The Gastrointestinal SystemConstipation
Synonyms :
Clinical features,
Diagnosis,
Management,
Prognosis,
Clinical features: < BACK TO TOP >
- Most people on a Western diet expect bowel actions once or twice daily.
Consequently, constipation usually implies failure to produce a stool over
24 h. However, normal expectations vary between individuals and cultures;
some healthy individuals evacuate every other day or even only three times a
week, whereas others, particularly people on high roughage diets, expect up
to three bulky bowel actions daily. Constipation is described more precisely
as a disorder of bowel habit characterised by straining and the infrequent
passage of small, hard stools. Constipated patients often complain that they
are left dissatisfied, with a sense of incomplete evacuation. Patients with
troublesome constipation often seek medicinal relief and a history of
laxative use may be a helpful guide to the severity of the condition.
When constipation has troubled a patient for years or even decades, the
cause is likely to be functional rather than obstructive and it may be
attributed to poor defecation habits, diet, lifestyle or psychological
problems. Sedentary lifestyle, lack of exercise, inadequate fluid intake and
consequent dehydration, lack of fibre in food, preoccupation with work and
depressive illness may all cause constipation.
When constipation presents as a recent change and especially if it is
associated with colic, an organic cause such as malignancy or stricture
formation should be considered. Also it is useful to inquire about
constipating drugs (e.g., morphine or heroin, codeine-containing analgesics,
aluminium-containing antacids, calcium channel blockers, antispasmodic
drugs, sometimes iron supplements) and about rectal bleeding which raises
the suspicion of cancer. Hypothyroidism and long-standing diabetes are
frequently accompanied by slow bowel action and constipation. Anal pain
caused by a fissure or thrombosed and inflamed haemorrhoids
may cause
profound constipation because of the patient's fear of pain during
defecation. Irritable bowel syndrome (also known as
spastic
colon) and
Crohn's disease can cause intermittent constipation.
Constipation caused by chronic partial obstruction may be punctuated by
periods of loose or watery stool. This strange diarrhoea occurs in elderly
patients with faecal impaction (very hard faecal mass stuck in the colon)
and also when colon cancer causes partial obstruction. The proximal bowel
dilates and fills with liquid which then seeps around the obstruction,
presenting as liquid diarrhoea.
Diagnosis: < BACK TO TOP >
Management < BACK TO TOP >
Prognosis < BACK TO TOP >
Nutrition < BACK TO TOP >
Nutrition that alleviate or prevent constipation :-
Folic Acid, Inositol, Magnesium, Para Aminobenzoic Acid (PABA), Vitamin B1,
Vitamin B5, Vitamin C,
Herbs < BACK TO TOP >
Herbs that alleviate or prevent constipation :-
Aloe vera (Aloe), Cassia senna (Senna),
Foeniculum vulgare (fennel seed),
Glycyrrhiza glabra
(Licorice), Linum usitatissimum (Flaxseed), Plantago ovata (Psyllium), Rhamnus purshiana (Cascara sagrada),
Rumex
crispus (yellowdock), Taraxacum officinale (dandelion root), Zingiber
officinale (ginger)
Aromatherapy - Ocimum basilicum (Basil)
(source : -)
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