Chronic Constipation: Myths and Facts!!

Constipation is the most common digestive problem seen in children, adults and old people. It makes life miserable and painful. Chronic constipation is characterized by infrequent bowel movements for weeks at a time. Chronic constipation includes straining or difficulty in passing stools. However it is associated with a number of facts like

Myth 1:- If bowel movements occur fewer than 5-6 times a week, it is considered to be chronic constipation.

Fact 1:- Three bowel movements a week is completely normal. Moreover almost 95% of adults have bowel movements between 3 to 21 times a week.

Myth 2:- When bowel movements are infrequent toxins gets accumulated in the intestine.

Fact 2:- There is no scientific evidence which supports the above statement.

Myth 3:- The frequency of bowel movements increases with age

Fact 3:- Studies shown that bowel movements usually decreases with age

Myth 4:- Not many people suffered from chronic constipation

Fact 4:- Chronic constipation is a serious health issue affecting almost 15-20% of the population

Myth 5: You should never suffer from constipation if you eat right, exercise well and drinks plenty of fluids.

Fact 5:- Constipation is not only caused by physical factors but also by psychological issues.

Laxatives and Constipation!!

Though a number of treatments are available for curbing constipation but the most commonly used mode of treatment is laxative. Laxatives are made up of chemicals which increases stool motility, frequency and bulk. However laxatives may cause chronic constipation if misused.

Laxatives Types:

Laxatives come in the form of pills, capsules, liquids, enemas and suppositories. These laxatives have specific benefits and possible side-effects. However using a pill or capsule is much better than a suppository or enema in the rectum. The different types of laxatives are:

 Bulking Agents (Fiber): - Fiber is most recommended for normal and slow-transit constipation. It is available over the counter as Citrucel, Fiber-la, Equilactin, Benefiber, Metamucil and Fibercon. Fiber acts by increasing the water content and bulk of the stool resulting in easier bowel movements. Furthermore fiber may reduce the absorption of some medicines thus always take your medicine at least 1 hour before or after taking fiber.

 Emollient laxatives (stool softener): - These laxatives soften the stool and widely known as “stool softener”. Emollient laxatives such as Colace takes a week or longer to be effective.

 Lubricant laxatives: - These laxatives consist of mineral oil which adds a slick layer to the intestinal walls that stops the stool from drying out.

 Stimulant laxatives: - It provides instantaneous relief from constipation. Stimulant laxatives stimulate the lining of the intestine thereby making the bowel movement easier for you. However make sure not to use stimulant laxatives daily as it reduces the body’s natural ability to defecate and results in laxative dependency. Shttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifome stimulant laxatives are Ex-Lax, Senokot, Correctol, Dulcolax, and Feen-a-Mint.

 Osmotic and hyperosmolar laxatives: - These laxatives include all hydrating agents that add fluids into the intestine from the surrounding tissues i.e. Milk of Magnesia or MOM, Kristalose, Fleet Phospho-Soda. Due to the addition of water in the intestine, stool becomes soft which enables easy defecation.

Constipation-Home remedies!!

• Eat 2 apples every morning to get rid of constipation.

• Drink lemon juice in water with a pinch of salt in it

• Try eating papaya and guava every day. It will provide good roughage, prevents constipation and clears your bowel system.

• To prevent constipation, take warm lime water early in the morning.

• Grapes possess laxative properties and prevent chronic constipation

• Oranges are healthy for colon and thus minimizes the risk of constipation.

• Spinach (palak) when taken in a raw or cooked form will be beneficial in clearing bowel system, and digestive tract.

Herbal Remedies for Constipation

• Make a juice of bael fruit with water and sugar. Take this juice for 2-3 months. This will be beneficial in dissolving the wastes of the intestine and flush them out of the body.

• Fruit of Cassia tree is used as an effective laxative. It helps in the treatment of constipation. This remedy has no side-effects.

• Castor oil is quite helpful in curbing constipation and has no side-effects

• Chebulic myroblan acts as a mild laxative. When it is mixed with rock salt or flavored with cloves and cinnamon, it provides complete relief from constipation.
•
Take a glass of water and add one tablespoon of phyllium husk. Drink this early in the morning with empty stomach

• Termnalia chebula enhances digestive functions, blood circulation and functioning of colon. It detoxifies liver and prevents constipation
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Most Common Causes of Constipation!!

Constipation is characterized by irregular or infrequent bowel movements. It may be caused a number of factors i.e.

 Bad eating habits: constipation may be caused by the intake of low fiber diet. Less consumption of liquid may also results in constipation.

 Poor bowel habits: Some people ignore the desire to have bowel movements which may initiates a cycle of constipation

 Medications or drugs: Some medications may cause constipation i.e.
• Antidepressants
• Iron tablets
• Antacids
• Antispasmodic drugs
• Anticonvulsant drugs
• Painkillers – drugs containing narcotic

 Life style changes may leads to constipation

 Pregnancy: - certain factors during pregnancy produce severe pain on defecation which may stimulates a reflex spasm of the anal sphincter muscle. This spasm may delay bowel movement and cause constipation.

 Irritable bowel syndrome: - During this syndrome abdominal pain, excessive gas, bloating and cramps may occur. It may leads to constipation.

 Laxatives dependency: - People who use laxatives regularly will produce dependency on them. After sometime you will become insensitive to laxatives.

 Intestinal Obstructions: - Interference with the normal functions of the bowel and mechanical compression may occur in the following cases:
• Foreign bodies or intestinal tumors
• Gallstones
• Volvulus- twisting of the intestine upon itself
• Abdominal hernia
• If nerves inside your intestine gets damaged
• Connective tissue diseases including lupus and scleroderma
• Metabolic disorders
• Lead poisoning

 Ageing: Older people are more susceptible to constipation as compared to adults because of the following reasons:
• Poor diet
• Lack of exercise
• Prescription drugs side-effects
• Poor bowel habits
• Enemas and laxatives usage

Health Complications Associated with Chronic Constipation!!

Chronic constipation may leads to a number of severe health conditions such as hemorrhoid, hernia, prolapse of the womb, and dependency on laxatives.

It is characterized by enlarged or swollen hemorrhoidal veins around the anal opening. It is mainly caused by straining to pass a stool over a long period of time. Hemorrhoids may be of two types:

Internal Hemorrhoids: - These hemorrhoids are located in the rectum and may not cause pain initially. The most prominent symptom of internal hemorrhoids is red blood coating stools in the toilet.

However in case of formation of clot in the vein or injury, pain may become severe. Internal hemorrhoids later on become large enough to protrude through the anus, appearing as moist masses, reddish and results in chronic fecal leakage.

External Hemorrhoids: - These hemorrhoids appear as itchy, tender with bluish swellings at the anus. External hemorrhoids make defecation painful and cause bleeding and anal spasms

Anal fissures: - They are characterized as superficial, small, painful cracks in the lining of the anal canal. Anal fissures occur due to the passage of hard and irregularly shaped stools. As a result spasms and painful defecation occurs.

Laxatives Dependency
People often pass sluggish bowels who abuse laxatives over an extended period of time

Hernia
Hernia is characterized by bulging of the abdominal contents. It occurs through a weak point in the abdominal wall. It may become more severe when a person tries to pass hard stools.

A Prolapsed Womb or Rectum
It may occur due to excessive straining and weakness of the muscles in this area

Medical Tests to Diagnose Constipation!!

Constipation is the most common health problem faced by individuals now a days. It is a problem of digestive system which involves less frequent bowel movements than normal. A person who is having constipation often feels difficulty or pain in passing stool.

A constipated person feels bloated, uncomfortable, heavy and sluggish. It may leads to a number of other problems as elimination of waste products from the body is necessary to maintain proper health.

How to Diagnose Constipation?

Constipation is associated with certain symptoms like abdominal bloating, abdominal pain or cramping, difficulty in passing stool, no bowel movement (over three days) etc.
Furthermore you can take advice of doctor. In order to diagnose chronic constipation certain tests are there:

• Constipation is a common symptom of hypothyroidism so thyroid test can be done.
• To view the anatomy and content of your rectum and colon, doctor can use “barium enema” technique. It is an X-ray test.
• Stool sample analysis will be helpful in diagnosing the constipation problem
• Another procedure to examine the rectum and lower colon content is “Sigmoidoscopy”. In this test a flexible lighted instrument is inserted through the anus that reaches to rectum and colon.
• A flexible camera-equipped tube can be used to examine the entire colon by using “Colonoscopy” procedure.
• Anorectal manometry procedure includes insertion of a narrow, flexible tube into your anus and rectum which will diagnose the underlying cause of constipation.

Constipation: Causes and Consequences!!

Constipation is not a disease but a symptom which is characterized by difficulty in passing stool from the body and irregular bowel movement. In constipation bowel movement is quite painful. Most of the people suffer from constipation at some point of their life. In case of chronic constipation certain other problems arise like coated tongue, depression, gas, fatigue, headache, diverticultis, hemorrhoids, hernia, indigestion, insomnia, malabsorption syndrome, appendicitis, bad breath, obesity, varicose veins and abdominal cramping.

A person is said to have constipation problem if he has bowel movements fewer than three times a week. As some people can even pass their bowel three times a week or three times a day. Thus you can say that a person is having constipation problem if he experiences straining, hard stools, pellet-like stools and cannot fully empty his bowels.

Morever a number of factors can leads to constipation. These factors are mentioned below:

Factors Causing Constipation

 Intake of diet deficient in fiber and fluids
 Ageing
 Lack of exercise
 Poor diet
 Bowel diseases
 Kidney failure
 Diabetes
 Neurogenic disorders
 Muscle disorders
 Structural abnormalities
 Pregnancy
 Stress and depression
 Obsessive-compulsive behaviors
 Anxiety
 Eating disorders
 As a result of side-effects of certain medications like antidepressants and pain killers

Furthermore, the major complications associated with constipation are:
 Anal fissure
 Diarrhea
 Hemorrhoids
 Fecal impaction
 Prolapse and uterine hernia
 Rectal bleeding

Thus don’t let constipation a reason for number of other ailments.