Introduction
Health is wealth and a healthy stomach is key to staying healthy. It is also an important part of happiness in our daily life.
We sometimes suffer from constipation in our daily life which directly or indirectly has a serious impact on our overall health like mood, skin, stamina, and quality of life style.
People who get constipation, are not able to pass stools regularly and sometimes can’t completely empty their bowel and always feel uncomfortable which hampers normal life.
What Is Constipation
When a person’s stools become hard, lumpy and dry, and he can not pass stools regularly, resulting in an abnormal physical condition, then we usually call it constipation.
Among people of all ages constipation is a common gastrointestinal problem.They get frequent bowel movements more or less three or four days in a week.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIH), about 16% adults have symptoms of constipation in the United States of America. And about 33% adults ages over 60 and older have symptoms of constipation.
Although constipation has a serious impact on your normal spontaneous lifestyle, the hope is that, according to researchers, constipation is not a disease, but a symptom of another disease.
Symptoms
There are many signs and symptoms of constipation, such as :
- Problem of excessive straining.
- Painful and difficult to pass stool.
- Stools become hard and dry.
- Always feeling incomplete elimination of stool.
- Feeling discomfort, fullness and bloating, sometimes pain in the abdomen.
- It takes a long time to poop.
How Constipation Occurs
The constipation generally occurs when the colon or rectum absorbs too much water from the food you eat, and then rectal muscles become inactive.
As a result your stool becomes dry and hard and too slow to move through digestive tracts and does not fully eliminate from the rectum regularly.
There are so many reasons to occur constipation such as :
- Intake low fiber foods.
- Drinking inadequate water (dehydration).
- Not doing regular exercise.
- Changing a regular routine, such as traveling or not eating in proper time or going to bed at odd times.
- Intake excess amounts of milk products.
- Having stress or depression.
- In spite of having the urge to defecate, not leave stool.
Types of Constipation
Constipation can be classified into two main types: primary and secondary.
Primary Constipation
When constipation occurs without any sufficient cause, it is primary constipation.
Primary constipation is sometimes referred to as “functional” or “idiopathic” constipation by doctors.
Instead of symptoms of more serious underlying conditions under these concepts, constipation is recognized as a fundamental medical problem.
Given below the three different types of primary constipation:
1. Ordinary transit constipation : Ordinary transit constipation is a condition when an individual assumes that he has been constipated, but the type of his stools are normal, and the stools move through the digestive tract on a regular speed.
Those who suffer from ordinary transit constipation feel symptoms such as stomach bloating and pain.
2. Slow transit constipation : Slow transit constipation occurs when the intestines are not stimulated normally after a meal, that condition known as peristalsis.
So, food does not move through the digestive tract normally, as a result stools take a long time to pass through the colon.
3. Outlet constipation : Outlet constipation is caused by damage to the pelvic floor muscles or nerves, resulting in difficulty to defecate.
The intestines, bladder, and female uterus are all supported by these muscles.
Secondary constipation
Constipation that arises as a side effect of medicine use or as a result of an underlying health issue is known as secondary constipation.
Hypothyroidism and diabetes are the most common causes of secondary constipation.
For example – Dementia is a condition that affects the brain and blood vessels.
Causes of Constipation
Constipation can be caused by a variety of factors, including:
- Unhealthy lifestyles
- Medications
- Medical and health problems
- Pregnancy
Constipation caused by unhealthy lifestyle
- Eating low fiber content foods
- Consuming insufficient amounts of water (dehydration)
- Insufficient physical activity
- Changes in usual schedule, such as traveling, eating, or sleeping at various times
- Consuming a lot of milk products
- Stress
- Hold down the urge to leave the stool
constipation occurs due to consuming variety of medicine
- Strong analgesics, such as codeine, oxycodone, and hydromorphone, are used to relieve pain.
- Ibuprofen and naproxen as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications.
- Antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors like fluoxetine and tricyclic antidepressants.
- Calcium or aluminum-based antacids.
- Iron supplements.
- Antihistamines and other allergy drugs.
- Calcium channel blockers like verapamil, diltiazem, and nifedipine, as well as beta-blockers like atenolol, are used to treat high blood pressure.
- Clozapine and olanzapine are two psychiatric medicines.
- Anticonvulsant/seizure drugs like phenytoin and gabapentin.
Constipation Occurs due to Medical and Health Conditions
- Endocrine issues such as hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland), diabetes, uremia, and hypercalcemia.
- A form of cancer that affects the colon is called colorectal cancer.
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
- Diverticular disease, a type of granuloma.
- Constipation due to outlet dysfunction.
- Spinal cord damage, multiple sclerosis, parkinson’s disease, and stroke are all examples of neurologic disorders.
- Lazy bowel syndrome.The colon badly contracts and holds the stool.
- Obstruction of the intestine.
- Multiple organ illnesses such as amyloidosis, lupus, and scleroderma, as well as structural problems in the digestive tract.
Constipation caused during pregnancy
Constipation may be caused by low fiber food in diet during pregnancy or any other time.
So during pregnancy, constipation may occur for a variety of reasons.
Progesterone is a pregnancy hormone that can make your gut less effective.
As a result food passes through your intestine more slowly.This is referred to as decreased stomach motility.
Some pregnant women use drugs and supplements which might also induce constipation.
Medications for nausea and vomiting, antacids for heartburn, and some strong painkillers might cause constipation in some pregnant women.
How to Prevent Constipation
The following suggestions can help you avoid constipation :
- Plenty of high fiber foods like beans, vegetables, fruits, whole grain cereals, and bran should be included in your diet.
- Reduce your consumption of low-fiber foods including processed meals, dairy, and meat.
- Drink adequate fluids.
- Try to do regular exercise and always stay as active as possible.
- Try to be free from stress.
- Don’t hold down the urge to leave stool.
- Always try to make a schedule to leave stool, especially after meals.
- When babies begin eating solid foods, they should consume a variety of high-fiber foods.
Consequences of Constipation
Constipation is not a seemingly complex disease, but if it is left untreated day after day it can become a complex problem.
If you have continuously suffered from constipation for more than 3 months, then it assumes that your constipation becomes chronic.
Chronic constipation can cause many diseases in your body. The most common ailments caused by chronic constipation are anemia, fatigue, insomnia, eye pain, dark circles under the eyes, dizziness, low back pain, gradual increase in laziness and loss of concentration.
The more severe the problem of constipation, the patient becomes weaker and weaker. Chronic constipation can lead to skin diseases. Besides these, loss of appetite, bad breath, flatulence etc. can cause.
Urinary problems may occur. The two most common major complex problems with chronic constipation are piles and anal fissures.
Even rectal prolapse can occur in some cases due to excessive pressure applied day after day. Or there may be a puncture in the esophagus or an ulcer or leak in the esophagus. And constipation causes great stress and unrest in the human mind.
Remedy of Constipation
In most cases, light to moderate constipation you can solve at home. Make a list of what you eat and drink and make adjustments as needed.
You can adopt some tips to relieve your constipation without medication such as :
In addition to your normal intake, drink extra two to four glasses of water daily. Abstain from alcohol and caffeine containing drinks which can create dehydration.
- You should incorporate high fiber foods like whole grains, fruits and vegetables in your diet. Eat less high fat foods like meat, eggs and cheese.
- Intake prunes and/or bran cereal.
- Maintain a food diary and separate the foods which make you constipate.
- Always move and do exercise.
- Examine your toilet-sitting technique. Raising your feet, leaning back, or squatting may make it easier to pass stool.
- You can use very light over-the-counter stool softener or laxative if necessary.
- While attempting to evacuate your bowels, do not read, use your phone, or use any other devices and not use tooth brush.
Conclusion
Constipation is a frequent gastrointestinal problem among people of all ages. It is not to be neglected in any way.
Although constipation is not a seemingly complex disease, if it is left untreated day after day it may create severe complications in your life.
If it is not carefully prevented and managed from the starting, it will become chronic and may eventually lead to major consequences such as hemorrhoids and anal fissure, for which you will have to pay a high price.
Last of all, it is preferable to take preventive measures ahead of time to avoid constipation. Under no circumstances it should not be overlooked and left untreated.
Learn more about 7 remedies and their recipes for constipation click here
