Bowel or Fecal incontinence is the impaired ability to control one's bowel. When the urge to have a bowel movement occurs, people with this condition may not be able to hold it until they can get to a toilet or stool may leak from the rectum unexpectedly. Its severity ranges from mild difficulty with gas control to severe loss of control over liquid and formed stools. As with bladder control, bowel control problems similary tend to increase with age, although they are not a normal part of aging.

Fecal incontinence affects people of all ages, children as well as adults and tends to be more common in women than men.

People with bowel incontinence often feel ashamed, embarrassed and humiliated. Some may even refuse to leave their house in fear they might have an accident in public. Most are reluctant to tell anyone about their condition for as long as possible, therefore social isolation is unfortunately quite common. Many even fail to report their situation to a physician.

But however distressfull it may be, there are treatments to effectively manage and even cure this condition.