What Is a Bowel or Fecal Urgency?

Bowel or fecal urgency is a sudden, irresistible need to have a bowel movement. Urge fecal incontinence is inability to hold stool during bowel urgency. Bowel incontinence is complete inability to control bowel movements. Tenesmus (Greek tens = strain) is a repeating painful urge to defecate without excreting any stool.  

Causes of Bowel Urgency

1. Occasional Bowel Urgency in Healthy People

Large Meal

A large, especially fiber-rich fruit or vegetable meal, can produce a lot of stool, which can be, for some people, difficult to hold in. A quick change from mixed to vegetarian diet can also irritate the bowel.

continue reading Urgency to Have a Bowel Movement, Urge Fecal Incontinence

Short-Chain Carbohydrates May Cause Chronic Bloating and Diarrhea

It was found out that certain short-chained carbohydrates can cause chronic diarrhea, abdominal bloating, gas or other gastrointestinal symptoms in individuals, diagnosed with:

• Dyspepsia (indigestion)
• Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or functional bowel disease (FBD)…

…or aggravate symptoms of:

• Lactose intolerance
• Fructose malabsorption
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
• Celiac disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
• Dumping syndrome (rapid gastric emptying)

These carbohydrates were named FODMAPs.

continue reading Low-FODMAP Diet – Foods to Avoid in IBS and Bloating