Immediate Constipation Relief

Constipation occurs when bowel movements become less frequent and stools become difficult to pass. It is due to changes in diet or routine, or due to inadequate intake of fiber. Call your doctor if you have severe pain, blood in your stools, or constipation that lasts longer than three weeks.

Though occasional constipation is very common, some people experience chronic constipation that can interfere with their ability to go about their daily tasks. Constipation may cause people to strain excessively to have a bowel movement.

Bowel movements are spaced at a different rate for different people. Some people have them three times a day. Others have them just a few times a week. Going longer than 3 or more days without one, though, is usually too long. After 3 days, your stool gets more difficult to pass.

Symptoms of Constipation

• Passing fewer than three stools a week
• Having lumpy or hard stools
• Straining to have bowel movements
• Feeling as though there is a blockage in your rectum that prevents bowel movements
• Feeling as though you can’t completely empty the stool from your rectum
• Need help to empty your rectum, such as using your hands to press on your abdomen and using a finger to remove stool from your rectum

What are the Causes of Constipation?

• Blockages in the colon or rectum
• Tiny tears in the skin around the anus
• A blockage in the intestines
• Problems with the nerves around the colon and rectum
• Spinal cord injury or stroke
• Difficulty with the muscles involved in the elimination
• The inability to relax the pelvic muscles to allow for a bowel movement
• Pelvic muscles that don’t coordinate relaxation and contraction correctly
• Weakened pelvic muscles
• Conditions that affect hormones in the body
• Diabetes, pregnancy, or hypothyroidism

What are the Complications of Constipation?

Before constipation worsens, ensure to seek immediate help from your doctor or modify your diet. The 4 complications of constipation include:

1. Hemorrhoids
2. Anal fissure
3. Fecal impaction
4. Rectal prolapse

How to Diagnose Constipation?

• Blood tests
• An X-ray
• Examination of the rectum and entire colon
• Evaluation of how well food moves through the colon
• Scintigraphy
• An X-ray of the rectum during defecation
• MRI defecography

Immediate Treatment for Constipation

• Eat fiber-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables
• Drink lots of water as hydration improves symptoms of constipation
• Take laxative. It works by squeezing the intestines.
• Get some exercise to improve your metabolic rate

Treatment for Constipation

Your doctor may recommend laxatives and dietary changes. For chronic constipation, you can take any of the following:

• Esomeprazole magnesium
• Rabeprazole