What is constipation and how to deal with it
Defecation less than once every three days is already a pathology, or in other words, constipation. Doctors came to this conclusion. Life shows that once every three days is far from the norm. Ideally, after each full meal, there should be a bowel movement 0.5-1 hour later. And if this does not happen in life, then the following reasons are to blame:
- Lack of fiber in food. Now preference is given to refined products:
- bread made from premium white flour;
- rafinated sugar;
- pasta;
- baked goods and all confectionery products.
The list can be continued, but there is no need. Almost the entire adult working population of the country eats fast food. Yes, unfortunately, schoolchildren too.
- Insufficient consumption of clean raw water. If a person drinks 2 liters of clean water daily, he will never have constipation. Feces have difficulty moving through the intestines due to the lack of sufficient water in the intestines. Tea, coffee, soups are food. In addition to food, the body needs water.
- In order to maintain friendly microflora in the intestines, which are responsible for effective peristalsis and timely evacuation of fecal matter, it is necessary for fermented milk products to become a familiar product for you.
- Lack of raw vegetables and fruits in the diet is another cause of persistent constipation.
- And finally, Her Majesty physical inactivity. The computer immobilized us. Walking before bed at a good pace for at least half an hour is an excellent prevention of constipation. Only thanks to her, the toilet will turn from your enemy into your best friend - by the end of the walk you will be rushing to it.
What to do when you really want to shit so as not to crap yourself?
The fecal containment technique is actually quite simple. But it should be noted that there are various situations that are difficult to control. If you have diarrhea, is it harmful for you to be able to hold back the diarrhea for a long time, since in such a situation the body works against your will and spontaneously, whether you want it or not, get rid of liquid stool.
Now let's try to simulate a more or less standard situation when you want to poop and what you need to do to avoid pooping your pants. Please note that when a person really wants to shit, then against his will, he begins to run from side to side, straightening his back. In fact, you do this not entirely consciously, it happens on an instinctive level. Your body forces you to do this not at all in order to help hold back the onslaught of accumulated feces in the anus, but to get rid of it. By straightening your back, you straighten your rectum, which in turn makes bowel movements easier. So, by arching your back, you only contribute to a stronger desire to shit, since at this moment the poop moves closer to the anus and densely fills the space, creating stronger pressure.
ON A NOTE!!!
It should be noted that holding on for a long time is harmful to your health. Since by doing this you strain the anal muscles, feces put pressure on the sphincter and this whole thing leads to the development of hemorrhoids.
But the fetal or sitting position, on the contrary, bends the rectum, making it difficult for the passage of feces. If you have a strong desire to shit, in this case, pain may occur in the intestines, as fecal matter puts pressure on it. But keep in mind that you need to sit in a crouched position, without straightening your back. As soon as you sit up straight, your intestines will straighten.
How to go to the toilet quickly and in a big way when constipated: effective ways
Everything we talked about will definitely work in the future. But it happens that the problem needs to be solved today, right now. Constipation is not uncommon during pregnancy. Yes, even after childbirth, constipation occurs. On the day when you need to undergo an ultrasound, it is advisable to clean the rectum as a matter of urgency. What to do? Considering that pregnant women cannot take patented synthetic remedies for constipation without medication, let’s turn to folk remedies:
- Soak a handful of dried fruits overnight in hot but not boiling water. It can be:
- prunes;
- figs;
- dried apricots;
- apples;
- pears.
In the morning, get up early (from 5 to 7 o’clock), drink all the liquid in which the dried fruits were infused, and eat the dried fruits themselves. You can go get some sleep. You will be awakened by the urge of your bowels to go to the toilet. Defecation will be easy and relaxed. This remedy can be used not only by pregnant women, and not only in case of emergency.
Do this every day and your intestines will work like a Swiss watch.
- Steam granulated senna leaves in the morning on the eve of an important event. Dosage – 1 tsp. granules per glass of hot water. In the evening, before going to bed, drink the infusion. In the morning you should have 1.5 hours before leaving the house. When you wake up, while still lying in bed, breathe with your stomach - inhale into the stomach for 4 heartbeats, pause for 2 heartbeats, exhale through your mouth for 8 heartbeats, squeezing your stomach in the last phase of exhalation. Do at least 10 such breathing cycles. Then stroke your belly in a clockwise circular motion for at least one minute. Take care of your morning toilet, and a meeting with the toilet in 30 minutes is guaranteed.
- There is another first aid for constipation, but you can’t do without an enema. But it works flawlessly - make a microenema with an oil emulsion early in the morning. To do this, beat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a glass of water. Take the emulsion into a syringe and insert it into the rectum. The urges will appear very soon. This remedy should not be abused. Otherwise, you can get lazy bowel syndrome.
Medicinal plants for the treatment of constipation
When treating constipation with folk remedies, decoctions, tinctures and infusions of plants that have a laxative effect are widely used. These include:
- infusion of dandelion root and licorice;
- infusions of a mixture of parsley seeds, birch buds and plums;
- infusions of senna leaves, rhubarb rhizomes and buckthorn bark;
- decoctions of flax seeds, dill, anise and caraway seeds;
- infusion of nettle leaves, yarrow and buckthorn bark;
- a decoction of chamomile with oregano, mint, lemon balm;
- aloe juice with honey and vegetable oil.
The use of traditional recipes for constipation does not always give quick results. In some cases, long-term use of medications is required to restore intestinal function.
Important: Before using medicinal herbs to treat defecation retention, it is important to determine its type. In case of spastic constipation, the use of drugs that stimulate intestinal motility is unacceptable, and in case of atonic constipation, the use of plants that have a relaxing effect will not be effective.
To understand how to get rid of constipation, you need to find out the cause of this pathology, and also decide what treatment method to use, what medications to take, what helps with constipation at home.
Help with constipation with medications
We figured out how to go to the toilet quickly and in a big way when constipated with the help of folk remedies. But it happens that people trust pharmaceuticals more than their own instincts. In this case, for quick defecation, we can recommend the following means:
- Guttalax is a mild, effective remedy for constipation. Valid for 12 hours. To do this, dissolve 10 drops of the product in a glass of water and drink. It can be used repeatedly. There is no addiction.
- Regulax can be taken even by pregnant women. A plant-based product with a pleasant prune flavor.
- Forlax is also an effective remedy, but is not recommended for older people and people suffering from cardiovascular diseases.
At home
If you are at home and sit on the toilet for a long time, you can use the following treatment methods without the use of pills:
- Drink herbal tea.
Chamomile, senna, flax, fennel, dandelion and others are suitable. This tea should steep for at least twenty minutes. Before use, be sure to read the instructions on the package to be sure that the product will not cause allergic reactions.
The best choice is herbal teas, the packaging of which says “for constipation.”
A decoction of rhubarb root has a very effective effect on the functioning of the colon. It is better to drink rhubarb tea before bed. At night, the healing herbs will do their job, and after waking up you can easily go to the toilet.
At home, you can also eat or cook some cleansing foods:
- Fruit or vegetable salads
- Steamed fish
- Buckwheat, oatmeal, pearl barley porridge
- Light soup and lentils
You can also drink a glass of kefir before bed. While you sleep, the beneficial substances contained in it will restore intestinal function, so when you wake up in the morning, you can successfully go to the toilet.
During treatment, exclude:
- Sweet and flour
- Alcohol
- Carbonated drinks
- Strong coffee
- Some fruits (quince)
If nothing helps, you will have to resort to medications.
Medicines
In advanced cases and to alleviate the condition, take the following tablets:
- Bisacodyl. It has an irritating effect, although it is quite effective. It is addictive, so frequent use is not recommended. It often causes a side effect - additional abdominal pain. In this case, you should stop taking it.
- Lactulose-based tablets (Normaze, Goodluck). They are prebiotic laxatives and lead to soft and painless bowel movements. They can be used for up to three months. They are good because they normalize the intestinal microflora.
Enemas and suppositories
Sometimes it is necessary to cleanse the intestines urgently, since a person has been sitting on the toilet for a very long time and suffers from pain, so enemas and suppositories are often used, applied topically.
Enemas are done:
- On the water
- On saline solution
- On an oil solution
An enema can be done once to quickly go to the toilet and thus cleanse the intestines. This will alleviate the patient's condition. However, an enema should not be used frequently.
Candles are:
- Glycerin. The most gentle ones are often given to newborn children and the elderly.
- Papaverine. Normalizes intestinal motor function in case of irregular bowel movements.
- Bisacodyl. They irritate the nerve endings of the intestinal walls, but are the most effective. It's better not to use them often.
Exercises
Urgent bowel cleansing can be achieved not only with diet and medications, but also with physical activity. Constipation often occurs due to lack of mobility and a sedentary lifestyle. Let's talk about how to cleanse the intestines with exercise.
For preventative purposes, sign up for swimming, go jogging, or just go for a walk in the fresh air. To go to the toilet if you are constipated, try these exercises:
- Lie on your back. Do the “bicycle” exercise - first in one direction, then in the other (at least 50 revolutions).
- Sit on your knees. After each inhalation and exhalation, sharply draw in your stomach.
- Sit on all fours. As you inhale, make your back round and pull your stomach in, and as you exhale, bend in the other direction, raising your head up.
- Perform the “birch tree” exercise while lying on your back.
Exercise is important not only in the treatment of bowel retention, but in general. By training the muscles not only of the whole body, but also the intestines, we tone the entire body. Because of this, feces that have stagnated in the body are eliminated faster and easier.
Factors that cause constipation
The main reasons causing difficulty in defecation are:
- sedentary lifestyle;
- stress;
- nervous system disease;
- abdominal operations; childbirth;
- colon tumor;
- heavy food - meat, eggs, spices, pears, chocolate, tea, cocoa, coffee.
A gastroenterologist or proctologist can prescribe the drug. Diagnosis may require fibrocolonoscopy or irrigography. If water is poorly retained by the intestines, then special small enemas (Norgalax, Normacol) are used. If the disease is neglected and no action is taken, a fecal stone may form in the rectum, which will subsequently have to be removed in a hospital setting.
How to understand that a child is not able to go big
Symptoms of childhood constipation are divided into intestinal and extraintestinal. In the first case, the presence of constipation can be guessed by the following signs:
- lack of stool;
- change in feces (coarse, dry, pea-shaped, etc.);
- scanty emptying, after which the abdomen remains full;
- blood in stool;
- bloating.
the following changes in his behavior indicate that the child cannot pass in a big way
- fear of the potty;
- cry while trying to have a bowel movement;
- the child sits on the potty for a long time, but no feces come out;
- anxiety due to abdominal pain;
- refusal of food.
Children under six months old who are breastfed have bowel movements up to 6-7 times a day, after 6 months - up to two times. If a newborn cannot poop , then a sign of this will be an empty diaper during the day.
The accumulation of feces in the intestinal lumen negatively affects the general condition of the child, so constipation should be combated at the very source of its development.
Folk remedies for constipation
If you are categorically against such drugs, brew flax seeds, they act as a mild laxative. They are very useful for women, as they contain plant hormones, there will be double benefits. They can be simmered in a water bath for about 15 minutes and taken with the seeds. If you don’t want to bother, grind them in a coffee grinder and take a teaspoon at a time, or add to hot tea.
Make it a rule to drink a glass of plain water every morning on an empty stomach; you can have breakfast after 20 minutes. Sometimes constipation occurs due to lack of fluid in the body. You can calculate how much water you need to drink per day using this simple formula: for every kilogram of your weight you need 30 ml of water, for example, a person weighing 50 kg needs 1.5 liters of water per day.
Eat more dried fruits, especially dried apricots, and cook compotes from them. Kefir helps with constipation only for one day. Bread is only made from coarse wheat flour or whole grain bread. All porridges except rice (from white polished rice) and semolina and boiled in water with the addition of vegetable oil. Eat more solid vegetables: carrots, cabbage, beets; when cooked, they should not be cooked a little, but in their raw form they work better due to the coarse fibers. Give preference to first courses.
How to go big in the morning if you don’t want to?
If the doctor says it’s necessary, then it’s necessary. Unfortunately, if you sit on the toilet and start pushing, it's unlikely that anything will happen. You need to prepare for morning relief in advance , in the evening.
If you wish, you can create a habit of walking a long way every day at a certain time. But this will require training.
When you urgently need to go to the toilet, laxative exercises :
- Regular morning yoga (especially the “Mountain” pose, when the torso is positioned at 90 degrees to the legs, with the head on the floor and the back extended).
- Squats.
- Jogging (doesn’t have to be long - 15-20 minutes will be enough).
How to get rid of constipation
- Nutrition adjustments are the main thing. The foods you eat should lead to stimulation of intestinal motility. Kefir before bed is exactly what you need. Eat prunes, beets, olives, cabbage, raisins, dried apricots, provided that you are not allergic to these products. Foods rich in fiber are simply irreplaceable for constipation.
- You need to drink as much water as possible (at least two liters per day). But coffee, cocoa, strong tea, and spices can, on the contrary, delay bowel movements.
- It is better to perform the act of defecation at the same time. For example, choose the morning for this process. Then you will develop a reflex to empty your bowels in the morning. But don’t stay in the toilet for more than a quarter of an hour. Excessive straining will also not lead to anything good.
- Consult your doctor to prescribe a laxative that will have a mild effect and will not subsequently disrupt bowel function. The result of a mild laxative is longer lasting, although it does not come very quickly. The spontaneous urge to defecate may disappear if you regularly use laxatives.
- Glycerin suppositories are more often used if emergency assistance is needed. They are harmless to children and pregnant women.
- It is better not to resort to an enema; it will not solve the problem itself, but will only free the intestines from stagnant feces. But if nothing else helps, then an enema, of course, can be done.
- Some berries, such as gooseberries, red rowan and lingonberries, have a laxative effect. And also some plants: rhubarb, buckthorn, aloe. Their action is to stimulate a sluggish bowel.