Depending on what is causing or contributing to fecal incontinence, your healthcare provider may recommend:
- Changes in diet or medications
- Pelvic floor muscle exercises
- “Bowel training” (training your body to have bowel movements on a schedule)
- Surgery
- Other therapies
- A combination of the above
Diet
Both constipation and diarrhea can lead to fecal incontinence. Your healthcare professional may ask you to:
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Eat more fiber and drink more clear liquids to help prevent constipation. Fiber can come from whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and other legumes. Your healthcare provider may also suggest a fiber supplement. Adding fiber slowly can help lower the risk of diarrhea.
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Cut back on caffeine, which can make diarrhea and fecal incontinence worse. Drinks and foods with caffeine include cola, coffee, tea, cocoa, and chocolate.
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Cut back on sugar-free drinks, foods, and chewable medications that contain artificial sweeteners. These can cause long-lasting diarrhea.
Medication
Your healthcare provider may prescribe medications or suggest ones you can buy over the counter. These may include:
- “Bulking agents” (such as methylcellulose) to make stools firmer and less watery.
- Anti-diarrhea medications, such as loperamide (Imodium).
Some prescription and over-the-counter medications can cause diarrhea or constipation. Your healthcare professional will review the medications you are taking and may suggest changes if needed.
Exercises and Biofeedback
Exercises that strengthen the pelvic floor muscles may help improve bowel control. Your healthcare provider can teach you how to do these exercises correctly.
Your provider may recommend:
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Pelvic floor rehabilitation therapy. A specially trained physical therapist will evaluate you and create an exercise plan.
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This plan may include biofeedback. Biofeedback helps you learn how your body is working by giving you feedback during exercises. It helps make sure you are doing the exercises correctly. Biofeedback can help retrain the pelvic floor and nearby muscles.
Bowel Training
Bowel training can help when mental or physical problems are causing fecal incontinence. This training means trying to have a bowel movement at the same scheduled times each day—for example, after meals.
Bowel training can help improve constipation by helping your body get used to having regular bowel movements.
Surgery
If fecal incontinence is caused by damage to the sphincter muscles or pelvic floor, your healthcare provider may recommend surgery. Surgery does not always fix the problem completely.
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A sphincteroplasty can repair damage to the rectal sphincter muscles caused by childbirth or other injuries.
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Another type of surgery places an inflatable cuff, called an artificial sphincter, around the end of the rectum to help control bowel movements.
Last Updated May 2026