- Physical Examination
- Surgical Examination
- Ophthalmology
- Clinical Skills
- Orthopedics
- Surgery Videos
- Laparoscopy
- Pediatrics
- Funny Videos
- Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Nursing Videos
- Plastic Surgery
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Histology and Histopathology
- Neurosurgery
- Dermatology
- Pediatric Surgery
- Urology
- Dentistry
- Oncology and Cancers
- Anatomy Videos
- Health and Fitness
- Radiology
- Anaesthesia
- Physical Therapy
- Pharmacology
- Interventional Radiology
- Cardiology
- Endocrinology
- Gynecology
- Emergency Medicine
- Psychiatry and Psychology
- Childbirth Videos
- General Medical Videos
- Nephrology
- Physiology
- Diet and Food Health
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Neurology
- Women Health
- Osteoporosis
- Gastroenterology
- Pulmonology
- Hematology
- Rheumatology
- Toxicology
- Nuclear Medicine
- Infectious Diseases
- Vascular Disease
- Reproductive Health
- Burns and Wound Healing
- Kidney Zone Podcast
- Other
Leaking stool (bowel incontinence)
Category: Digestive & Abdomen · All digestive symptoms
What it can feel like
Leaking stool — bowel incontinence — means stool or soiling escapes before you reach the toilet, from small stains to full loss of control. It is more common than people think, rarely talked about, and often improvable once the mechanism — muscle weakness, nerve problems, loose stool, or rectum sensitivity — is understood.
Possible causes
A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
Common causes
Leaking can be associated with loose stools or diarrhoea, constipation with overflow leakage, weakened pelvic floor after childbirth, haemorrhoids or a prolapse interfering with sealing, and ageing of the anal muscles.
Other possible causes
Incontinence can also be associated with nerve damage from diabetes, spinal or neurological conditions, previous anal or childbirth injury, and inflammation of the rectum. New incontinence with leg weakness or numbness around the saddle area is an emergency pattern.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- New incontinence with numbness around the bottom or back passage, leg weakness or bladder changes — emergency
- Leaking with blood in the stool or weight loss
- Leaking with severe diarrhoea and dehydration
- A sudden change in bowel control after surgery or childbirth
What a clinician may do
A clinician will ask sensitively about the pattern — urgency, passive leakage, stool consistency — and examine the rectum and pelvic floor. Stool tests, scans of the anal muscles, pressure studies (manometry) and pelvic-floor physiotherapy referral are the usual steps.
Watch: related videos
Examination and clinical videos from the MedicalVideos.com library relevant to this symptom. Some clinical footage is graphic — that is the nature of a medical video library.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth mentioning something so embarrassing?
Yes — clinicians hear about it often, effective treatments exist for most mechanisms (diet and stool firming, pelvic-floor training, biofeedback, and surgical options for some), and it can occasionally signal something that needs urgent attention. Nothing about it should be suffered in silence.
What is overflow leakage?
When hard stool is stuck in the rectum, liquid stool from above can seep around it and leak out — looking like diarrhoea but actually driven by constipation. Treating the impaction, rather than anti-diarrhoea medicines, is the answer.
Related symptoms — Digestive & Abdomen
Browse the L section of the A–Z list or return to the Symptoms A–Z hub.