Common Causes And Treatments For Constipation

When Does Constipation Turn Into A Chronic Condition?

Constipation occurs when your normal number of bowel movements is reduced to less than three times a week. This is typical and frequently makes it difficult for you to carry out your daily responsibilities. Yet if it persists for a few weeks or longer, it develops into chronic constipation. Those with chronic constipation use considerable effort to force a bowel movement. Constipation, however, is typically a symptom of a deeper issue for which there are typically no simple solutions.

Symptoms Of Chronic Constipation

Your everyday routine is disrupted, and your bowel habits are altered by constipation. Constipation becomes chronic when it lasts for a long time. But how can you know if things are getting worse? Watch out for these indicators:

1. You only pass stools irregularly and less than three times per week.
2. See whether your stools are hard or lumpy.
3. You’ll notice that passing your bowels requires more effort.
4. You’ll always feel as though your rectum is blocked in some way.
5. You can feel that you didn’t empty your rectum even after passing stools.
6. You might start pressing on your stomach with your hands or removing residual stool from your rectum with a finger.

It is advised to seek medical attention if any of these symptoms persist for a long time.

Causes Of Constipation

The bodily organs in charge of bowel movements are the intestines. Constipation frequently happens when the digestive tract’s excretory waste or stool moves very slowly. So much that it is unable to be adequately removed from the rectum. As a result, the stool becomes dry and hard. Let’s first go through the digestion-to-excretion journey step by step to gain a better understanding.

1. As food travels through the digestive system, nutrients are absorbed.
2. The large intestine and colon receive partially digested meals.
3. The wastewater is absorbed by your colon.
4. As the stool pushes out, the body excretes it.

Constipation causes the faeces to remain in the colon for a longer duration, allowing it to absorb more water. This causes the stools to become dry and hard, making them challenging to pass. The same physiological mechanism underlies chronic constipation, where it appears as though the faeces is trapped and won’t move. Hence, a blockage in the rectum is the main reason for chronic constipation. The following factors could be blamed for this sluggish or restricted bowel movement:

1. Bowel obstruction: The large intestine is either blocked or constrained in this condition.
2. Colon cancer: As colon cancer develops, the passageway is blocked, narrowing the colon and resulting in bowel stricture.
3. Cancer of the abdomen: Cancer that appears in this location begins to press against the colon, narrowing the opening and limiting the flow.
4. Individuals with rectum cancer exhibit a rectocele, or protrusion through the dorsal wall of the vaginal area. Constipation results from the same response, which is a constricted colon tract.

Many bodily problems might result from an unhealthy lifestyle; such as:

1. Consuming low-fibre foods does not increase the roughage needed to force stools out.
2. Hard stools result from dehydration caused by insufficient water intake.
3. Lack of exercise won’t help the stools move around.
4. Excess dairy products: consuming a lot of cheese, milk, or dairy products.
5. Stress

Hormonal causes: Our bodies secrete hormones that help maintain a healthy balance of bodily fluids. Constipation is a symptom of illnesses brought on by hormone imbalance. Which are:

1. Diabetes
2. Hyperparathyroidism
3. Pregnancy (third trimester)
4. Hypothyroidism

Weak pelvic muscles: Trauma or injury to the pelvic muscles that control bowel movement will also result in chronic constipation. The following will be connected to these:

1. Anismus: This occurs when the muscles in the pelvis don’t seem to relax enough to permit bowel movement.
2. Dyssynergia: This condition develops when the relaxation and contraction reflexes of our pelvic muscles are improperly coordinated.

Neurological issues: The colon and rectum will contract if there is any nerve-related issue in the area around the rectum, making it difficult to empty the bowels. Most cancer patients first develop intestinal stricture, however neurological issues that induce constipation can mostly be attributed to these causes:

1. When the nerves that regulate body processes are harmed or impaired, autonomic neuropathy occurs.
2. In cases of multiple sclerosis, it might be challenging to maintain regular bodily processes.
3. Parkinson’s disease: It severely alters brain connections, causing a person to lose control over a range of motor abilities, including passing faeces.
4. Injury to the spinal cord: When this happens, the nerves around the spine may be impacted. Loss of control over motor functions and difficulty passing faeces will result from this.
5. Stroke: The likelihood of paralysis after a stroke is significant, making it difficult to regulate other physiological processes.

Treatment And Prevention

Constipation on its own is not a serious condition, but by making a few lifestyle adjustments, it can become a non-recurring issue.

1. Include a lot of fibre-rich foods in your diet, this will accumulate waste in your intestine.
2. Eat less processed foods and avoid dairy and meat products.
3. Drink plenty of water and fluids.
4. Exercise and be active.
5. Manage your stress levels.
6. Do not suppress the urge to pass a bowel movement.