Bowel Incontinence and Diarrhea in Stress – How to Prevent It?
It is known that strong fear, unpleasant surprise, pain, gross scene or other strong stimuli or feelings may cause temporary bowel incontinence – an inability to prevent the passage of the stool. Strong sensory stimuli may cause excitation of the vagus nerve and pelvic nerves (parasympathetic nerve) that stimulate large intestinal motility (peristalsis) and push the stool toward the anus. At the same time, depression of the sympathetic nerves may cause relaxation of the internal anal sphincter (the muscle that keeps the anus closed) resulting in the involuntary bowel movement. Described mechanism is a part of “fight or flight” or “combat or escape” response to stress, in which flight (parasympathetic) response has prevailed. Bladder incontinence may appear at the same time, since the passage of the urine is controlled by the same nerves as the passage of the stool (Picture 1).
