Constipation: What you should know about it?

Constipation will be caused by lesser bowel movements or if you are facing difficult passage of stools which persists for many weeks or longer.

Constipation generally happens when having fewer than 3 bowel movements in a week.

Even Though it is very common for occasional constipation, Some of them will experience chronic constipation which will interfere with their ability to do their daily tasks. Chronic constipation will cause some people to strain themself excessively in order to have a bowel movement.

In some cases, the cause of constipation is never found. Constipation treatment will be based on their cause of constipation.

Symptoms

Below are some signs and symptoms of constipation which includes:

• Having bowel movement fewer than three stools a week
• Some people having lumpy or hard stools
• Put lot of straining to have bowel movements
• Feeling that you have blockages in your rectum which prevent bowel movements
• Feeling like you have not completely empty your rectum
• Some of them need help to empty your rectum by using your hands to give pressure on your abdomen and also use fingers to remove stools from your rectum

This health problem will be considered as chronic if you have experienced these symptoms for the last three months.

Causes

Constipation has many causes. Constipation will occur when waste in your body or stool which moves too slowly through the digestive organs or it cannot be flushed out completely from the rectum which usually causes the stool to become more hard like stone and dry.

Blockages in the colon or rectum

Blocks in the colon or rectum will slow or stop stool or bowel movement which causes includes:

• Few tiny tears in the skin around the area of anus (anal fissure)
• A blocks in the intestines (bowel obstruction)
• Some having Colon cancer
• Narrow downing the colon (bowel stricture)
• Abdominal cancer which presses on the colon
• Having Rectal cancer
• Bulge in a rectum through the backside of vagnia (rectocele)

Most of the Problems with the nerves around the area of colon and rectum

Neurological problems will affect the nerves which usually causes muscles in the colon and rectum which helps to contract and move stool through the intestines which causes includes:

• Damaging the nerves which helps to control bodily functions (autonomic neuropathy)
• Having Multiple sclerosis
• Or some people having Parkinson's disease
• Those who are having spinal cord injury
• Sudden stroke

Difficulty with the muscles involved in elimination

Chronic constipation may cause by problems in pelvic muscles which involved in having bowel movement. These problems will include:

• Inability of relaxing your pelvic muscles which allows a bowel movement
• Pelvic muscles which don’t coordinate relaxation and contraction properly (dyssynergia)
• pelvic muscles will be weaken

Conditions that affect hormones in the body

Hormones will help you to balance the fluids in your body. Diseases and conditions in your body will upset the balance of hormones which lead to chronic constipation which includes:

• Diabetes or (sugar patients)
• Overactive of parathyroid gland (hyperparathyroidism)
• Pregnancy women
• Underactive of thyroid (hypothyroidism)

Risk factors

Some risk factors which increases you risk if having constipation which includes:

• Those who are older adult
• Particularly more woman
• Dehydrated people
• Eat a diet meal which low in fibre
• Less or never physical activity
• Intake of certain medications like sedatives, opioid pain medications and some antidepressants which helps to lower blood pressure
• Experiencing a mental health conditions like depression or eating disorder

Complications

Below are some complications which includes:

• Swollen veins in your anus (hemorrhoids). Strain to have a bowel movement which causes swelling in the veins in and around the area of anus.
• Tear skin in your anus. A large or hard and dry stool which causes tiny tears in the anus.
• Stool that can't be expelled (fecal impaction).  This constipation will cause an accumulation of hardened stool which gets stucked in your intestines.
• Intestine that protrudes from the anus (rectal prolapse). If you strain to have a bowel movement which causes a small amount of rectum to stretch and protrude from the anus.

How is constipation treated?

Self-care

Cases of mild to moderate constipation issues will be managed by you at home. By taking self-care to inventory of what you eat or drink and then it helps to make changes.

Below some recommendations for relieve from your constipation include:

• You must drink two to four glasses of water in a day. And also you must avoid caffeine drinks and alcohol which causes dehydration
• You should add fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and also other rich fibre foods to your diet. And try to eat fewer rich fat foods, like meat, eggs and cheese.
• Try to eat prunes and bran cereal.
• Try to keep a diary of foods that you intake and foods that constipate you.
• Should Get moving and exercise regularly.
• You should check how you sit on the toilet. If you raising your feet, leaning back or squatting will help you having bowel movement easier

You should not read or use your phones or other devices while you are trying to move your bowels.

Prevention

The following steps will help you to avoid having chronic constipation.

• You must include lot of fibre rich foods in your diet which includes beans, vegetables, fruits and other whole grain cereals and bran
• You must eat fewer less fibre foods like processed foods, and dairy and meat products.
• You must drink plenty of fluids.
• You should stay active as much as possible and you will try to get regular exercise
• You should try to manage your stress.
• You should not ignore the urgents to pass stool.
• After meals, you should create a regular schedule for bowel movements
• You should make sure that children who begin to eat solid foods, get more fibre in their diet plan.

Constipation Remedies

You should follow these steps:

• You should drink more glasses of water a day unless your doctor advised you to limit your fluid intake for another reason
• You should always try warm liquids, particularly in the morning.
• Always add fruits and vegetables in your diet plan.
• You always eat prunes and bran cereal.
• Regular exercise will help you to move your body and then muscles in your intestines are very active, too
• You should not ignore the urgency to poop.