BEWARE! CONSTIPATION SOMETIMES RINGS A BELL
“Digestive symptoms can be an indicator of a larger medical issue.
Be safe and see your GI doctor to be evaluated.” (Matthew Eidem, MD)
Constipation is simply defined as difficulty in defecation or passing
out stool. It is characterized by the expulsion of hard and dry feces and
reduction of defecation to less than three times a week. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain and (or)
bloating, straining and pain with bowel movements, and the
sensation of incomplete bowel after evacuation.
Between three per day and three per week; three to four per day;
and two to three per day is the normal frequency movements for the adults,
babies, and young children respectively. It is considered constipation if these
are less frequent.
What causes constipation?
1.
Primary/
functional causes: Constipation is a
symptom, not a disease. Being an older adult or a woman is a risk
factor for constipation. Other factors include insufficient dietary fiber intake, inadequate fluid intake, holding
stool for long periods even with the urge, and lack
of exercise.
2. Secondary/Organic
causes: Constipation may be the side effect of a medication (e.g., opioids, antidepressants, diuretics, & antispasmodics) Sometimes, it may also be the underlying factor of a
serious medical condition such as colon or rectum cancer. Others also include diabetes,
hypothyroidism, Parkinson disease, inflammatory bowel syndrome, celiac disease,
colorectal or ovarian cancer & diverticulitis.
Treatment
Constipation is always easier to prevent than to
treat. Adequate fiber and fluid intake, regular physical activity, responding
to the biological call to defecate, and adopting regular schedule for bowel
movement may both prevent and correct functional related constipation.
Bottomline
While backed-up stool
eventually passes, constipation may sometimes turn into a serious
situation. There are instances when
even the occasional constipation may be part of an underlying medical condition
as narrated under the organic causes above and hence a reason to see a
physician.
It is therefore advisable to see a
physician in case the following symptoms are associated with constipation:
1. If it occurred suddenly
2. Bloody stool
3. Severe abdominal pain, fever, nausea or
vomiting.
4. Have family history of colon cancer
By: Francis Owusu-Banahene, T/DR
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