Constipation is a common disease that can occur in any subject and age. It seems simple, but it has a significant impact on daily life, especially when suffering from chronic diseases. So why does this condition occur and how to prevent it?
1. What is constipation?
Constipation is an abnormal condition of the digestive system, when bowel movements do not occur regularly. That is when you feel that defecation becomes difficult, lasting for several weeks or longer. If you have 3 or fewer bowel movements in a week, you may have this difficult-to-say condition.
Most cases of the disease appear in a short time, without causing any serious health problems. But if the condition persists, it can become a chronic disease, causing discomfort for the patient.
In addition, the elderly and pregnant women are also 2 groups that are susceptible to constipation.
Constipation is a common digestive disorder today.
2. Causes, symptoms
Causes
- Constipation can occur due to many reasons, the main causes can be listed as follows:
- Holding back on defecation: for some reasons, we still hold back defecation when we feel like going to the toilet, while the intestines continue to work, absorbing too much water in the large intestine, making the stool dry and hard.
- Diet: A diet lacking in fruits and vegetables, and a lack of water in the body also makes it more difficult for us to defecate.
- Changes in habits and lifestyle: when traveling, or changing the living environment, living habits that the body has not yet adapted to, can also cause digestive disorders.
- Effects of certain drugs: when using certain drugs to treat other diseases, such as depression, can cause constipation as a side effect. Or when the patient abuses laxatives too much to the point of dependence on the drug, it will also make the intestines more difficult to function than normal.
- Suffering from other diseases: Chronic constipation can occur due to other diseases such as anal fissures, rectal prolapse, intestinal obstruction, colon cancer, etc.
Taking antidepressants can lead to difficulty passing stools.
Symptoms
This disease causes discomfort for the patient, regardless of whether it is a child or an adult, making it more difficult to play, study, or work. Common symptoms are:
- Going to the toilet less than 3 times a week.
- Hard, dry, loose stools.
- Abdominal pain, bloating.
- Feeling that the stool has not been completely expelled.
- Bleeding during or after defecation.
- Nausea, loss of appetite.
3. Harmful effects of constipation
Usually, constipation that appears in a short time is not worrisome and does not pose a danger to the body. This is a common phenomenon, and appropriate treatment measures can be applied to improve this condition. However, the disease still causes certain harmful effects on the body, making you feel tired and uncomfortable, hindering daily work and affecting the quality of life.
The condition will be more serious if the condition lasts for several weeks and can become chronic. Chronic disease can lead to a number of complications such as:
- Hemorrhoids: pressure to push stool out and difficulty in defecation for a long time accidentally gradually swells the veins, causing hemorrhoids.
- Anal fissures: difficulty in defecation makes stool hard and dry, easily causing tears in the anus, which can cause bleeding.
- Stool retention in the colon: chronic constipation can cause part of the stool to get stuck, stagnant inside the colon, unable to pass.
- Rectal prolapse: when you have hard stools and try to defecate, this can cause a small part of the rectum to stretch and protrude out of the anus.
The disease causes negative effects on daily life.
4. How to prevent the disease
Because of the inconvenience and difficulties caused by constipation in daily life, each of us wants to be able to prevent and not suffer from this unspeakable condition. You can prevent it with the following methods.
Increase physical exercise
This is an activity that helps increase intestinal motility, massages intestinal function, and effectively restores intestinal digestive function. Activities such as walking, cycling, running or swimming can help you significantly improve the condition.
Create a toilet habit
Creating a toilet habit is very important, helping the body create a biological clock for defecation. You should try to form a habit of defecation, preferably in the morning after waking up (5-7am), which is the best time for the intestines to detoxify.
Review the medication you are taking
If you are suffering from other medical conditions that require medication, but the medication causes constipation as a side effect, you should contact your doctor immediately. You should seek advice from your doctor about the side effects of the medication, whether to replace it with another medication, or what is the most appropriate remedy.
Add more fiber, drink more water
First, you need to increase the amount of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables in your daily meals. At the same time, you should also limit canned foods, dairy products, and meat, as they are foods with low fiber content. You also need to drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration and to stimulate bowel movements.
Increase fiber-rich foods in your diet
Constipation is a common disease that anyone can encounter, even encountering it frequently, causing a significant impact on the quality of life. This article has helped readers better understand the causes, harms and effective prevention measures for this condition. However, when the disease progresses more severely and cannot be treated with home methods, you need to seek medical intervention.