What to do when you are constipated?

The question “what to do with constipation?” should not cause any awkwardness, since natural regular bowel movements are one of the conditions for the normal functioning of the body, and its absence creates many health problems.

Moreover, the World Health Organization classifies constipation, which is essentially a symptom, as a disease and has a code in the International Classification of Diseases.

And if, according to the same WHO, at least a third of the adult population of Europe and at least 10% of children have this problem, then it is necessary to talk about it seriously – from a scientific point of view.

By the way, if someone is confused by the word "constipation", then you can replace it with the Latin medical term constipation... Well, let's figure out what to do with constipation? That is, with constipation.

What to do with chronic constipation?

The impressive list of reasons that cause constipation is headed by the basic lack of fiber in the products of the usual diet and insufficient water consumption. Such constipation is classified as physiological alimentary, and doctors recommend coping with it without the help of laxatives. Nutritionists know exactly what to do with chronic constipation of this etiology.

Those who have problems with timely emptying of the colon need to activate its work. To do this, you should eat raw vegetables and fruits, bread - only rye or with bran, crumbly cereal porridge (except rice), fresh fermented milk products. You also need to drink at least 5-6 glasses of water daily. But it is better to refuse tea, since it contains a lot of astringent substances (tannins). For the same reason, you should not abuse smoked foods, chocolate, persimmons, pomegranates and blueberries.

Under no circumstances should you take laxatives that irritate the mucous membrane of the colon: Senade (tablets with senna leaf extract), laxative herbal mixture (senna leaf, buckthorn bark, buckthorn fruit), Bisacodyl (Diphenylmethane), sodium picosulfate (Guttalax, etc.).

Saline laxatives (magnesium sulfate or bitter salt, sodium sulfate, etc.) are also not suitable, since salts are absorbed in the intestines and disrupt the electrolyte balance. Gastroenterologists advise taking so-called osmotic laxatives - based on the polymer polyethylene glycol (Macrogol, Lavacol, Forlax, Relaxan). They retain fluid in the intestines and, thus, make excrement more flexible, facilitating the process of defecation. The contents of one packet of such a drug are dissolved in a small amount of water and drunk. It is best to do this in the morning. But it should be borne in mind that these drugs can be taken for no longer than three months.

For chronic constipation with intestinal spasms, you can take Laminarid (granules from seaweed) - orally after meals, 1-2 teaspoons (no more than three times a day), washed down with a glass of water. However, this drug is contraindicated in case of hypersensitivity to iodine, severe renal failure, hemorrhagic diathesis, and also during pregnancy.

What to do with a week of constipation, which leads to fermentation of feces and the release of toxins from them? Urgently "unlock" the intestines, because with normal nutrition, such a prolonged lack of evacuation of waste products is diagnosed as acute constipation.

That's when the question arises, what to do with severe constipation? Most often, doctors recommend taking fast-acting drugs that, due to chemical irritation of the intestine with sodium picosulfate monohydrate, increase the contraction of the intestinal walls - peristalsis. Such drops for constipation are produced with the following trade names: Guttalax, Rekulaks-Picosulfate, Evakuol, Dibrolax, Elimin, Kontumaks, Guttalan, Laxidogol, Laxoberon, Picolax, Picosulfol, Totalaksan, Verilax, Slabilen, Agiolaks Peak.

According to the instructions, their laxative effect appears approximately 8 hours after a single dose of an adult (10-12 drops). In fact, "relief" may follow later - after 12 or even 16 hours. The drops can only be taken for 7 days. At the same time, sodium picosulfate can cause side effects in the form of abdominal pain, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance and loss of potassium, flatulence, diarrhea, decreased blood pressure and cramps. The use of Guttalax and its synonyms is contraindicated in the presence of inflammation of the abdominal organs and bladder; abdominal pain syndrome of unknown etiology; gastrointestinal and uterine bleeding not associated with menstruation; constipation with spasms. These drugs are not used in children under 4 years of age and pregnant women during the first three months of gestation.

A "fast" remedy (acts in 20-25 minutes) is also Bisacodyl in the form of rectal suppositories (1-2 suppositories are inserted into the rectum). Contraindications for the use of these suppositories are exacerbation of hemorrhoids and anal fissures, as well as inflammation or tumors of the rectum.

There is Bisacodyl in tablets, but it takes effect 6-8 hours after a single dose, has the same contraindications and side effects as Guttalax, and with constant use causes addiction.

In case of constipation associated with hemorrhoids, sluggish bowels in the postoperative period or previous diarrhea, it is necessary to use the means that the doctor prescribes in each specific case. These can be laxative tablets (Senade), capsules (with castor oil), drops (Guttalax, Regulax) or lactulose-based syrup - Duphalac, Portalac, Normase, Laksalak, Livolyuk, Lactusin, Romfalak, Prelax.

It is worth dwelling on drugs with lactulose in more detail, since their use for constipation of various etiologies is considered by doctors to be the most effective and safe. Lactulose is a synthetic stereoisomer of milk sugar (lactose), which is obtained as a waste product in the production of dairy products. When entering the body, water-soluble lactulose is not absorbed in the intestine, because the enzymes necessary for its hydrolysis are absent in humans. Thus, this substance is a prebiotic that is not digested by the digestive system and enters the lower parts of the intestine. As a result, water is retained in the colon and osmotic pressure increases, and it is this factor that contributes to the liquefaction and increase in the volume of excrement. The result is an easier removal of excrement from the body.

In addition, the use of lactulose provides an answer to the question - what to do with constipation after antibiotics? As is known, many antibiotics cause drug-induced constipation and at the same time suppress the intestinal microflora, and lactulose restores it. How? As a result of the effect of intestinal bacteria on lactulose, a number of fatty acids are formed, and the pH of the environment in the lumen of the large intestine changes. On the one hand, this suppresses pathogenic clostridia and E. coli, and on the other hand, it creates conditions for the restoration of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, that is, it normalizes the bacterial state of the intestine.

In addition, rectal glycerin suppositories (for example, Glycelax) are used as an effective remedy for constipation in hemorrhoids and after operations. They are supposed to be inserted into the rectum once a day - 20-25 minutes after breakfast.

What to do if you are constipated during pregnancy?

Many women experience difficulty with bowel movements before menstruation and during pregnancy.

First, you need to avoid foods that increase the likelihood of problems with stool. Second, do not drink any herbal teas or tablets that contain the medicinal plant senna. Senna preparations - Senade, Sennalax, Trisasen, Glaxenna - have a teratogenic effect.

Most gynecologists advise pregnant women to do without laxatives, although constipation during pregnancy is often hormonal and cannot be avoided. Constipation can be treated with foods that contain enough fiber (read above). Eat prunes and dried apricots, cabbage and oatmeal. But buns, chocolate bars, pasta and shashlik will only make the situation worse. If you eat a salad of fresh vegetables (with vegetable oil) for breakfast and drink a glass of one-day kefir before bed, you can treat constipation without going to the pharmacy.

Flax seeds and flaxseed oil help. The daily dose of flaxseed is one teaspoon (washed down with 200 ml of water), and oil (a dessert spoon per day) is recommended to be consumed in the evening. You can prepare an oat broth: pour 250 g of oat grains with water (so that the water slightly covers them) and cook over low heat for about a quarter of an hour. The resulting broth should be filtered and taken half a glass three times a day.

The first place among pharmacological agents is occupied by laxative rectal suppositories with glycerin and suppositories Norgalax (dose - one suppository during the day). Preparations with lactulose are also used (details about them are written above). Normase or Duphalac should be taken in the morning, the daily dose is no more than 20 ml.

Constipation before menstruation is associated with the production of hormones by the corpus luteum of the ovaries before the onset of menstruation. In principle, it is short-lived and goes away on its own.

What to do if your child is constipated?

Most newborns and infants also have problems with bowel movements: functional or organic constipation.

If doctors determine that constipation is organic in nature - congenital pathological elongation of the sigmoid colon and its mesentery (dolichosigma), congenital pyloric stenosis or congenital aganglionosis of the colon (Hirschsprung's disease) - then the matter may come to surgical intervention to correct the anomaly.

And in case of functional constipation, pediatricians advise parents what to do when a 1 month old child is constipated?

It's all about the nutrition of babies. When breastfeeding, the child most often suffers from a lack of breast milk or from what the nursing mother ate. Stop eating bread and bakery products made from wheat flour, rice and semolina porridge, whole milk, black tea, cocoa and coffee. If the child has spasms due to constipation, the nursing woman should not eat grapes, cabbage, legumes, nuts.

A light massage of the tummy helps well - in a circular motion clockwise, as well as bending the legs at the knees and pressing them to the tummy. If this does not help, to combat constant constipation in children of the first year of life, including newborns, it is recommended to use glycerin suppositories and oil enemas (with Vaseline oil). Rectal suppositories Glycelax can be used from the age of three months. Recently, doctors have also prescribed Dufalac syrup (1.5-2 ml per day). But neither suppositories nor other laxatives can be used often, and even more so - constantly! This can cause the appearance of the so-called "lazy bowel" syndrome and lead to health problems during the child's growth.

If the formula causes constipation, you need to give your baby more water. If there is no effect, you need to switch to another type of milk formula and introduce fermented milk formulas containing lactobacilli, as well as fruit juices, into the diet of a child who is bottle-fed.

If constipation occurs due to complementary feeding, it is necessary to determine exactly which product is causing the constipation and stop using it for a while.

What to do if a teenager is constipated?

In the absence of organic pathologies (for example, hypothyroidism, diabetes, etc.), neuroses or stress, constipation in adolescence is caused by a lack of physical activity, excessive consumption of meat and eggs, a lack of water and dietary fiber in the diet, as well as eating "on the go".

Therefore, a diet, physical exercise, fresh vegetables, and fruits (which was written at the very beginning of these notes) will help fight constipation. And medicinal laxatives for teenagers are the same as for adults. But it is necessary to make every effort to do without them.

How to do an enema for constipation?

Although enemas for constipation are now prescribed quite rarely (since they only perform a one-time cleansing of the intestines), many are interested in how to do an enema for constipation and what kind of enema to do for constipation?

Let's start with the fact that doing an enema more often than once a week is contraindicated.

The enema should be large (800-1000 ml), or you need to use a special enema - Esmarch's mug. Take drinking or boiled water at body temperature (approximately +37°C), collect it inside the enema bottle and slowly insert it through the anus into the intestine. After this procedure, you should lie on your side for a while, and when you feel the urge to defecate, go to the toilet without delay...

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What exercises should you do when you are constipated?

When constipated, it is useful to move more. You can do simple exercises - standing or lying down.

Standing straight (legs together, hands on the waist), you need to bend your torso to the right and left (10-12 times), and then forward and backward. Without changing your posture, do deep squats, lifting your heels off the floor.

The next exercise for constipation should be done lying on your back. Your legs should be bent at the knees, lifted up and performed in a "bicycle" motion for 20-30 seconds.

Without changing the initial position (lying on your back), bend your right leg at the knee, clasp it with both hands and press it to your stomach. Return to the initial position and do the same with your left leg. Number of repetitions: 10 times with each leg.

Here is another useful exercise. You need to kneel, bend forward, lower your head and rest your palms on the floor with your straight arms, and then do squats on your buttocks - to the right and to the left (10 times in each direction).

Disruption of bowel function with stool retention - constipation - negatively affects the functioning of other systems and organs. Untimely bowel movement interferes with normal metabolism, and if you do not know what to do with constipation, it can lead to self-poisoning of the body.