Bladder and Bowel Diaries
Hello Everyone! When coming to PT for pelvic floor treatment for any type of incontinence one item that is beneficial to fill out can be a bowel and bladder diary.
This is important to fill out, because most people only have a superficial view of what their bowel and bladder habits really are, and this can help the patient discover trends in order to help with treatment going forward. Trends can be how often you are using the restroom, if you are straining, if there is leakage and if your symptoms increase depending on certain foods that you eat.
It is important to fill out a bowel and bladder diary over a few days, including and working days and non working days, because habits can change drastically between the two. I usually tell patients to take 3 days to fill out to determine if trends exist.
How do you fill out a bowel and bladder diary?
You go through your day as normal except you take notes on a sheet of paper or with an app to track bowel and bladder symptoms:
Bladder Symptoms
You write down the time you urinate, the approximate length it takes to void, the intensity of urge to urinate beforehand, and if any leakage occurred
You also note down if you have leakage with coughing or sneezing
Bowel Symptoms
You note down time of day you have a bowel movement, and note the stool quality. The Bristol stool scale is commonly used to help identify stool quality.
Also note down if you strained to initiate the bowel movement, if there was fecal incontinence, or if there was pain during the bowel movement
Dietary
Finally, note down when you are drinking water and how much in approx. ounces, as well as when and what type of food you are having during the day during your meals
Once you have taken down all of this information you can bring it to your doctor or physical therapist, who can help you identify trends and help provide ways to reduce symptoms!
If you have any questions feel free to contact us at CSC+M today to schedule a pelvic floor therapy consultation!
Resources for Bowel and Bladder Diary Use
Bowel and Bladder Dairy Form: https://www.nafc.org/bhealth-blog/download-the-nafc-bladder-and-bowel-diaries
Bristol Stool Scale: https://www.bladderandbowel.org/bowel/bowel-resources/bristol-stool-form-scale/
