Progression and recovery.

Since the causes of faecal incontinence are frequently multi factorial it is helpful to divide cases into two groups:

• who are most likely to have long-term faecal incontinence and need assistance from others:
  • Frail older people
  • People with faecal urgency, diarrhoea in conjunction with limited mobility
  • People with spurious diarrhoea
  • People with long term neurological conditions e.g. multiple sclerosis,
  • People with cognitive impairment e.g. dementia,
  • People with learning disabilities
• who can expect recovery from faecal incontinence, improvement with treatment and an increased ability to manage their incontinence independently:
  • Younger age groups in general
  • People with normal cognitive function
  • Women following child birth, although delayed problems may occur
  • People with inflammatory bowel diseases causing diarrhoea e.g. ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease
  • Following bowel, anal and pelvic surgery
  • Following spinal cord injury.

Amended April 2008