A healthy lifestyle is gaining popularity among young people today. Boys and girls are interested in nutrition, physical activity and good sleep. Many take vitamins and dietary supplements, are engaged in the prevention of diseases. Despite this, an absolutely healthy person is a rarity. Every second today has a tendency to constipation. Most of them do not consider digestive upset a problem.
Defecation is an absolutely natural process. They do not focus on him. Difficulties from time to time with bowel movements do not cause concern. Truly, a person begins to worry when he feels heaviness in his stomach, and all attempts to empty his intestines are unsuccessful.
Is constipation a disease?
Constipation is a very delicate problem. It is not customary to discuss it with friends. People do not know and do not attach importance to the symptoms that indicate the onset of the disease. The first signs of an illness often go unnoticed. How to determine the boundary when the physiological norm of emptying passes into pathology?
In common people, constipation is considered to be a delay in the stool for several days. This statement is true, but only partially. The thing is that each organism is individual and has its own biological clock. Thanks to these features, there is no single frequency of bowel movements. The norm may be bowel movements several times a day, and three times a week. However, in this case, a person should not feel discomfort in the intestines.
The second criterion for determining the tendency to constipation is considered difficult bowel movements. A long stay in the toilet, severe straining, pain in the anal area are the first signs of constipation. They allow us to talk about the presence of an ailment. Systematically recurring symptoms indicate the chronic nature of the pathology.
Constipation is a very common digestive upset. The tendency to it can lead to the appearance of proctological ailments. Therefore, this problem today has a high degree of social significance.
Causes and types of digestive disorders
In most cases, constipation in adults is the result of an irregular diet, an inactive lifestyle. Sometimes problems with stools are observed against the background of psychological stress and various uncomfortable situations. Do not forget about the objective factors for the appearance of intestinal dysfunction. These include gastrointestinal pathologies and diseases of other systems of internal organs that have an effect on digestive processes.
There are several classifications of obstructed bowel movements. One of them is based on a causative factor, therefore, the following varieties of constipation are distinguished:
- Alimentary. Problems with stool occur as a result of a deficiency in fiber, which must come with food. This substance is found in raw vegetables and fruits. Fiber is a kind of stimulator of intestinal motility. Also, nutritional constipation may be due to limited fluid intake. Water in the body is responsible for softening feces and facilitating the process of defecation.
- Hypokinetic. This digestive disorder is characteristic of people with an inactive lifestyle.
- Mechanical. Signs of constipation appear if there are obstacles to the passage of feces. In case of intestinal obstruction, doctors usually suspect a tumor. Among other reasons, scars, polyps and adhesive disease are distinguished.
- Reflex. Stool delay appears on the background of pathologies of various departments of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Toxic. Problems with stool are a consequence of intoxication with chemicals. Long-term use of certain medications also contributes to persistent constipation.
- Endocrine. This type of constipation is an indirect sign of hormonal disorders. These include hypofunction of the thyroid or ovary, diabetes mellitus.
There is another group of constipation. It is so vast that it is advisable to consider it separately.
Psychological and neurological reasons
When potential diseases and extraintestinal causes of indigestion are excluded, functional constipation is diagnosed . This is a disease characterized by stool retention as a result of CNS pathologies. Certain factors interfere with the natural bowel movement. They belong to the field of neurology. These factors can affect the mechanism of defecation, suppressing peristalsis and disrupting the functioning of the sphincter. It also happens that a person adheres to a healthy lifestyle, tries to eat right, but his intestines periodically refuse to function fully. Experts cannot explain this phenomenon and suggest looking for a problem in the head.
One of the main causes of constipation is the conscious containment of the emptying process. It is due to the lifestyle of modern man. He spends most of the day at work or school, where going to the toilet may be inappropriate or impossible. If a person disdains public restrooms, it is necessary to solve this problem. By such behavior, he only harms his own body. You can tolerate it once, but systematic containment entails a violation of the mechanism of bowel movement.
Traveler constipation is another type of digestive upset. In this case, a person cannot go to the toilet under certain conditions: on a train or plane, at a train station. In such people, similar problems happen quite often. Many interpret this by force of habit to the "native" bathroom, where everyone feels comfortable. In any other setting, he cannot relax, so the natural bowel movement does not work.
Separately, it is necessary to affect the functional problems of the intestine. Constipation in this case, doctors are classified as a separate category of disorders. It is associated with irritable bowel syndrome. This is a whole symptom complex, characterized by various malfunctions, not due to objective reasons. This disease is usually associated with stress, prolonged nervous strain or psychological trauma. In this case, constipation is one of the many manifestations of irritable bowel syndrome.
Symptoms of constipation
In most cases, the symptoms of digestive upset depend on the nature of the disease that caused it. Among the most common signs of constipation are the following:
- bloating and a feeling of heaviness in the stomach;
- flatulence caused by increased gas formation;
- dense painful stool;
- the formation of anal fissures;
- bad taste in the mouth, belching;
- insomnia, nervousness.
Two types of constipation are distinguished, depending on the nature of the defecation disorder: acute and chronic. In the first case, the absence of stool is observed for several days. If you ignore the problem at this stage, chronic constipation develops. This is a rather dangerous condition. A person is forced to constantly push, as a result of which the prolapse of the rectum is possible .
Constipation in children and its symptoms differ from manifestations of defecation in adults. They have a stool delay of up to 36 hours. This time can be considered regulated. If the stool is more frequent, we are talking about inconsistencies in the work of certain systems in the child's body.
Constipation in early pregnancy is no less exciting for many women. Most often, disorders arise as a result of squeezing by the fetus of the rectum. Symptoms are similar to the general clinical picture of constipation, but rumbling in the abdomen is added to it. To restore the health of women, doctors recommend a review of the diet, drink more fluids.
Medical examination
What is constipation, how to deal with it - these are two questions to which the patient should receive answers after visiting a doctor. Usually, a specialist offers several treatment options, but we will talk about them below. Diagnosis of constipation takes place in several stages. Initially, clinical symptoms are evaluated, and irrigoscopy is also prescribed (X-ray examination). It helps to evaluate the lumen of the large intestine, to determine the presence of tumor formations, developmental abnormalities.
At the second stage of diagnosis, the patient is invited to undergo a colonoscopy. This is an endoscopic examination of the intestine, in which biopsy samples are taken from the mucous membranes. Then the material is studied in laboratory conditions. After that, the doctor begins to examine the general condition of the digestive tract. This includes sphincterometry and anorectometry, as well as various laboratory tests. Why is such an examination necessary? To choose the right tactics for solving the problem, depending on the cause of the pathology. Typically, therapy includes the elimination of provocative factors and symptomatic treatment.
Diet is the basis of the fight against the disease
Without changing your usual diet, treating constipation does not make sense. If you continue to eat dry and irregularly, you can never get rid of problems with a chair. First of all, doctors recommend excluding products that cause constipation. This is a fatty meat, pasta, confectionery.
A certain diet should be observed and eat strictly at certain hours. Fiber-containing foods must be included in the diet. First of all, these are raw vegetables and fruits. Fiber is not fully absorbed by the body, but increases the stool volume and promotes its movement through the intestines. It is useful to include bran, buckwheat, sea kale and lean meat in the diet. It is better to refuse alcohol and carbonated drinks. It is important to observe the correct drinking regimen. It is recommended to drink up to two liters of pure water per day. Lack of fluid can lead to hardening of feces and cause severe constipation. What to do if there is no opportunity to eat at a certain time? In this case, doctors recommend preparing food in advance and taking it to work in containers. After about 2-4 weeks of such nutrition, you can feel the first positive results of treatment.
Drug use
There are several groups of laxatives that have different mechanisms of action:
- Means that increase the volume of intestinal contents (Forlax, Mukofalk) . These drugs retain water, making feces more voluminous. They are taken for constipation caused by malnutrition.
- Microclysters. They contain substances with a mild laxative effect and go on sale in a ready-to-use form. The main advantage of microclysters is the rapid onset of action. To achieve a positive therapeutic effect, only 5 ml of the drug (one tube) is enough.
- Stimulants of peristalsis. The treatment of constipation in the elderly is usually aimed at increasing intestinal motility. For these purposes, use “Tserukal”, “Motilium”, “Coordinax”.
- Preparations with lactulose. Such medicines are prescribed for children and pregnant women. The most popular of these is Dufalac. This is a synthetic preparation whose active components contribute to water retention and softening of the stool.
What to give in case of constipation of a spastic nature? In this case, laxatives are powerless. Treatment should be aimed at eliminating spasm.
Increased physical activity
If a person sits at a computer for hours and devotes little time to physical activity, his muscles do not work. The intestinal walls lose their tone. No wonder they say that movement is life. With a pronounced tendency to constipation, doctors recommend allocating time for physical activity if it cannot be increased during the day. Any sports where abdominal muscles are involved (swimming, running, fitness) are suitable for this.
Treatment with folk remedies
Constipation is a very serious problem. However, laxatives may not always be found in your home medicine cabinet. What to do? People’s doctors offer their own solutions to this problem.
Few people know that jelly from elderberry berries and a decoction of senna leaves enhance intestinal motility. To relieve spasm and facilitate the process of defecation, a regular valerian infusion is useful. To normalize stool, you can prepare a product based on dried fruits and honey with the addition of senna leaves. It should be taken in the morning on an empty stomach, one tablespoon each. Every day, traditional healers recommend starting with a glass of warm water, because the liquid stimulates the urge to defecate.
Laxatives today can be purchased at every pharmacy, this does not require a prescription from a doctor. However, such therapy gives only a temporary effect, it does not solve the problem itself. Constipation is a serious digestive upset. You should not ignore its first symptoms, it is better to immediately contact a specialist. It is necessary to treat the main cause of the disease, and this requires a lot of time and effort. Sometimes you even have to change your lifestyle.
Forecast and Prevention
It is not customary to speak out loud about a chair's delay. But keep quiet about it. The health of a person, his emotional mood and physical comfort depend on the coordinated work of the intestine. If this problem is not resolved, serious complications can occur. What does constipation lead to?
In addition to immediate complications, which include a feeling of heaviness and flatulence, are not excluded:
- bleeding from the veins of the hemorrhoid;
- intestinal obstruction;
- diverticulosis.
Difficulties with bowel movements may be the first sign of the onset of the development of serious pathologies of the digestive tract, endocrine system. In addition, constipation is sometimes a symptom of neoplasm in the intestines. The most dangerous complication is colon cancer.
To prevent these complications, it is necessary to prevent constipation. First of all, it implies timely treatment of gastrointestinal diseases. Doctors also recommend that you follow a diet. All foods that cause constipation (legumes, cereals, etc.) should be excluded from the diet. Preference should be given to warm dishes and drinks. The diet should consist of fresh vegetables and fruits, lean meat. It is useful to regularly consume vegetable oil in small quantities. Particular attention must be paid to motor activity.