Most of us have suffered from being constipated at some time or other and many of us are aware that constipation is essentially when a person suffers from bowel motions that are very hard and difficult to pass. We will first look briefly at the main symptoms of constipation and will then focus on the main methods of prevention, treatment and relief. Constipation generally refers to a person experiencing difficulty with evacuation, but for some it is also associated with the time taken, discomfort during stool passage, abdominal pain, a sensation of incomplete evacuation, and bloating possibly with discomfort.
Common symptoms of being constipated include the following:
Fewer bowel motions than usual
Pain or discomfort when passing a motion
Passing motions that are dry and hard
Having to strain to pass a motion
A feeling of incomplete bowel emptying
Being bloated combined with any of the symptoms above
Prevention
You should seek medical advice if your constipation is associated with abdominal pain, vomiting and/or passing blood and mucus in bowel motions.
One of the easiest ways of preventing constipation is to try and eat regular, well-balanced meals with less fat and more fibre. Aim to have several servings of cereals (breakfast cereals especially bran and grains) and at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. Increase your fibre intake slowly or else you may feel bloated, get stomach cramps and a build up of wind. It might be difficult for some people with a fibre-intolerance to adhere to this point.
Drink at least eight glasses of fluid a day but cut down on alcohol and coffee. Hot beverages, such as tea or hot water, may help stimulate bowel movements. Prunes and plum juice may also be particularly beneficial
Try and develop some regularity in passing stools since your bowel is a creature of habit. This is especially important for constipation in infants, who often get too involved in their activities and neglect the urge to go to the toilet.
Try and get some degree of exercise every day, even if this means just standing up and moving around as often as possible. This is difficult for the immobile, but unfortunately immobility only serves to exacerbate the causes of constipation.
Constipation Treatments and Relief
Bulking agents such as bran and ispaghula husk, work gently and are a common type of laxatives - examples are Fybogel and Regulan. These don't need to be in medicinal form and just increasing the fibre content of your diet can provide a good enough constipation treatment. Bulking agents should always be taken with plenty of fluids.
Stimulant laxatives that cause the bowel muscles to contract such as senna (eg Senokot) or bisacodyl (eg Dulco-lax). There are many different laxatives available both on prescription and over the counter. None of these laxatives is superior to any other, although your doctor may prescribe some that he/she feels is most effective for your constipation relief.
Osmotic laxatives (such as lactulose) increase the amount of water in the stools by drawing water from the bowel lining.
Other constipation treatments include detergents that break down surface layers in the stool, letting water penetrate and soften it - one example is docusate sodium (eg Dioctyl)
Macrogols are an effective treatment for patients with persistent chronic constipation and faecal impaction since their effects are often long-lived. Examples are Idrolax and Movicol which are administered with extra fluids, so that they don't draw more water into the bowel from the body.
You can read more about constipation treatments at SearchMedica where John contributes