multiple sclerosis, dementia or Alzheimer's disease, and diabetes. NIDDK says type 2 diabetes. Mayo Clinic also names Parkinson's disease, cerebral palsy, a spinal cord injury or tumor, and celiac disease. Those extra names stay on the page that printed them.

Both describe a rectum that cannot stretch well after scarring or inflammation, and a rectocele, which Mayo Clinic calls bulging of the rectum into the vagina and NIDDK describes as the rectum bulging out through the vagina when the muscles between them weaken. NIDDK says long periods of sitting or lying down can leave a lot of stool in the rectum so liquid leaks around it, and that frail older adults are most likely to develop constipation-related leakage for that reason.

NIDDK's symptoms page says that for children older than age 4, the most common cause is constipation with a large amount of stool in the rectum. The child may not sense a new stool, and soft stool may seep around hard stool. It also names birth defects of the anus, rectum, or colon, including Hirschsprung disease, and spinal cord injuries. The definition page says children born with certain birth defects of the spinal cord, anus, or rectum are more likely to have fecal incontinence, and that children who are constipated are more likely to have it. The about 2 out of 100 children figure is on that definition page. Mayo Clinic says to see a healthcare professional if a child develops fecal incontinence. It does not print the age-4 line or the 2-out-of-100 figure.