Constipation

A Constipation Cocktail

Constipation, as defined succinctly by Urban Dictionary, is when you’ve gotta go, but your ass says “no!” It is a diagnosis that I can truly empathize with – who hasn’t been at least a bit bunged up before?

Managing constipation in adults

If there is no underlying cause, non-drug treatments such as increasing dietary fibre should be recommended. Drug treatment can be considered if the constipation persists. Bulking agents can be tried and then osmotic laxatives. Stimulant laxatives are available, but their long-term use is not recommended.

Crush Constipation With This Old-Time Recipe

First, determine the most likely cause of constipation. Opioid-induced constipation is sometimes treated differently than other types of constipation. Several disease states and metabolic problems can also cause constipation, so the more you know about the underlying factors, the more helpful your recommendations will be.

Coping with constipation? Help is here!

Here are some questions you may have wanted to ask, along with advice on when you should talk to your health care team.

Got Constipation? Here Is A Move That You May Want To Try

When trying to move your bowels and experiencing constipation, do you know squat?

Health Check: what causes constipation?

Most people have experienced being blocked up from time to time, whether it’s while travelling, after taking painkillers, or when you’ve let your diet go. But some people will experience constipation more often, and for longer periods.

Nearly all Americans fail to eat enough of this actual superfood

While we obsess about carbs and protein, we’ve ignored fiber — at our peril.

Sluggish gut? Let’s talk about constipation.

We don’t typically like to talk about GI issues in the US, (I do hope this will change) but constipation is a big problem in America. Constipation accounts for at least 8 million annual visits to health care providers in the US and occurs in about 1 in 5 people globally.

TMI Post: Chronic Constipation and How I Fixed It

This is a TMI post, meaning TOO MUCH INFORMATION is shared. Obviously by the title you can tell this post is about – gasp – poop. So if you are eating, or have a weak stomach or something, read this post instead.

Easing the strain: put your feet up for constipation

You can help reduce the stress on the tissues and reduce straining by squatting to pass a bowel movement. This position encourages the pelvic floor to relax. This can be mimicked on a Western style toilet by raising the feet on a low stool. A stool stool, if you will.

Everybody Is Constipated, Nobody Is Constipated

Shit happens, except when it doesn’t. And when it doesn’t, we get worried. Over the centuries, constipation has gone by many delicate euphemisms, but the problem itself refuses to budge.

Simple Remedies for Constipation

Chronic constipation is an all-too-common problem rarely discussed in polite company and only reluctantly mentioned to doctors during checkups. Although it accounts for eight million doctor visits annually, only “a minority of those with constipation seek medical attention,” Dr. Arnold Wald, a leading expert on the problem, reports.

Constipated? Top 5 Green Ways to Start Crapping Again

There's never a good time to be constipated. It's not fun. Not fun at all. And if you're reading this, you're clearly one of the millions upon billions of people every day that may be experiencing symptoms (or may know someone experiencing them) of not being able to take a shit. But, hear this: you will crap again!

Constipation 101, Part I: You, From the Inside Out

OK, I freely admit it: I am poop obsessed. By now I am used to those puzzled looks on your face when I ask: "How many times a day do you have a bowel movement?" Without a doubt, you are wondering: "Why on earth is my gynecologist asking me about THAT? She's wondering about the wrong orifice, right?"

Constipation Emergencies On The Rise

The number of people going to U.S. emergency rooms for constipation has been going up, and so has the cost of those visits, which reached $1.6 billion in 2011, according to a new study. "Constipation is often thought of as not a serious disease - particularly among doctors. Patients complain about it but it's often not thought of as being medically that relevant," said Dr. Anthony Lembo, the study's senior author from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

Constipation Myths and Facts

When it comes to health issues, bowels are big business. Bowel movements are part of everyday life, and we notice immediately when our routine changes.

Death By Constipation? Is It True?

It’s the most common GI complaint in America, so it’s possible that you currently are or have been constipated at some point in your life. However, what if your constipation could kill you? Some say it may have happened to Elvis. What can you do to prevent it from happening to you?

Health Check: should we aim for daily bowel movements?

Although there are many medical diseases that can lead to constipation, such as Parkinson’s disease, hypothyroidism, and hernias, these “organic” causes are by far the minority. Most episodes of constipation are without structural underlying causes.

How Bad Is It to Hold in Your Poop?

Look, no one wants to take a dump at work or in a public bathroom, but if you hold in your poop out of shyness, you could be doing some damage.

Probiotics may ease constipation

But there’s still not enough evidence to recommend a specific probiotic to people with constipation, says Dr. Allan Walker, director of the Division of Nutrition at Harvard Medical School and a world-renowned expert in the probiotics field. Each of the small studies in the new report had different designs and widely variable results, making it difficult to glean a specific recommendation. “I personally think that probiotics may be very helpful in the future as a way of dealing with constipation and other health problems,” he says.

Study finds dietary fibre is more likely to be cause of, rather than a cure for, constipation and other bowel symptoms

Should someone be having problems in this area, the usual first-line approach is to up the intake of fibre. This can come in the form of fruits and vegetables, but many will see ‘healthy wholegrains’ such as wholemeal bread and high bran breakfast cereals as good and convenient options. However, a recent study suggests that if overcoming a sluggish bowel is the aim, one of the last things we should be doing is upping our fibre intake.

The Science Behind Vacation Constipation

Why the holidays are a prime time for traveler’s constipation.

Beyond aggravation: Constipation is an American epidemic

To many people, constipation is little more than an aggravation. To others it is a daily agony. Few realize that it can be a dangerous and even deadly affliction.

Constipation in chronic kidney disease: it is time to reconsider

Constipation is highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and is primarily characterized by decreased intestinal motility. This chronic disorder affects the quality of life of patients. However, nephrologist and dialysis clinicians have long had a disproportionately limited understanding of constipation.

Constipation: A common problem that is not commonly discussed

Avoid Binding Foods: Bananas, rice, potatoes and pasta are low in fiber, and can bind up stool in the digestive tract.

Looking Beyond Fiber to Stay 'Regular'

Like many people, my parents believed that a "normal" digestive tract must cleanse itself of waste every day. They insisted that I was born constipated.

Psyllium is not so silly for easing constipation

Psyllium is a popular approach to relieving constipation by increasing bulk and fibre in the diet. The product is made from the seeds and seed husks of related plants from the plantain group, which is also part of the buckwheat family. The plant material is ground up and sold as a powder to be mixed with water. This forms a gel-like mucilage which cannot be digested and so passes through the gastrointestinal tract.

Constipation 101, Part II: You, Improved!

Constipation can be due to a wide range of issues: stress (remember the fight, flight, or freeze response? When you are busy being stressed out, your digestive system will shut down), not enough water, not enough fiber, too much of a food you have an allergy to (knowingly or unknowingly), or overgrowth of harmful bacteria or Candida in the gut -- both of which may lead to lowered intestinal motility and slower processing of waste.

10 Tips For Combating Irregularity

If you've struggled with constipation, you're not alone: Studies estimate that constipation affects between 12 and 19 percent of Americans and 63 million people in North America. There are many reasons for developing constipation; however, in most cases there's no single, identifiable cause. If you have trouble with constipation, be sure to ask your physician for a colonoscopy to screen for colorectal cancer by the age of 50. In addition, try these tips...

16 Home Remedies to Relieve Constipation

Before running to the drugstore for a quick-fix laxative (which often worsen the problem) try some simple home remedies to relieve your discomfort, and keep it from coming back.

5 Things Your Surgeon Forgets to Tell You

Stool Softeners and Bowel Movements: I have a plan. Early in their training we should make every medical and nursing student constipated for three days. They will never again dismiss constipation as "no big deal.

About Constipation

IFFGD is your resource for reliable digestive health knowledge, support, and assistance about functional gastrointestinal (GI) and motility disorders (FGIMDs). We are a nonprofit that started in 1991. Discover information you need on digestive disorders in adults and children.

Gastro.org

Many false beliefs exist concerning proper bowel habits. One of these is that a bowel movement every day is necessary. Another common fallacy is that wastes stored in the body are absorbed and are dangerous to health, produce medical diseases or shorten life span. These misconceptions have led to a marked overuse and abuse of laxatives and procedures such as colonic irrigation. Every year, Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars on laxatives. Many are not needed — routine use of some stimulant laxatives can cause dependency and frequent use of colonic flushes may lead to complications.

Jillian Teta

I know that chronic constipation is not the most glamorous topic, but it certainly is an important one. Over 25% of Americans suffer from constipation. Doctors write over a million prescriptions for constipation per year, and roughly $725 million is spent annually on laxatives. Clearly this is a significant topic, even if we don?t want to talk about it much!

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Treatments for constipation include malking changes in your eating, diet, and nutrition; exercise and lifestyle changes; medicines and supplements; biofeedback; and surgery.

KidsHealth

Constipation is a very common problem in kids. A child is considered constipated when he or she has fewer than three bowel movements in a week; has trouble having a bowel movement; or when the stool (poop) is hard, dry, and unusually large. Constipation usually isn't a cause for concern, and easy to avoid by adopting healthy eating and exercise habits.

MayoClinic

Chronic constipation is infrequent bowel movements or difficult passage of stools that persists for several weeks or longer. Constipation is generally described as having fewer than three bowel movements a week.

MedicineNet

Sometimes nature just doesn't call. At some point, everyone has experienced the gas, bloating, and discomfort of constipation. Fortunately, there are certain foods you can eat and avoid for relief. Foods that can cause constipation include: Chocolate Dairy products Red meat Bananas Caffeine

NHS

Constipation can occur in babies, children and adults. It's estimated that around one in every seven adults and up to one in every three children in the UK has constipation at any one time. The condition affects twice as many women as men and is also more common in older adults and during pregnancy.

Patient

Some people have a good diet, drink a lot of fluid, do not have a disease or take any medication that can cause constipation, but still become constipated. Their bowels are said to be underactive. This is quite common and is sometimes called functional constipation or primary constipation. Most cases occur in women. This condition tends to start in childhood or in early adulthood, and persists throughout life.

Just a spoonful of castor oil

Although taking a daily spoonful of diluted castor oil as a general health aid is no longer in vogue, alternative health stores still sell the foul-tasting liquid as a laxative.