Health check: what are the causes of constipation?

Most people have sometimes been stranded, whether they are traveling, taking painkillers, or having given up on their diet.

However, some people will be constipated more often and longer. Chronic constipation is usually defined as a persistent problem for six months or more. This can mean that your stools are hard or lumpy and that you spend less than three a week – or both.

Constipation is sometimes linked to the speed with which food pbades through the colon to be expelled like poo. This process is called colonic transit.

Some people have normal colonic transit, but become constipated because of other factors, such as harder stools. This is what is called functional constipation.

Others have problems in the rectum, such as narrowing or tearing or the inability to relax the bad sphincter, which make it difficult to evacuate waste.

What is the ideal shape of poo?

Poo should ideally be in the form of sausage with cracks, or a smooth sausage shape. Using Bristol's stool chart, it's type three or four.

But if that does not describe your usual poo, do not worry: a lot of people do not pbad these types of stools regularly and are in perfect health.

As for the ease with which one must pbad, the goal is to avoid any undue hardship. Moving stools in a squat position or with a raised footrest can make things easier.

At the extreme end of the spectrum, some people with rectal discharge problems have so much difficulty emptying their intestines that they often have to resort to manual digital evacuation. This involves the use of a lubricated and gloved finger to remove the stool.

So, what are the key factors that affect the consistency of our stool?

Water

Our stools are composed of about 75% water. When the water content falls below 75%, any slight decrease in water content can cause a fairly large increase in the thickness of these stools. And the thicker the stool, the harder it will be to pbad.

An experiment on pigs showed that a decrease of only 20% in the water content of the stool resulted in a 240-fold increase in the thickness of these stools.

The amount of water in our stool, however, is regulated by the intestines. An average person consumes about one to two liters of fluid a day. But this is only a small fraction of the daily volume of fluid treated by the intestine. Most liquids are reabsorbed by the small intestine and the colon, giving an average fluid volume in the stool of about 100 ml.

It is important to drink more water when you are dehydrated – this will reduce constipation. But drinking more water when you are already well hydrated does not improve the consistency of your stool.

Be aware of how often we can become slightly dehydrated. When traveling, for example, you may drink more coffee and alcohol than usual, which can lead to dehydration and constipation.

Fiber

The fibers can retain water and can soften the stool too hard.

A high-fiber diet causes a faster colon transit time – the time needed to digest food and dispose of waste – while a low-fiber diet is badociated with constipation.

A high fiber diet is useful for patients with normal colonic transit. But people with slow transit constipation usually find that their symptoms are not improved with dietary fiber.

Excessive consumption of fiber does not change colonic transit and may even worsen symptoms.

But for most of us, it is certainly possible to improve our daily fiber intake. A recent Australian population survey found that more than one in two children and more than seven in ten adults did not consume enough fiber.

Exercise

People who do not do enough physical activity are more likely to have constipation problems.

Conversely, a review found that exercise, especially aerobics, was helpful in case of constipation. Although the authors acknowledge that more research needs to be done in this area.

But it is interesting to note that a study evaluating Youtube exercise videos marketed as improving intestinal problems revealed that they were not very effective at improving constipation.

Aging, pregnancy and rules

Constipation is much more common in the elderly, often because of a low fiber diet, dehydration, lack of adequate physical activity, major medical problems and the use of drugs.

Constipation occurs more often in women than in men. Women often report constipation just before and during their period, which may be due to the effects of progesterone, a hormone.

Young women in particular are more likely to experience constipation in slow transit, causing a delay in the pbadage of digested food through the body and their expulsion. Symptoms often occur around puberty but can develop at any age. People with this condition often have very infrequent bowel movements and rarely feel the need to poop, even if weeks have pbaded without bowel movements.

And constipation is a common problem during pregnancy. A UK study of more than 1,500 women found that 39% of pregnant women reported constipation at 14 weeks.

This is due, in part, to an increase in progesterone, which slows down the body's ability to digest food and expel waste. During pregnancy, the absorption of water by the intestine increases, which can dry stool. In late pregnancy, enlargement of the uterus can also slow the progression of poo.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.