Quick Bowel Check - SCI Health Maintenance Tool

Bowel Check

Have you been experiencing any recent problems or changes in bowel emptying/routine?

Please select one answer below

Have you been experiencing any recent problems or changes in bowel emptying/routine?

Yes

Artists wooden figurine sitting on a roll of toilet paper

Are you…

Please select one answer below

Are you…

Having episodes of alternating constipation and diarrhoea?
(note: this can result from severe constipation with episodes of bowel impaction and overflow. It may sometimes indicate another problem, such as irritable bowel syndrome)

Having frequent bowel accidents, occurring once a fortnight or more often?

Having either very loose, watery stools (diarrhoea) or opening your bowels more often than usual?

Having harder stools that are difficult to remove, emptying your bowel less often than usual, feeling your lower bowel has not been fully emptied or needed to take more laxatives?

None of the above

Have you been experiencing bleeding during or after bowel care?

Please select one answer below

Have you been experiencing bleeding during or after bowel care?

Yes

Have you been experiencing any problems with abdominal discomfort, pain or bloating? Is it relieved by emptying your bowel?

Please select one answer below

Have you been experiencing any problems with abdominal discomfort, pain or bloating? Is it relieved by emptying your bowel?

Yes

woman clutching at stomach with pain

Have you been experiencing any difficulty swallowing, or having a burning sensation in your chest or acid taste in the mouth after meals or when lying down, occurring more than once a week?

Please select one answer below

Have you been experiencing any difficulty swallowing, or having a burning sensation in your chest or acid taste in the mouth after meals or when lying down, occurring more than once a week?

Yes

Do you have a family history of bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease?

Please select one answer below

Do you have a family history of bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease?

Yes

Have you experienced unplanned weight loss?

Please select one answer below

Have you experienced unplanned weight loss?

Yes

Severity scale

To check the severity of your problem, consider the intensity, duration and frequency of your signs and symptoms by using this scale.

Please select one answer below

Alternating constipation and diarrhoea:

Mild Occasional – once or twice a year

Moderate Every few months

Severe Once or more than a month

measuring tape curled up on table

Have you been experiencing episodes of sweating, headache, blotchy skin/rashes or blurred vision during your bowel care, which may indicate autonomic dysreflexia?

Please select one answer below

Have you been experiencing episodes of sweating, headache, blotchy skin/rashes or blurred vision during your bowel care, which may indicate autonomic dysreflexia?

Yes

Severity scale

To check the severity of your problem, consider the intensity, duration and frequency of your signs and symptoms by using this scale.

Please select one answer below

Bowel accidents:

Mild Occasional – once or twice a year

Moderate Every few months

Severe Once or more than a month

Diarrhoea:

Mild Occasional – once or twice a year

Moderate Every few months

Severe Once or more than a month

Constipation:

Mild < 3 bowel movements per week; firm to hard stools

Moderate < 3 bowel movements per week; hard stools

Severe < 3 bowel movements per week; prolonged (< 1 hour) or incomplete evacuation, very hard stools

Haemorrhoids:

Mild Bleeding occurs less than once a month

Moderate Bleeding occurs several times a month

Severe Bleeding occurs more than once a week AND/OR large amounts of blood

Abdominal bloating and discomfort:

Mild Infrequent - less than once every few months

Moderate 1-3 times a month

Severe Once or more a week

Heart burn:

Mild Infrequent – less than once every few months

Moderate Occurs some of the time

Severe Occurs most of the time

Interference scale

To determine to what extent does your problem interfere with participating in everyday activities, use the scale below.

Please select one answer below

0 Not at all

1 A little of the time

2 Some of the time

3 A lot of the time

Important notice

Any bladder-related symptoms of any severity associated with autonomic dysreflexia are considered severe and require urgent medical attention.

Managing your problem

Based on your selections, we use the assessment ratings on both severity and interference scales to help you decide what level of support you may need to most effectively manage your problem.

Managing your problem

This Quick Health Check asks questions based on the most common health problems that people living with a spinal cord injury experience, but not all. It is important that you consult with your healthcare professional to identify your problem and how best to treat it.

Please note, keeping a Bowel Diary for several weeks prior to consultation will help your healthcare professional to better understand the problem.

Alternating constipation and diarrhoea

Your condition is: Mild (with little or no interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage without support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here

Your condition is: Mild (with little or no interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage without support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here

Your condition is: Mild (with some or a lot of interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP or other healthcare professional

Your condition is: Mild (with some or a lot of interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP or other healthcare professional

Your condition is: Moderate (with some interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP or other healthcare professional

Your condition is: Moderate (with some interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP or other healthcare professional

Your condition is: Moderate (with some interference)

Recommended management pathway: Self-manage with support from your GP or other healthcare professional

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP or other healthcare professional

Your condition is: Moderate (with a lot of interference)

Recommended management pathway: Manage with specialist support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP and/or Spinal Specialist

Your condition is: Severe

Recommended management pathway: Manage with specialist support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP and/or Spinal Specialist

Your condition is: Severe

Recommended management pathway: Manage with specialist support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP and/or Spinal Specialist

Your condition is: Severe

Recommended management pathway: Manage with specialist support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP and/or Spinal Specialist

Your condition is: Severe

Recommended management pathway: Manage with specialist support

Care plan: You can download a care plan for alternating constipation and diarrhoea here that you can share with your GP and/or Spinal Specialist

Bowel accidents