How to treat constipation in adults and children at home

How to treat constipation? This is a common question. We will understand in this article.

Constipation is a very unpleasant problem with which many patients are embarrassed to seek professional help and try to cope with it on their own. The causes of this phenomenon may be different, but in most cases they are malnutrition, nervous strain and a sedentary lifestyle.

How to treat constipation in adults and children, the doctor can tell.

What is constipation?

The delay in the act of defecation negatively affects the general well-being of a person and his mood. To treat this pathology and restore the regularity of the stool, many resort to the use of a variety of laxative medications, which have a quick effect, but during continuous use can be addictive and all kinds of digestive disorders. In addition, this group of medications has some contraindications and side effects, as a result of which the use of these drugs in some cases only exacerbates the situation.

An alternative to medical treatment is the elimination of constipation at home by correcting the regimen and diet, changing the rhythm of life and folk remedies.

Before you start using any methods to eliminate the delay of bowel movements, you must definitely find out the reason that contributed to the occurrence of such a condition. So how to treat constipation?

Nutrition and Drinking Regime

Improper as well as irregular nutrition, which includes a high content of high-calorie foods, is the most common cause of constipation. The same can be said about the insufficient intake of fluids, in particular ordinary drinking water. For the normal functioning of the intestine, coarse dietary fiber or fiber must be included in the diet, which is not digested during digestion, but has the good ability to absorb water in the intestine, which creates the necessary volume, as well as the consistency of feces and stimulates their passage through the large intestine . How to treat constipation at home?

Important changes

Treatment of such a pathology at home should begin with changes in the diet. This aspect is very important, because it helps not only to eliminate an existing problem, but also to prevent its manifestations in the future. In order to increase the amount of dietary fiber entering the intestine, bran can be added to the food. Also, foods that are rich in fiber should be included in the diet, as this contributes to regular bowel movements. These products include:

1. Rye bread.
2. Various cereals (barley, oat, buckwheat, corn).
3. Vegetables, mainly - in raw form.
4. Greens.
5. Fruits.
6. Berries
7. Dried fruits.
8. Meat that contains connective tissue.
9. Freshly squeezed vegetable (potato, pumpkin, carrot, beetroot, tomato) and fruit juices.

In order to normalize the intestines, various fermented milk products should be added to the human diet daily.

How to treat constipation at home, we will describe below.

Drinking mode

The main value for constipation is drinking. With a shortage of water in the body, an increase in the degree of absorption of fluid in the intestine develops. Consequently, dry and hard feces are formed. The total volume of fluid that must be drunk per day in the absence of any contraindications from the urinary or cardiovascular system should be at least two liters. Still mineral water, green or herbal tea is also recommended. Such drinks must be consumed before meals or an hour after them.

With constipation of any etiology, you should eat often, but the portions of food consumed should be small. It is advisable to do this according to a specially developed regime - at the same time. Such schemes contribute to the gradual normalization of the cleansing function of the intestine.

How to treat constipation with exercise?

Physical activity for constipation

People who are used to leading a sedentary lifestyle are usually at risk for the occurrence of such an unpleasant phenomenon as constipation. If you perform a simple complex of special exercises for the abdominal muscles every day for 15 minutes, this will contribute to the activation of the motor-evacuation functions of the intestine and the normalization of bowel movements.

So how to treat chronic constipation?

The most effective exercises

With constipation, the following types of exercises are very effective:

1. Lying on your back, alternately press your legs to your stomach, bending them at the knees
2. A quick step in place when a person lifts a leg bent at the knee high: first the right, then the left.
3. Squats
4. The so-called “bicycle” is an exercise known to almost everyone. Perform it should be lying on your back.
5. Having got up on all fours, one should blow out, and then draw in the stomach.
6. In the supine position, slowly raise and lower the upper body.
   

Hiking, swimming, morning jogging, cycling, and exercise bikes have a very positive effect.

In case of constipation, which is caused by spasm in the colon, the implementation of intensive physical exercises is not recommended, since they can provoke an even greater aggravation of a person’s condition and this problem.

How to treat constipation in humans is interesting to many.

Massage

In the form of a folk remedy for constipation, a massage of the abdomen can be carried out. To do this, it is necessary to perform circular movements clockwise with a warm palm, slightly pressing on the stomach. After that, you can use your hands to make stroking movements from above on both sides - from the ribs, towards the lower abdomen. The duration of such a massage should be no more than 10 minutes. Massage should not be performed after eating.

How to treat constipation folk remedies?

Popular methods for eliminating constipation

To eliminate the problem of delayed bowel movements, there are many different time-tested recipes that are based on the use of plant products - fruits, berries, vegetables, milk. Good properties in this aspect are bran, freshly squeezed juices and vegetable oils. Long-term use of such funds, despite their safety, is undesirable.

The treatment of such pathologies at home is permissible only when there is no presence of organic disorders in the work of the intestine and other serious diseases of the digestive system.

Kefir Recipes

Kefir has a good laxative effect for constipation. With regular use, it helps to establish the digestive process and ensure the regularity of the allocation of metabolic products. The composition of kefir includes enzymes that can liquefy feces and enhance intestinal motility. In addition, the regular use of this product promotes the colonization of beneficial bacteria on the intestinal mucosa. Everyone is able to treat constipation by folk methods.

The following kefir recipes will help:

1. Take 1 cup of kefir in the evening with the addition of a tablespoon of vegetable oil to the product, and in the absence of effect, treatment should be continued in the morning until the onset of bowel movement.
2. A mixture of a glass of kefir and a tablespoon of bran. This product is insisted for 5 minutes and drunk before bedtime.

Dried fruits

Dried fruits also give a good laxative effect. In case of chronic constipation, treatment with such means will not only be as effective as possible, but also very tasty. To cleanse the intestines, prunes, dried apricots, raisins and figs are used, as a rule. You can use them individually, or you can - in the form of a mixture with the addition of herbs.

Traditional medicine knows the following recipes for constipation:

1. A mixture of chopped dried apricots, prunes, raisins, honey and vegetable oil.
2. Homemade sweets from figs, prunes and coriander, mixed in equal proportions.
3. Oat broth with prunes.
4. A mixture of figs, raisins, prunes, dried apricots and senna leaves, minced in a meat grinder.
5. Prune infusion with senna leaves.
6. A decoction of dried apricots.
7. Dried fruit compote with fresh apples.

An effective prevention of constipation is the daily consumption of dried apricots and prunes (2-3 pieces).

Vegetable oils

To eliminate the problem of constipation, various vegetable oils can be widely used. They are used internally or included in the composition for enemas. The oil has a laxative as well as choleretic effect, as it facilitates the excretion of feces.

With constipation, the following oils can be used:

• sunflower;
• olive;
• flaxseed;
• pumpkin;
• sea ​​buckthorn;
• castor.

Inside, sunflower oil is consumed in the amount of 1 tbsp. tablespoons on an empty stomach, gradually reducing the dose. In addition, it is useful to add to salads and cereals. Olive oil is taken orally by 1 tbsp. spoon, washed down with a glass of water with the addition of several milliliters of lemon juice. With long delays in bowel movements, special enemas with the addition of this agent help to clean the intestines.

We looked at how to treat constipation in adults at home.

Constipation in a child

It is very important to monitor the baby’s stool from the first days after its birth. This helps to prevent various serious consequences, for example, indigestion, loss of appetite, allergic reactions.

This pathology in children in the first year of life is due to the fact that the digestive system at this age is not yet sufficiently developed. Food may not be fully digested. If the baby is breastfed, then increased fat content in breast milk may contribute to constipation. In order to eliminate this circumstance, a nursing mother should consume more foods that are rich in fiber and complex carbohydrates. Simple carbohydrates, as well as fried and too fatty foods contribute to the formation of constipation in the child. A woman during lactation should consume a large number of fruits and vegetables, as well as reduce the share of bakery and pasta in the diet. The meat should also be non-greasy, it is best to eat dietary types of meat products - rabbit meat, poultry, etc. Breast-fed breast-fed babies are often prescribed special mixtures containing lactic acid bacteria or constituents containing various prebiotics for constipation , lactulose, probiotics, oligosaccharides or carob beans.

All parents should know how to treat constipation in a child.

An excellent result in infants suffering from constipation gives massage and various gymnastic exercises. Before feeding the baby, or a couple of hours after it, you need to put the baby on the tummy, which helps to increase intestinal motility. At this time, you can give him a limb massage. Then you need to turn the child on his back and stretch his stomach with stroking movements. This procedure should be carried out 3 times a day, ending with bending and unbending the legs and arms of the crumbs.

Consider the best remedies for treating constipation.

Alternative methods of eliminating constipation in children

The funds that are approved for use at home include the following:

1. Adding bran to the baby’s food. This product is used in small quantities, about 1 teaspoon per 100 grams of food.
2. A mixture of dried fruits, which can be given to a child in pure form or in the form of various compotes and jelly. It is advisable to use dried fruits on an empty stomach.
3. Infusions and mashed prunes or dried apricots.
4. Kefir or other liquid fermented milk product (fermented baked milk, drinking yoghurts) before bedtime.
5. Beet or carrot juice.
   

A one-time method of helping a small child is to mechanically eliminate the delay in the act of defecation. For this, a pipette or cotton swab is used, with the help of which the area of ​​the anal sphincter is irritated. The act of defecation in the baby occurs, as a rule, already 10-15 minutes after the procedure. This tool is very effective, but it is often not recommended, because regular mechanical induction of bowel movement is addictive.

How to treat constipation, now we know.