Course: Understanding Continence Promotion: Effective Management of Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction in Adults

In this step, explore the effects of dementia, a secondary degenerative neurological disease, on continence. Your task Read the article Understanding incontinence in people with dementia (available from Independent Nurse’s …

In this step, you meet ‘Jim’, our final case study on this course, who has faecal incontinence. Jim is in a intermediate care unit. He had a stroke several years …

Autonomic dysreflexia is a sudden and exaggerated autonomic response to an unpleasant/noxious stimulus. Examples of unpleasant stimuli include: A full rectum Digital stimulation of the rectum during a bowel evacuation …

Damage to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) impacts on the function of the large bowel, the colon, and on the ability to maintain bowel continence. Table 4.1 …

A rectocele is a type of pelvic organ prolapse which results from a weakening of the pelvic muscles and the loss of the ano-rectal angle. In a rectocele the rectum …

Damage to the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) impacts on the function of the large bowel, the colon, and on the ability to maintain bowel continence. The term …

Damage to one or both anal sphincters (internal and/or external) is the most common cause of faecal incontinence in younger people, particularly women after childbirth. Sultan et al (1993)[1], using …

Anorectal conditions are common and, if identified during assessment, require referral to a medical practitioner. Common conditions experienced include: Haemorrhoids – vascular structures in the anal canal which, in their …

Clinician Kate Boyce has many years of experience in continence care. In this video she shares her clinical expertise and sets the scene by talking about the wide-ranging causes of …

Anyone with normal anal sphincter control could experience episodes of faecal incontinence if they have loose and frequent bowel movements. If they also experience bowel urgency the likelihood of being …

The motility of the bowel is regulated and controlled by reflexes which all work together. The two main reflexes are the gastro-colic reflex and the defaecation reflex. Gastro-colic reflex A …

Faecal incontinence can be a more debilitating, isolating and distressing condition than urinary incontinence. It can significantly affect quality of every day life. It is often a hidden problem as …

In this step we explore the physiology of defaecation including the anal sphincter mechanism, the defaecation process and the implications on both of not having the correct posture on the …

A person’s gut is controlled by two different nervous systems: the extrinsic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. Extrinsic nervous system The extrinsic nervous system is the nervous system …