Constipation is a common condition worldwide, and interferes with the quality of life. It has many different causes. Let’s delve into this topic.
Constipation Quick Peals
What exactly is constipation?
Constipation is a common problem that makes it hard to have bowel movements. When you are constipated, your bowel movements might be:
• Too hard.
• Too small.
• Hard to get out.
• Happening fewer than 3 times a week.
What causes constipation?
Constipation can be caused by several factors, including:
• Poor diet.
• Side effects of some medicines: Many medicines slow down how fast food moves through your stomach and bowels, which makes your stool harder and more difficult to pass. Specific medicines that may cause problems include “opioid” medicines for pain, iron supplements used to treat anemia, and medicines taken for conditions like bladder problems, Parkinson disease, or breathing problems.
• Diseases of the digestive system.
If my medicine is causing constipation, should I stop taking it?
No, you should not stop taking your medicine just because you develop constipation. You should, however, ask your doctor if there is a medicine you could switch to that causes less constipation.
What steps can I take on my own to relieve constipation?
There are several steps you can try to manage constipation yourself:
• Eat foods that have a lot of fiber. Good choices include fruits, vegetables, prune juice, and cereal.
• Drink plenty of water and other fluids. Drinking fluids helps keep your bowel movements soft.
• When you feel the need to have a bowel movement, go to the bathroom; don’t hold it.
• Try having a bowel movement first thing in the morning or soon after a meal.
• You may find that getting regular physical activity helps.
• When trying to have a bowel movement, certain positions might help, such as leaning forward slightly and using a stool or foot rest under your feet.
• You can also take laxatives, which are medicines that help make bowel movements easier to get out.
What are laxatives, and what kinds are there?
Laxatives are medicines designed to make bowel movements easier to pass. They come in various forms, including pills, powders, capsules, or liquids that you swallow, as well as forms that are used through rectum, called “suppositories” or “enemas”.
Different types of laxatives work in different ways:
• Bulk adding: This type helps your stool hold more water, making it bigger.
• Stool softener: This makes your stool wetter and softer without stimulating the bowel.
• Lubricant: This coats your bowel and stool to make stools easier to pass, and also helps prevent your intestines from absorbing water from the stool.
• Osmotic laxatives: These draw more water into your stool to make it wetter and softer.
• Stimulant: This works by increasing movement in your bowels.
You should talk with your doctor or nurse about the best kind of laxative for you.
How is constipation treated if self-care measures do not work?
If eating more fiber and drinking more water, along with other self-care tips, do not help, your doctor might suggest various medical treatments:
• Medicines that you swallow or put in your rectum.
• Changing the medicines you take for other conditions.
• Using “enemas,” which can contain just water or medicine to help with constipation.
• Biofeedback: This is a technique that teaches you to relax your muscles so you can let go and push bowel movements out.
How can I help prevent constipation from happening again?
You can reduce your chances of getting constipation again if you follow these steps:
• Eat a high-fiber diet.
• Drink water and other fluids during the day to help keep your bowel movements soft.
• Set a regular schedule to try and have a bowel movement.
• Do not ignore the urge to go to the bathroom.
When should I call my doctor about constipation?
You should call your doctor for advice if:
• You do not have a bowel movement for a few days.
• You are experiencing a lot of pain on defecation. May be you have developed anal fissure (a breach in skin at anal verge), and that will aggravate constipation.
• The constipation comes and goes, but lasts longer than 3 weeks.
• Your symptoms are new or not normal for you.
• You have new constipation without a change in your medicines or diet, and have never had constipation in the past.
You should also call immediately if you have other concerning symptoms, such as:
• Blood in the toilet or on the toilet paper after having a bowel movement.
• Fever.
• Weight loss.
• Feeling weak.
• You are vomiting along with having constipation.
• You have white or chalk-colored bowel movements.
• Other people in your family have had inflammatory bowel disease or colorectal cancer.
Will I need special tests to find the cause of my constipation?
You might not need any tests at all. The decision to perform tests will be based on your age, other symptoms, and individual situation.
Here are the most common tests doctors use to find the cause of constipation:
• Rectal exam: The doctor looks at the outside of your anus and uses a finger to feel inside the opening.
• Sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy: A doctor puts a thin tube with a camera into your anus and advances it into your large intestine (colon) to look inside. During these tests, the doctor can also take tissue samples to look at under a microscope.
• Imaging: X-rays, CT scans, or MRIs create images of the inside of your body.
• Manometry studies: This measures the pressure inside your rectum at various points. It helps determine if the muscles that control bowel movements are working correctly and whether your rectum can feel normally.
Take Home Message
Constipation is a common condition. Adopt healthy eating habits, keep yourself hydrated, doing exercise, and not holding the stool when feel urge to defecate will help in preventing the constipation. Consult your doctor if there is change in your bowel habits, weight loss, family history of bowel cancer or inflammatory bowel disease, blood in stool, or pain upon defecation. Seek help as well with the use of medications for constipation, and also review medications you use for other conditions which may be the cause of constipation in first place.