: People suffering from constipation tend to be uneasy, irritable or moody. Believe it or not, it can mean differently to different people. Most would regard it as experiencing infrequent stools. Others would refer to it as hard stools or the difficulty in passing stools. Whatever meaning it may hold to different people, finding constipation relief remains the constant thing on these people's minds.
To resolve this constipation dilemma, you need to know the cause of the condition in order to classify it. After this, you can find the right approach to curing it. However, there are also cases wherein constipation can intertwine with diarrhea. This falls under the IBS or irritable bowel syndrome.
There are various ways in getting constipation relief. This includes dietary fiber, lubiprostone, enemas, biofeedback, exercise, combination drugs and laxatives like stimulant laxatives, emollient laxatives, saline laxatives and more. Before you try different methods to relieve you of your constipation problems, you need to understand what triggers this condition. It can be due to the slow passage food being digested in any part of one's intestine. However, the slowing commonly occurs inside the colon.
Medications are one of the commonly over-looked causes of constipation. This may include medications for narcotic pain like oxycodone and ascodeine; anticonvulsants like carbamazepine; antidepressants like imipramine; along with aluminum-containing antacids like basaliel; calcium channel blocking drugs like nifedipine; and even iron supplements.
Another cause of constipation is diet that contains low fiber. If this is the case, constipation relief can just be an intake of foods that are rich in fiber like whole grains, vegetables and fruits. With fiber, you can maintain a soft bulky stool every day.
Habit can also trigger constipation problems. Since bowel movement can be controlled voluntarily, most people just normally suppress the urge to defecate. Of course, there are reasons why you need to do this like an unavailable bathroom or if you're in the middle of a very important meeting and the like. This is okay but if you do this frequently, it can result to the disappearance of urges and turn to constipation problems. For this case, constipation relief can be achieved by habitual bowel movement within your hours at home.
Laxatives, although known to be very effective in relieving constipation can also be a cause of this condition. However, it is the over-use of stimulant laxatives like senna and castor oil that causes chronic damage to the muscles as well as nerves of the colon. Due to this, doctors only prescribe stimulant laxatives as a last resort (when all other non-stimulant treatments have failed).
Other causes include hormonal disorders, diseases affecting the colon, diseases of the central nervous system, pelvic floor dysfunction and colonic inertia. Keep in mind that one's bowel movements decrease with age. Statistics show that adults can normally have between 3 to 21 bowel movements per week. Nevertheless, one bowel movement per day is still the most common pattern. Regretfully, only 50% of the entire world population can do this. The other half either suffer from irregular or no bowel movements per day.
In medical terms, constipation is defined as a condition wherein a person only has less than 3 bowel movements per week. Severe cases would mean less than 1 bowel movement per week. During these cases, a person will feel physical discomfort or mental distress. This condition requires urgent medical attention because it can lead to serious medical illnesses such as tumors of the colon. As for cancer, there is still insufficient evidence to prove that toxins that accumulate due to infrequent bowel movement can trigger this illness.
People with constipation problems and are accompanied by abdominal pain, cramps, rectal bleeding, involuntary loss of weight, vomiting and nausea should see a doctor for immediate constipation relief.
Constipation ReliefMore information and tips on constipation relief the use of laxatives at houseandhome.org.