Have any questions about how to use the community? Check out the Help Discussion.

Bowel incontinence

Options
Debhen
Debhen Member Posts: 1 Member
in Caring For a Spouse or Partner
My DH is still in the mild stage. I can leave him home alone for a few hours. He walks the dog without getting lost. But, he has urinary incontinence at night. Lately he has developed bowel incontinence. I’m not sure what to do about the bowel incontinence. Any ideas?

Comments

  • harshedbuzz
    harshedbuzz Member Posts: 5,456
    Eighth Anniversary 5000 Comments 1,000 Insightfuls Reactions 1,000 Likes
    Member

    @Debhen

    Hi and welcome. I am sorry for your reason to be here but pleased you found this place.

    Typically, fecal incontinence develops after urinary some time in stage 6 which is considered late stage dementia.

    That said, there can be medical issues that complicate this. For my dad, prior radiation for prostate cancer did significant tissue damage causing incontinence earlier (mid-stages) than is usual. He remained quite verbal until the end, so it seemed very early for him. Some caregivers are able to mostly manage this with a toileting schedule if their LO is relatively regular in their habits. Most still use a disposable brief to manage accidents.

    Another issue could be encopresis. This is when a person becomes constipated and blocked which causes soft stool to leak around the blockage. Seeing her PCP or GI doc would be prudent if you suspect this. Often it's treated with a Miralax clean-out and subsequent toileting schedule.

    Good luck
    HB

Commonly Used Abbreviations


DH = Dear Husband
DW= Dear Wife, Darling Wife
LO = Loved One
ES = Early Stage
EO = Early Onset
FTD = Frontotemporal Dementia
VD = Vascular Dementia
MC = Memory Care
AL = Assisted Living
POA = Power of Attorney
Read more

Community Guidelines


Click here to review the ALZConnected Community Guidelines

Categories