Hemorrhoids & Leakage: Can’t Wipe Clean Enough? These Tips Can Help

Bowel leakage is one of the most bothersome symptoms of hemorrhoids. These are a few important steps you can take to deal with this problem.

What a pain in the butt hemorrhoids (piles) can be! But at least you can manage the pain and hide it in public. There is yet another less discreet and more annoying symptom of this wicked health condition, and that is bowel leakage (or anal leakage) and a persistent foul smell.

If you have been noticing traces of stool on your underwear or every time you wipe your butt even when you hadn’t just had a bowel movement, well, that may very well be due to fecal incontinence caused by hemorrhoids. It’s also likely that you may not be aware that you have hemorrhoids, especially if they are internal and don’t cause any noticeable pain.

In case you have swollen hemorrhoids around the anus and/or inside the anal canal, then every time you empty your bowels, small amounts of stool can get trapped between those swollen lumps. So even if you wipe very well after you poop, those trapped traces may slowly leak out minutes and even hours later.

Now, it’s important to note that there are different causes of fecal incontinence, including muscle and nerve damage, and each case may require a different treatment. This article will only focus on the case where hemorrhoids are the main cause. If you suspect that your case of bowel leakage may be linked to piles, then keep reading to find out some useful tips and tricks that may offer you some relief.

Six Steps That Can Help

The best remedy for this problem would be to get your hemorrhoids treated — but that’s not such an easy task! To date, there isn’t a single effective remedy that can completely eliminate the problem. There are, however, several things that you can do to help alleviate hemorrhoids and the associated anal leakage problem. The following are six steps with different tips and tricks to try out.

1. Use Wet Baby Wipes

In order to clean a little deeper into the anal opening and between the lumps, you’ll need to use wet wipes. And not just any kind of wet wipes; you should look for pH balanced and alcohol-free baby wet wipes that are suitable for use on such a sensitive area of the skin. You’re gonna be using a lot of these, so once you find the right product for you, it’d make sense to buy it in bulk.

You can use the wet wipes after you clean with regular toilet paper. Take one piece of wet wipes and, using your finger, gently push it just a little bit into the anal opening. You should notice some amount of poop (and possibly blood) when you bring it out, and that’s what you want to get. Repeat the process using another clean wet wipe, and each time go a little deeper until the wipes start coming out clean. Be careful not to push too hard or too deep (just about 1 centimeter in) in order to avoid causing injury to that very sensitive area.

Once you’ve finished cleaning with wet wipes, you probably want to dry the external area using toilet paper again.

Note: Even when using wet wipes for deeper cleaning, it’s likely that small amounts of poop will still leak out minutes or hours afterwards. You should keep checking and cleaning from time to time using both toilet paper and wet wipes.

Tip: If this process is too painful for you, try using topical treatments and follow the other steps below. Once the condition improves and the pain becomes less severe, you can then start digging a bit deeper using wet wipes.

2. Use a Bidet

Bidets are widely used in many parts of the world and for a good reason: water cleans much better than toilet paper alone. If you don’t have a bidet in your bathroom, now is a good time to consider getting one installed.

There are two effective types of bidets you should consider: the traditional standalone bidet, and the simpler hand-held bidet sprayer (aka bidet shower). The latter is a more flexible and cheaper option, and it allows you to target all spots while sitting on your toilet seat and without getting your hands wet and dirty. It’s important to note though that a hand-held bidet requires a toilet with a low waterline so you can freely insert and move your hand (with the bidet) in there while sitting. You may need a whole new toilet for this to work, but it’ll be worth it!

Note: A bidet is not a substitute for wiping, but it supplements it. You’ll still need to wipe with dry toilet paper and use wet wipes to clean deeper as we described in the previous step.

Tip: It’s better to completely take off your pants and underwear if you are going to use a bidet to avoid accidentally wetting them.

3. Change Your Diet

Adjusting your diet is one of the most effective ways to alleviate hemorrhoids and the associated fecal leakage issue, and that’s because what you eat determines what comes out of the other end. You don’t want your stool to be loose and runny, and you don’t want it to be dry and hard either. The right consistency should be soft, smooth and bulky.

You want to avoid foods that might cause diarrhea as well as those that make you constipated. Since everyone’s body is different, what to eat and what to avoid varies from person to person. But in general, the following are some suggestions to keep in mind.

Do eat more fiber-rich foods, including a variety of fruits and vegetables, on a daily basis. Fresh fruits in particular don’t only help improve hemorrhoids, they are also packed with many other health benefits. Some of the best fruits to eat more regularly are: bananas, pears, apples and berries. Additionally, load up on green vegetables, whole grains, lentils and nuts. Moderation is key here because too much fiber in your diet is also bad for piles.

Avoid eating meats (especially red and processed meats), refined carbs, white bread, milk and other dairy products (yogurt is fine), canned fruits and vegetables (use fresh instead), carbonated beverages, alcohol and caffeine.

Wheat and red meat are arguably two of the worst foods for hemorrhoids. I’d strongly recommend that you go on a meat-free and gluten-free diet for a couple of weeks and you’ll likely experience a noticeable improvement in your condition. If you must eat meat, then opt for fish and maybe some chicken every now and then, but cut out red and processed meats.

4. Increase Physical Activity

If you have a sedentary lifestyle where you’re sitting on your butt most of the day, then pretty much everything you try to do to manage hemorrhoids is going to have limited, temporary results. If you want to achieve real and lasting improvement, you have to get more physically active and start exercising.

You don’t have to go to the gym or buy any fancy workout equipment. As a matter of fact, heavy weightlifting is one of the potential causes of hemorrhoids.

The best physical activity you can do is simply walking. Many of today’s health problems are due to the fact that most people barely do any walking these days. Try to walk for at least 30 minutes on a daily basis. Walk to the grocery store instead of driving and take the stairs instead of the elevator. These simple steps can make a big difference in the long run if you stick to them.

5. Lose Weight

Being overweight is also a major contributing factor to hemorrhoids, and this should be one more reason for you to start shedding some of those extra pounds you’re carrying around!

Avoid extreme diets and drastic weight loss plans. Instead, gradually make small changes in your diet and lifestyle that you are more likely to stick to for the long haul. Start by walking on a regular/daily basis and follow the diet tips we discussed above.

6. Don’t Fight the Urge to Go

It’s important to listen to your body’s signals, and when it’s ready to go, don’t try to fight back the urge as that can put increased pressure on your hemorrhoids and worsen the condition. Similarly, forcing yourself to poop and pushing too hard is also a bad idea. Just let it flow naturally! If you constantly have difficultly emptying your bowels, taking a mild natural laxative, such as a magnesium supplement, can help.

Conclusion

Hemorrhoids can be one of the most annoying health conditions, and having stool leaking out hours after you’ve had a bowel movement is probably the most troublesome symptom you can experience. There is no quick or permanent solution to this problem, but several steps can be taken to slowly improve it over time. I hope this article helped you find some answers and relief.