Constipation refers
to irregular bowel movement and difficulty to pass stool. The stool is often
hard and dry. Constipation can happen for various reasons, such as when stool
passes through the colon too slowly. The slower the food moves through the
digestive tract, the more water the colon will absorb and the harder the feces
will become. People with a high intake of dietary fiber are less likely to
experience constipation. The normal period between bowel movements varies
widely from person to person. Some people have three times a day. Others have
them just a few times a week. Not passing stool for longer than 3 or more days
without one, though, is usually too long. After 3 days, your poop gets harder
and more difficult to pass.
Though occasional
constipation is very common, some people experience chronic constipation that
can actually interfere with their capability to go about their daily tasks.
Chronic constipation may also cause people to force excessively in order to
have a bowel movement and to expel waste product from body. Chronic
constipation has many possible causes, various reasons are blockage in rectum
and colon, problems with nerves around the colons and rectum, difficulty with
the muscle involved with the elimination, some of hormonal disbalance can also
cause constipation like hyperparathyroidism, hypothyroidism, diabetes,
pregnancy, antacid medication which have calcium or aluminium content, physical
inactivity, consuming lot of dairy products and fast food, Parkinson's disease,
spinal cord injury, colon cancer.
SYMPTOMS: -
o Passing less than three stools
in a week
o Irregular bowel movement
o Having lumpy or hard stools
o Too much of flatulence
o Feeling of not completely empty
the stool from your rectum
COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSTIPATION: -
o Hemorrhoids: - Strain during irregular and
hard bowel movement might cause swelling in the veins in and around your anus.
o Anal fissure: - Anal fissure is actually
painful experience. The pain even might last for days. A large or hard stool
can cause tiny tears in the anus.
o Fecal impaction:
- Chronic
constipation may cause build-up of hard stool that might stuck in your
intestines and rectum.
o Rectal prolapse: - Strain from hard and
irregular bowel movement might cause a small amount of the rectum to stretch
and protrude from the anus.
