Dysfunctional intestinal dysfunction, expressed in delayed release of stool for several days and petrification, may be the same in people whose body is weakened by some organic disease, or those who are practically or completely healthy. What is the cause of constipation and what are the main causes of this pathology? Is it possible to have constipation in adults who lead an active lifestyle?
The reasons for intestinal constipation in adults according to experts in the overwhelming majority of cases are a consequence of low activity in the "sedentary" way of life and the violation of the diet. In some people, the regular occurrence of constipation is associated with a disease such as alcoholism, which completely disrupts the functional action of the peristalsis of the digestive organs, and the body is prone to permanent dehydration. Possible stool delays can appear and against the background of psychological stress or discomfort situations.
In addition to the above main reasons negatively affecting the functioning of the digestive organs, the cause of constipation may also be related to objective factors, which are various pathologies of systems and organs that directly affect the course of digestive processes in the body. Difficulties during the act of defecation in adults can also arise due to the fact that malignant neoplasms develop in the gastrointestinal organs, or the patient has recently undergone surgical intervention. In addition, a possible cause of constipation can become and stool stones. These are hardened pieces of feces that adhere to the internal surface of the digestive organ and interfere with the normal act of defecation. As you can see, there are a lot of prerequisites that can provoke the appearance of constipation in the intestines, and they all have almost similar symptoms, but their effect on the patient's body, as well as the ways of treatment, are different. Therefore, each factor should be considered in more detail.
Possible causes of constipation
Most patients are concerned not with occasional, occasionally present, abnormalities in the functioning of the digestive system, but those that have acquired a permanent character, that is, they have become chronic. Experts note two main mechanisms for their development. First, the pathology can develop due to dyskinesia of the colon, that is, a violation of the tone of its walls due to hormones or disorders of the nervous regulation of the digestive organs leading to dyshexia. Secondly, a mechanism that provokes abnormalities in the functioning of the gastrointestinal system, which causes chronic constipation in adults, is a decrease in the sensitivity of the pelvic floor muscles and hypertonicity of the anal sphincter. Proceeding from these mechanisms of development of pathology, specialists distinguish several types of constipation, which, accordingly, arise for various reasons:
- Alimentary constipation in people with a rather active lifestyle is provoked by a deficiency in the diet of plant fiber. This leads to the fact that the fecal masses become compacted or insufficient in volume. Also, they can have this character and with frequent dehydration of the body;
- People who spend most of their time in conditions of reduced motor activity may have hypokinetic constipation. It occurs in representatives of "sedentary" occupations or in patients with prolonged bed rest;
- The cause of endocrine disorders of the stool are various hormonal disorders. These are malfunctions of the ovaries in women, and diabetes mellitus, and hypothyroidism of the thyroid gland;
- Toxic constipation in adults occurs because of prolonged intoxication of the body or abuse of certain medicines. In men or women working in hazardous production, chronic dysfunction develops as a result of persistent poisoning with chemicals;
- Reflex type of bowel disturbance is associated with diseases of the digestive system, its various departments. At them because of insufficiency of functions of bodies GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT digestion and deducing of food is broken. Influence on their functioning can be rendered also by pathologies developing in other organs;
- Mechanical constipation in adults occurs because an obstacle arises in the path of passage of stool masses.
Congenital pathologies that can cause a violation of the act of defecation in patients of adulthood are not noted, as they either are eliminated in the first years of the patient's life, or a person, knowing about his illness, lives with the amendment from childhood. There is also a special type of constipation that does not have obvious reasons for its occurrence. They are explained by the patient's psychological problems or pathologies in his nervous system. This kind of dysfunctional digestive disorders should be discussed separately, since recently it has become the main one for most adults. And it occurs with the same frequency, both in women and men.
Psychological causes of constipation
Many patients are interested in the causes of this type of pathology, and whether it is possible to get rid of it by restoring the habitual quality of life. A great importance of specialists in diagnosing neurogenic constipation is given to the analysis of the patient's mental sphere - the cause of the occurrence of pathological disorders of the stool. It is he who makes it possible to establish what the development of the disease may be related to. Patients with this type of bowel disease often have a certain focus of interest and attention to the problems of defecation. In this case, two situations are usually identified:
- Some patients with permanent constipation, the cause of which are neurogenic factors, are constantly trying to find new ways to normalize the stool. Their attempts, although they are neurotic hypochondriacal, still are quite adequate in this situation;
- Another part of people having the same problem, gets the obsession about normalizing the chair at any cost. They use a lot of laxatives to achieve the goal and are overly addicted to enemas. This, in turn, weakens the tone of the digestive organs and causes augmentation of constipation.
Such problems with a chair should be treated by a gastroenterologist under the supervision of a psychotherapist. Also, in order to normalize defecation, patients should fundamentally reconsider their lifestyle and learn to "walk away" from stresses that cause the appearance of pathology associated with disorders in the nervous system and change the diet, including a large number of vegetables and fruits containing vegetable fiber.
Also a frequent cause of constipation are many mental abnormalities. As a rule, such a pathology rarely begins with childhood. For the most part, it develops in middle age. Prerequisites for constipation are anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia and depressive conditions. This is due to the fact that people who have a history of these ailments, the urge to defecate often ignore, because of what they become dull and become more rare.