Basic Information on Constipation

Constipation is perhaps the most commonly experienced and least commonly treated health problem. Everyone knows what this condition is, but one of the reasons there is so little reliable information on it is that doctors have difficulty defining the term precisely. Here’s what the dictionary says:

“A condition in which bowel emptying occurs infrequently or in which the stools are hard and small or where bowel movement causes difficulty or pain.”

Where medical definitions disagree is in assigning a number to frequency.

Generally speaking, healthy people may have as many as three bowel movements a day or as few three bowel movements a week. But it’s possible to have a bowel movement every day and still be a sufferer if stools are hard and difficult to pass.

The information that you need for managing your own health is this: Constipation is any condition of bowel movement that causes you discomfort.

This is the case whether your trips to the bathroom are frequent or seldom. Chronic constipation is having that discomfort all the time.

Even if you are “regular” by someone else’s definition, you deserve a remedy if you experience discomfort. Your body’s information consists of symptoms like these:

Abdominal fullness Bloating Chronic fatigue Headache Loss of appetite Lower back pain Nausea Pressure in the rectum Weight gain when not overeating Weight loss when not dieting

How can you know if you’re a sufferer?

If you experience stomach pain when you pass stools, chances are you are affected. If you have a feeling of fullness even after you evacuate your bowel, you are a sufferer. If you see bright red blood on toilet tissue after bowel movement, you almost certainly have been suffering this condition for a long time.

Chronic constipation is bowel discomfort continuing for weeks or months at a time. And if suffering a chronic condition you should take special care to treat, because it can lead to:

Hemorrhoids, swollen veins in and outside the rectum that can cause pain or bleeding, Hernia, bulging of the abdominal contents through a weak point in the wall of the abdomen, Laxative dependency, a condition in which taking more and more of a laxative has less and less benefit, Osteoporosis, when impacted stool keeps the intestine from absorbing calcium, Prolapse, or turning outward, of the uterus in women or of the rectum in either sex, resulting from straining of abdominal muscles and even, Diarrhea, as the fluid contents of the digestive tract flow around the hard mass of stool in the center of the intestine.

Information on constipation abounds in the cancer literature.

This condition may also be a risk factor for cancer. Slow movement of waste matter through the colon gives pathogenic bacteria opportunities to reconstitute the estrogen and testosterone broken down by the liver and excreted with bile. These reassembled hormones return to circulation and stimulate abnormal growth in the breasts in women and in the prostate in men.

One epidemiological study found that a chronic condition is a risk factor in colon cancer. Middle-aged persons who are constipated enough “to have to take something” once a month are twice likely to develop the disease as those who never have to take laxatives. And middle-aged adults who have to take laxatives once a week are 4 times as likely to develop the disease.

And it isn’t just cancer risk. A June 2005 review of research information published in the English-language edition of Chinese Medical Journal reported that he muscle strain caused by chronic conditions increases the risk of urinary incontinence in women by 140 to 370%.

The effects are even worse in women who have delivered more than two children, who take diuretics, or who are over normal weight. It can increase the risk of “overactive bladder” in both men and women.

What can you do about it? For a series of articles on natural, safe, effective, and inexpensive remedies for this most common health condition, Check out the articles below:

After Surgery
Although we don't usually think of surgery as a stressful event, the fact is, surgical operations are among the most extreme stressful events most of us ever endure. The complete disruption of bodily functions by the operation and for days afterward has a enormous range of effects, usually including constipation....more

Baby
Laxatives should not be given to babies unless the child experiences discomfort. But discomfort during bowel movement should be treated quickly to halt the start of a vicious cycle. Here are some positive steps:

Give your baby a bath. A bath in warm water relaxes muscles and makes bowel movements easier. Be sure to dry your baby’s bottom carefully and treat any peri-anal inflammation with Vaseline.

Gently massage your baby’s tummy. Start at the belly button and move in circles outward several inches. Do not continue the massage if baby appears to be in pain....more

Back Pain
Constipation is a factor in lower back pain in an astonishing 19 out of 20 cases. The awkward twisting movement required to help the bowels move can be as damaging to back as heavy lifting or bad posture....more

Before Periods
Many women experience constipation just before and during menstruation. The reasons for constipation before periods are numerous - but correctable....more

Bloating
Bloating and constipation are common complications of menopause. Throughout a woman's reproductive years, the liver is constantly recycling and destroying estrogen to help keep hormones in an exquisite balance.

After the menopause, however, estrogen production is greatly diminished. The liver does not need to expel estrogen byproducts into the green, fluid, fatty bile that pours from the gallbladder into the intestines....more

Calcium
Sometimes a simple change of supplements is all that's required. Not all calcium supplements cause constipation to the same degree. Calcium citrate (for example, Citracal) is absorbed more effectively than the less expensive calcium carbonate supplements....more

Chronic
First, ask your doctor about alternatives to medications that may be causing chronic constipation. Bowel-blocking medications include painkillers that contain codeine or hydrocodone (such as Vicodin), antidepressants, antacids that contain aluminum, iron supplements, and some drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease....more

Causes
Large amounts of coffee, tea, and alcohol also act as diuretics that deplete fluid in the colon-abstaining from caffeinated beverages and alcohol can counteract one of the most common constipation causes....more

Diet
People with a sensitivity to the gliadin or gluten protein in wheat, barley, and rye can experience alternating constipation and diarrhea, along with varying degrees of intestinal inflammation, weakened immunity, and chronic headaches. These symptoms can be relatively mild but still caused by celiac disease....more

Enema
Before you use an enema, constipation can be treated with changes in diet, changes in exercise, stool softeners, laxatives, and/or bulking agents. Enemas can be very effective when used occasionally and administered the right way (more about that in a moment). The problem is that most people don’t administer enemas the right way. And enemas can cause more problems than they cure....more

Functional Constipation
There may be bad diet, or an unwillingness to defecate causing nervous reactions that close the inner anal sphincter muscle. This muscle is not under voluntary control. (The outer anal sphincter muscle, however, is under voluntary control.)

When there is an inability to pass stool due to this involuntarily clamping down, there frequently is a history of trauma. Typical treatments for constipation, like diet and added fluids, may be helpful, but psychological healing is necessary to overcome the problem....more

Gallbladder
If you’re concerned about your gallbladder, you should be careful about laxatives.

Gallbladder problems and constipation frequently go hand in hand. Constipation, light colored or chalky stools, pain or nausea after eating, difficulty digesting fats with gas and bloating, headaches, and a bitter taste in the mouth are all signs that gallstones or other gallbladder ailments have reduced the flow of bile....more

Herbs
Aloe, buckthorn, frangula, rhubarb, senna - these are the common herbs for constipation. Aloe is actually the most commonly used laxative in the world - but the form of aloe used in laxatives is a bitter extracted from the sap, not the whole leaf or the juice....more

Home Remedies
Fiber from fruits and vegetables is always more beneficial than fiber from supplements. That’s because fruits and vegetables offer fiber in small doses. There’s enough fiber to contribute to regularity but not so much fiber as to create its own clogs in your colon....more

Irritable Bowel Syndrome Mineral Oil
Mineral oil is the primary ingredient in Haley’s MO. It’s also found in products for treating hemorrhoids, diaper rash, in laxatives, and in preparations for removing eye makeup. Mineral oil’s chemistry allows it to be combined with older style antacids made with aluminum....more

Pregnancy and Constipation Prescription Drugs
Zelnorm may serious diarrhea, including significant loss of fluid, resulting in low blood pressure and episodes of passing out. The manufacturer recommends that Zelnorm should be discontinued immediately in patients who develop low blood pressure or fainting spells....more

Prune Juice
Among the uses of prune juice, constipation is best known, but lowering cholesterol is also a possibility. Nutritionists at the University of California at Davis studied men with moderately elevated cholesterol whom they gave the equivalent of 12 prunes (about 3-1/2 ounces) or 1 glass of prune juice.

In addition to promoting regularity, the prunes and prune juice concentrated the chemical that becomes LDL cholesterol (lithocholic acid) in the stool, effectively flushing cholesterol away....more

Reflexology
The method is simple: To improve utilize the connection between reflexology and constipation, just rub the middle of the soles of both feet. Rubbing the inner side of the soles of your feet is believed to help the passage of stool from the small intestine to the large intestine and outward....more

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