Constipation

Constipation – General Information

Constipation, also known as costiveness or irregularity, is a medical condition of the digestive system, when a patient has hard feces which are hard to egest or when a person has fewer bowel movements than three times a week. The stools are hard, dry, difficult to eliminate and small in size. Constipation can be painful and in the sever cases it can lead to the symptoms of bowel obstruction. The causes of this medical condition can be hormonal, anatomical, dietary, an illness, a disorder or it may also be a side effect of different medications ( Examples: inadequate fluid intake, age, pregnancy, lack of physical exercises, not paying attention to the bowel habits, low fiber intake) . Doctors say that Constipation is not a disease, but a symptom, and that everyone experiences it at least once in their life.  It is not very important to have a bowel each day, but at least three times a week, and if your bowel movements change it is best to consult a doctor.
In order to prevent this medical disorder, there are a few things that every person should do, such as:

• Eat more fruits and vegetables
• Eat more grains, as they are high in fiber
• Drink plenty of water or other liquids
• Take the time to have a bowel movement when he or she needs it
• Use laxatives only when the doctor or the health care provider prescribes you
• Get enough exercises each day

The persons who are at a risk of developing this medical disorder are the elderly people, the sedentary ones or the bed ridden ones. People are also at a risk if they do not have a rich diet in fiber and liquids or if they are under chemotherapy treatment.

Constipation – Symptoms

It is well known the fact that any medical disorder (including Constipation) can trigger a variety of symptoms. Therefore, some of this medical condition's most uncommon symptoms have not been listed (mentioned) here. This is why we strongly recommend you to contact your personal health care provider whenever you develop any unusual, bothersome or unpleasant symptoms. Your personal physician will be able to tell you if you are suffering from Constipation or from any other medical disorder. Here is a list of the most common symptoms that a person who suffers from Constipation, may experience, depending on the person’s diet, age and daily activities:

• Straining frequently during the bowel movements
• Bloating
• The sensation of a full bowel
• Soiling (enuresis and encopresis)
• Pain
• Hemorrhoids
• Anal fissures, which are very painful
• Distended, crampy, tender and diffusely abdomen
• Abdominal discomfort
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Irritable bowel
• Hard, compacted stools
• The urge to move the bowels, even if you just have had one
• Enhanced bowel sounds
• Difficulty during defecation
• The sensation of incomplete bowel evacuation
• Vomiting
• Lethargy
• Decreased appetite
• “Paradoxical diarrhea” – only in severe cases
• Infrequent and difficult passage of stool

Children may experience the following symptoms:

• Difficulty in starting a bowel movement
• Difficulty in completing a bowel movement
• Passing hard stool after a long straining in the toilet
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Crampy, abdominal pain
• Excessive gas
• A sensation of bloating
• A change in the bowel habit
• Intestinal obstruction
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• The inability to pass gas
• Distended abdomen
• Headaches
• Loss of appetite
• Coated tongue
• Offensive breath
• Bad taste in the mouth

Constipation – Treatment

The diagnosis in the case of patients suffering from Constipation is usually established depending on the symptoms each person has. The bowel movements which are very difficult to pass or are made of small rabbit-like pellets is also a type of Constipation, even if it happens daily. At a physical examination, the doctor can detect on the palpation of the abdomen scybala (which is a manually palpable lump of the stool). In the case of the rectal examination, the anal sphincter tone is verified, consistency of the stool, admixture of blood, if there are tumors or any other abnormalities, the presence of the hemorrhoids, but also if the lower sphincter has any feces and if it has the treatment option usually is based on the suppositories, if there are not feces, the doctor will prescribe oral medicines.

Another way of diagnosing Constipation is the X-ray of the abdomen, but this is performed only on the patients who are hospitalized or if the doctor suspects bowel obstruction.  Other methods include: sigmoidoscopy, colonscopy, colorectal transit study, anorectal tests (which include anorectal manometry and also defecography), and barium enema x-ray. A sigmoidoscopy is the examination of the rectum and the lower colon. A colonscopy is also the examination of the rectum and the entire colon. The anorectal manometry evaluates the sphincter’s muscles and the defecography is the x-ray of the anorectal area.

The majority of the Constipation cases are treated with conservative treatments which include changes in the lifestyle and in the diet and mild laxatives, which are usually recommended in the case the changes mentioned have no result. The dietary changes include eating more fibers, drinking more water or other liquids and exclude as much as possible the foods which have little or even no fiber (these kind of foods include: cheese, meat, processed food and ice cream).  The changes in the lifestyle include making more exercises each day, reserve time for the bowel movements. There are four types of laxatives:

• Bulk-forming – these increase the volume of feces and make them softer and easier to pass (such laxatives include: Metamucil, Citrucel, Serutan).
• Stimulant – these help to the stimulation of the muscle contraction of intestinal walls (such laxatives are Correctol, Feen – A – Mint, Senokot, Purge, Dulcolax, Ex-Lax).
• Lubricant – these help to soften the stool in order to pass easier (such laxative are the mineral oils)
• Saline – these raise the concentration of the salts from the feces (such laxatives are Milk of Magnesia, Harley’s M – O and Citrate of Magnesia).

Here is a list of medications that can be prescribed in the persons who suffer from Constipation:

• Citroma Systemic
• Citrucel Powder
• Citrucel SF
• Colace
• Colace Micro – Enema
• Colax
• Correctol
• DC – 240
• Diocto
• Dialose
• DOK
• Evac – u – gen Chewable Tablets
• Ex-Lax Gentle Nature
• Fiber Eze
• Fleet
• Fleet rectal
• Fleet Bisacodyl
• Fleet Soft-Lax
• Fletchers Castoria
• Fiberall
• Genasoft
• Genfiber
• Gentlax
• Gentle
• Hydrocil
• Innerclean
• Konsyl
• Konsyl powder
• Konsyl for kids
• Konsyl - D