The importance of keeping it regular [Weekly Dose Of Wisdom]

Have you ever had the feeling that you want to go but couldn’t? As the day goes by, the intensity of the urge builds up but you still can’t make it happen. Fast track to 2 days later, the urge is still very real and you start to feel the pain and bloating as a result. Nothing seems to be working. The harder you push, the more painful it becomes. I’m quite certain everyone has experienced this at least once in their lifetime. In fact, one of the most common health conditions that I come across in my line of work is helping patients manage constipation. You’ll be surprised about the number of people I’ve had to advise on how to keep their bowel motions regular on a daily basis. Whether it is caused by a medical condition, a habit, medication-related or simply a lifestyle matter, constipation is much more common than you could imagine. The problem usually becomes more common as people age with approximately one-third of people aged over 60 years experiencing constipation. So why is it important to keep your business regular and do something about it when you do experience a blockage? The answer is simple, your body needs to get rid of waste and when your bowel motions are not regular, your body isn’t able to eliminate the waste as efficiently as it needs to. It is important to bear in mind that everyone moves food through their bowels at various speeds. While it can be common for some people to poop 3 times daily, there cannot be a standard frequency of bowel motion to measure against because what is normal for some might not be for others. It is important to listen to your body and gauge what is normal and what is not according to your body.

There are many reasons why you could become constipated. However, regardless of the reason, constipation is a result of either: (1) your digestive system is not moving your digested food fast enough and hence causing a backlog of poop traffic in your intestines or (2) if you don’t have enough fluid in your body and the large intestines don’t have enough water to soak up from your food waste and hard stools form which are difficult to pass. 

Being constipated once in a while is common and nothing to worry about besides the discomfort it brings. However, when your bowels are not moving for a long period of time the amount of waste will build up accordingly and it raises your chance of developing some unwanted complications.

The complications usually occur in places where the stool leaves your body. When you are constipated, the development of haemorrhoids can be an unwanted side effect. This is because when you push hard in the bathroom, the veins around your rectum and anus may swell. This swelling of veins is called haemorrhoids and can be relatively itchy and painful. Haemorrhoids are usually not life-threatening but the level of discomfort can be truly frustrating and excruciating especially when you have no other options but to strain.

Besides the possibility of forming haemorrhoids, there is also a chance that the straining from constipation can tear the tissue around your anus (anal fissure) causing itchiness, pain, and bleeding. The problem with anal fissure is that it can create a vicious cycle where the difficulty of going to the bathroom can be enough to make you want to hold in your stool and hence making constipation worse.

In severe cases, constipation can lead to bowel obstruction due to piling up of waste which blocking the small and large intestines. In other words, digested food can no longer move through the body due to the backup of stool. A sign of this can be manifested by the breath that smells like poop. To stop yourself from getting to this stage where both ends are affected, constipation must not be taken lightly and should be addressed as soon as possible before it becomes chronic.

Two things I always tell my patients that they could do immediately with regards to managing constipation is to drink plenty of water every day and be as active as possible. When you are not moving around much, your digestive system also becomes slack and not moving to pass your digested food through to your intestines at a desirable speed. The slowing of peristaltic movement is usually one of the culprits of constipation. Furthermore, dehydration can make stools a lot harder when combined with inactivity. This is because water is crucial for the functioning of your digestive system. It keeps the food you eat moist and soft for it to move through your intestines with ease. If you are a person who loves your tea and coffee and usually have a few cups a day, you need to keep hydrated because tea and coffee are both natural diuretics that can make you dehydrated if you don’t replenish yourself with sufficient fluid. By sticking to this rule, you might find yourself getting things moving again.

Obviously, as with everything in life, the management of constipation can often be a lot more complicated than just being physically active and hydrated. Many other factors can be involved when someone is constipated. Medication and medical condition related constipation need to addressed by your doctor with input from your pharmacist. Talk to your pharmacist if you ever experience constipation because we can help identify whether your constipation is a result of your medications or not.

To regular trips to the loo!