Being constipated ways your defecation are difficult or occur less often than normal. Practically everybody goes through it eventually.
Although it’s not usually severe, you’ll feel better when your body is back on track.
The normal length of time in between bowel movements varies extensively from individual to individual. Some individuals have them three times a day. Others have them just one or two times a week.
Side Effects of a Severe Constipation
Going longer than 3 or more days without one, however, is typically too long. After 3 days, the stool or feces become harder and harder to pass.
What Are the Symptoms?
You may have:
- Couple of defecation
- Trouble having a bowel movement (straining to go)
- Hard or little stools
- A sense that whatever didn’t come out
- Swollen belly or belly pain
- Tossing up
Why Does It Happen?
Some causes of constipation include:
- Antacid medicines consisting of calcium or aluminum
- Changes in your usual diet or activities
- Colon cancer
- Consuming a great deal of dairy products
- Consuming disorders
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s disease or several sclerosis
- Not being active
- Insufficient water or fiber in your diet
- Overuse of laxatives
- Pregnancy
- Issues with the nerves and muscles in the digestive system
- Resisting the urge to have a defecation, which some individuals do due to the fact that of hemorrhoids
- Some medications (especially strong pain drugs such as narcotics, antidepressants, or iron pills)
- Stress
- Underactive thyroid (called hypothyroidism)
Also read: Constipation after Hernia Surgery
What Should I Do If I Am Constipated?
Take these actions:
- Drink two to 4 extra glasses of water a day, unless your doctor told you to restrict fluids for another reason
- Try warm liquids, particularly in the early morning
- Add vegetables and fruits to your diet
- Eat prunes and bran cereal
- If needed, use a very mild over the counter stool conditioner like docusate or a laxative like magnesium hydroxide
- Do not use laxatives for more than 2 weeks without calling your doctor. If you exaggerate it, your symptoms may become worse
When Should I Call My Doctor?
Call your doctor immediately if you have unexpected constipation with belly pain or cramping and you aren’t able to pass any gas or stool.
Also, make the call if:
- Constipation is a brand-new issue for you
- You have blood in your stool
- You are dropping weight even though you are not dieting
- You have severe pain with bowel movements
- Your constipation has actually lasted more than 2 weeks
- You have pencil-thin stools
Your doctor may advise these tests to discover the cause of your constipation:
- Blood tests to check on hormonal agent levels
- Barium research studies to look for any blockages in your colon
- Colonoscopy to search for obstructions in your colon
Can I Prevent Constipation?
In a lot of cases, you can. These things can assist:
Eat a well- well balanced diet with a lot of fiber. Good sources of fiber are fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole-grain bread and cereal (particularly bran).
Drink 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of water and other fluids a day (unless your doctor has you on a fluid-restricted diet). Fiber and water interact to keep you regular.
Avoid caffeine. It can be dehydrating.
Cut back on milk. Some individuals may need to prevent it since dairy items may be constipating for them.
Exercise routinely. Do something active for a minimum of 30 minutes a day, the majority of days of the week.
Go to the bathroom when you feel the urge.
Hazardous Effects of Chronic Long-Term Constipation
The National Institutes of Health specifies constipation as having a defecation fewer than 3 times per week. People with constipation typically report dry, tough, compact stools that are hard to remove. Short-term effects of constipation include bloating, abdominal pain, percentages of blood or whitish mucus in the stool and an immediate need to have a defecation. Chronic, long-lasting constipation produces these and other, more damaging impacts.
Hemorrhoids
The American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons calls hemorrhoids “varicose veins of the rectum and anus.” Pressure from built up stool impedes the outflow of blood from the veins in the rectum and the anus, causing them to become abnormally distended. Straining to produce a bowel movement increases abdominal pressure, which distends veins even more and also pushes them outside their usual area within the tissues. The result might be internal hemorrhoids, external hemorrhoids or some combination of the two. According to the American Academy of Family Physicians, internal hemorrhoids normally don'' t cause pain but might bleed a lot. External hemorrhoids cause pain, itching and severe sensitivity.
Anal Fissures
The Mayo Clinic explains that chronic constipation might produce cracks in the skin around the rectum, called anal fissures. Cracks result when hard stool stretches and abrades the anal sphincter. Individuals with cracks, pronounced FISH-urs, suffer pain, itching and percentages of intense red blood in their stools or on their underwear. In many cases, the fissures become infected, resulting in a collection of pus known as an abscess, which requires surgical drainage. The fissures themselves recover only when constipation deals with.
Rectal Prolapse
Rectal prolapse occurs when the rectum becomes so stretched due to the chronic build-up of large quantities of stool that it loses the ability to agreement to its previous size when stool is removed. The loose tissue literally falls out of the body and protrudes through the anus as a small, pink mass or bubble. Individuals with rectal prolapse often experience leak of percentages of stool and mucus, experience of insufficient defecation, itching, pain and/or bleeding. Inning accordance with the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons, rectal prolapse needs surgical repair work.
