Bowel Incontinence & Work

As someone whose incontinence is mainly urinary but on rare occasions gastrointestinal, I've fortunately never messed myself at work, (yet). However, as someone who is newly incontinent changing at school and work has definitely taken some getting used to. As changing when messy requires a lot more cleanup and is a lot more obvious than changing when wet, I'm curious both in case I mess myself at work and because Google didn't turn up anything how those who are bowel incontinent and employed at office jobs handle it.

i too am curious; i went from bedwetting, to daytime accidents, and now i am completely 100 percent incontinent 24/7 both urinary and fecal!
Dealing with poopy diapers in public, during the day is something that I need to learn how to handle also.
One thing that cuts down odor for me are plastic gerber-style panties.

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I sometimes mess myself as well as wetting, and it's happened during work at some points. My boss knows I'm incontinent so I'm allowed to be gone for a bit, if the other staff asks I usually say I went out for a snack or just had a particularly hard time in the toilet.

This is definitely a thread for JDInVA

InconFurryGirl said:

how those who are bowel incontinent and employed at office jobs handle it.

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I don't have an office job, but if there's a regular bathroom with a handicap stall then there's how you go about cleaning it up. If not then you just gotta try and deal with a regular stall.
A small stall is a little lame, but it's better than a port-a-potty
If you have a good supply of wipes with you, then you should be fine. But do make sure you have lots of wipes.
Try to wipe away as much as you can with the front of the diaper when removing it, then just keep wiping until clean.
Utilize the walls, lean back against the wall whilst un-taping your diaper to hold up the back of it if you need it.
Changing messy accidents is the most difficult for me, I still haven't mastered it and it'll take plenty of practice.

If you're incontinent and wear protection, be it pull-ups or tape on diapers, your co-workers and boss should understand. You have an issue, and you're dealing with it in a clean and discrete manner and you're not exposing your diaper to anyone, no one should say anything. If they do comment or remark, then pay them no mind. They're in the wrong and any reasonable individual will understand you have an issue.

If you're looking to help manage bowel incontinence, waterproof diaper covers/plastic pants and onesies.

Diaper covers/plastic pants do a great job at keeping the odor contained a little longer until you find a place to change, catching any leaks and help support your diaper if it's sagging or full.
The cover I use and prefer, lightweight and comes in different colors: http://www.northshorecare.com/diapers/diaper-covers/garywear-active-briefs-diaper-covers.html

Onesies, or sometimes called "body stockings" by some, are excellent for supporting your diaper, keeping the bulk down slightly and keeping the diaper from peeking if your shirt rides high.
They're also pretty nice to sleep in as well and do help me fall asleep.
Dark colors are recommended as white stains easily, I wear Navy blue.
The onesie I use: https://www.xpmedical.com/accessories/reusable-products/xp-4care-bodystockings-navy-config

Using a combo of a onesie and diaper cover, it does a phenomenal job for me and what I use when out and about or at work.

If you have any further questions, please ask and I will reply as soon as possible. I do hope this helps and I do hope you find a way to manage in the meantime.

Inconnfurrygirl,

Hotdogg has said that this is a thread for me, and I agree, so I'll contribute my thoughts (Hi Hotdogg!). I'm double incontinent and manage it well.

I have two basic recommendations. One, if you have a bowel accident at work try to get your cleanup supplies and make it to a toilet (preferably a private restroom) as quickly as possible and, importantly, before sitting down. If you have to sit down in the messy diaper, the fecal mass will spread under pressure and may force itself under a leg gather or up the crack of your back and over the diaper. In either case you will have much worse odor, plus a bigger and more difficult cleanup.

Secondly, avoid the accident. I am serious about this. Each of my suggestions probably will shock you. If you are at risk of a bowel accident at work, you need to try harder to avoid it than when not at work or in the privacy of your home. There are options most of the folks here have not considered (and may never have heard about). These include enemas and anal plugs. When you are sufficiently terrified of pooping your pants while at work, these options will sound less strange. Bowel accidents in the workplace can be a powerful motivator.

Re the enemas, I am talking about old-fashioned red rubber bag and soapsuds enemas, not the chemical Fleets. The idea is simple - an empty colon cannot have a bowel accident. I self-administer these preventive enemas every morning, with the full approval of several colorectal surgeon's. I have administered about 3,200 enemas without a problem. They have eliminated over 90% of my bowel accidents. They are very, very effective. I also will note that this method is very inexpensive. However, to commit to such a therapy, you need to be "well motivated." You also need to learn enough to make this therapy safe and as comfortable as possible. If you are interested in this, check with your doctor to be sure that you do not have any medical condition that would contraindicate the use of enemas. Don't worry, your doctor will not be shocked.

Next, the anal plugs are disposable rectal plugs intended to allow you to delay defecation and buy yourself time to find a toilet. The best option is the Coloplast Peristeen anal plug. This is an actual medical device. You can Google it. I am wearing one as I am typing this. An alternative, but less effective, plug is to use a feminine hygiene tampon. The best is the O.B. brand tampon as it expands in width, not in length. Both of these work well, but not everyone adjusts well to the sensation of feeling something in the rectum.:sad:

I'll stop with this, although I could say much more. Both methods work and I personally use both methods. You can search on Google and you will find medical papers about the use of each method to control bowel incontinence. If anyone wants more info, just ask.

--John

Hi, what jdinvirginia said is right. Whenever I have a bm at college I don't go to sit anywhere as that makes it worse. I've spoken to someone at college about my condition and I'm allowed to use the handicap restroom to clean up and change. I wear skirts whenever it's not too cold as it's easy to change. Several times I've had bm's while on the bus home and walking around in it isn't the most pleasant idea but when the closest accessible toilet is at home there's no choice

This type of situation is not one you want to have if at all possible not, but if it happens it happens, afterwards what you do is most important.

1. Don't panic or lose your cool, if in the middle of something that can't be just stopped (driving/serving a customer/meeting) finish what you are doing,
2. as soon as a moment breaks you can get away, get to a bathroom, make sure you have wet wipes... if you don't for some reason grab some paper towels and apply the slightest bit of soap/hand sanitizer to each of them then apply water, go into a handicap stall if possible,
3.pull down your pants and then pull down but don't remove the diaper , if its a runny mess be very careful and dump the excess in at the end, you may have to remove your pants if spillage may occur,
4. use wipes or towel to clean up the best as possible, put them in the diaper(not the toilet, don't be the jerk who backs up the toilet or septic tank), when clean enough take off the diaper and toss in the can
o.if you know your bowels are prone to encore performances after redressing, sit down for a few moments and try to go if you can both way and wipe up.
5. rediaper and pull up pants.
6. wash your hands

If this is a frequent occurrence nullo or like chlorophyll or charcoal tablets are your friends. Also plastic or rubber pants can help. Also part of the don't panic warning, stress can make bowel incontinence much worse in dealing with as well as just causing it to occur, take that with a grain of salt.

How do you all handle smell?

rcane said:

How do you all handle smell?

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Plastic pants and cleaning up as soon and as thoroughly as possible. It works well, as for dealing with the smell yourself while changing, I guess experience helps a little, but it's still challenging

miapeters said:

Plastic pants and cleaning up as soon and as thoroughly as possible. It works well, as for dealing with the smell yourself while changing, I guess experience helps a little, but it's still challenging

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Have you ever had people complain about the smell when you cannot change immediately or are the plastic pants so good at containing the smell?

rennecfox said:

If this is a frequent occurrence nullo or like chlorophyll or charcoal tablets are your friends.

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How effective are these pills? Can you take them during a longer period, say months?

rcane said:

Have you ever had people complain about the smell when you cannot change immediately or are the plastic pants so good at containing the smell?



How effective are these pills? Can you take them during a longer period, say months?

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Some instances of when I cannot change is whenever I'm traveling, usually it doesn't smell a lot, when I go home by bus I've had bm's and it doesn't really smell until I get home to change, luckily whenever I take a domestic flight I have a bm towards the end of the flight, I haven't flown too many times though, I have to figure out a way to clean up and/or change in an airplane. Before I used plastic pants and I had bm's in the night in the morning the room would smell a little. Nothing bad but enough to start me wearing plastic pants. Been wearing plastic pants for a really long time now, I would definitely recommend it, catches leaks and odor,

miapeters said:

Some instances of when I cannot change is whenever I'm traveling, usually it doesn't smell a lot, when I go home by bus I've had bm's and it doesn't really smell until I get home to change, luckily whenever I take a domestic flight I have a bm towards the end of the flight, I haven't flown too many times though, I have to figure out a way to clean up and/or change in an airplane. Before I used plastic pants and I had bm's in the night in the morning the room would smell a little. Nothing bad but enough to start me wearing plastic pants. Been wearing plastic pants for a really long time now, I would definitely recommend it, catches leaks and odor,

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Plastic pants seems to be something I have to get. What kind do you use?

rcane said:

Plastic pants seems to be something I have to get. What kind do you use?

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I used to use leakmaster deluxe or something like that, garywear active briefs diaper covers is which has been suggested which I'm still trying out, so far so good

Re fecal odor, internal deodorants like Nullo work well for many people. I have used them when on vacation on a cruise ship when I knew that I would be forced to be in close proximity to many people, such as when sharing a ship's tender to get to and from shore. My wife could not tell whether I had had a bowel accident.:smile: However, please note that the higher doses that may be required to effectively suppress odor also may cause significant constipation.:sad: There may be a trade-off in problems here and each user must decide how to handle it.

Plastic pants reduce the spread of fecal odor but cannot eliminate it. You may laugh, but in high-risk situations, try two pair of plastic pants. The second pair must be sized for cloth diapers and completely cover the first. The leg gathers must make contact with the thighs lower than the first pair. I have done this and it definitely helps. However, it is warmer in hot weather.

Also, if I sense that a fecal accident is about to occur, I try to move away from other people as much as possible. If I have had a fecal accident I try to avoid sitting down. If I am forced to sit down it is important not to move around as that will only spread the odor more.

I doubt that there is a perfect solution for the odor problem.

--John

jdinvirginia said:

Plastic pants reduce the spread of fecal odor but cannot eliminate it. You may laugh, but in high-risk situations, try two pair of plastic pants. The second pair must be sized for cloth diapers and completely cover the first. The leg gathers must make contact with the thighs lower than the first pair. I have done this and it definitely helps. However, it is warmer in hot weather.

--John

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Actually whenever I know I'm going to be stuck without a place to change I take another plastic plants pair, it works. Although heat really gets to you, luckily at the moment it's nice and cool
But whenever I'm in college I can leave and change if I've had a bm. The smell never gets out really, I leave to change when I feel that my diaper is filling with a bm. Changing immediately is the first best solution I think.