Best Chronic Constipation Treatment - Dr Sonali Gautam
Chronic constipation is infrequent bowel movements or difficult passage of stools that persists for several weeks or longer.Constipation is generally described as having fewer than three bowel movements a week.
Blockages in the colon or rectum
Blockages in the colon or rectum may slow or stop stool movement. Causes include:
- Anal fissure
- Bowel obstruction
- Colon cancer
- Narrowing of the colon (bowel stricture)
- Other abdominal cancer that presses on the colon
- Rectal cancer
- Rectum bulge through the back wall of the vagina (rectocele)
Problems with the nerves around the colon and rectum
Neurological problems can affect the nerves that cause muscles in the colon and rectum to contract and move stool through the intestines. Causes include:
- Autonomic neuropathy
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Spinal cord injury
- Stroke
Difficulty with the muscles involved in the elimination
- Problems with the pelvic muscles involved in having a bowel movement may cause chronic constipation. These problems may include:
- Inability to relax the pelvic muscles to allow for a bowel movement (anismus)
- Pelvic muscles don’t coordinate relaxation and contraction correctly (dyssynergia)
- Weakened pelvic muscles
Conditions that affect hormones in the body
Hormones help balance fluids in your body. Diseases and conditions that upset the balance of hormones may lead to constipation, including:
- Diabetes
- Overactive parathyroid gland (hyperparathyroidism)
- Pregnancy
- Underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism)
Treatments
- High Fiber Diet
- Addequate water intake
- Daily Excercise
- Laxatives
Consult your doctor if the above measures doesn’t help you in reliving your constipation as you may need further evaluation.
Risk factors
- Factors that may increase your risk of chronic constipation include:
- Being an older adult
- Being a woman
- Being dehydrated
- Eating a diet that’s low in fiber
- Getting little or no physical activity
- Taking certain medications, including sedatives, narcotics, some antidepressants or medications to lower blood pressure
- Having a mental health condition such as depression or an eating disorder