Often in elderly people with prolonged inflammation of the mucosa of the large intestine, necrosis of the nerve fibers of the mucous membrane of the hollow organ occurs. This phenomenon reduces peristalsis and leads to the formation of long constipation. This is how atonic colitis develops. The reasons for its appearance are well known.
Most often, a sedentary lifestyle leads to such conditions, chronic atonic colitis can provoke prolonged intake of laxatives or potent purifying enemas. They wash out the intestinal microflora, and it ceases to cope with its basic functions.
Many days of constipation can occur because of psychological problems. Often, peristalsis is reduced after the transferred infectious diseases and after a sharp weight loss. To develop atonic colitis is also possible against the background of disturbance of water balance and / or compliance with a diet consisting of products that are fully absorbed by the body.
Characteristic features of atonic colitis
Because of impaired motor activity of the large intestine, the hollow organ inside gradually becomes filled with calves, they harden and stone, a fecal obstruction is formed, which can be eliminated only by powerful cleansing enemas.
Normally a person should be emptied once a day, when chronic atonic colitis develops, the patient for a few days does not even feel the urge to defecate. And if he tries to go to the toilet himself, without laxatives and enemas, he can not do it. Solid feces injure the intestines and anus. There are cracks, hemorrhoids, in feces while detecting blood clots.
The following characteristic symptoms of atonic colitis are added to prolonged constipation:
- Bloating.
- Gas formation.
- Flatulence.
- Pain in the abdomen.
A filled intestine can provoke intoxication of the whole body, a person experiences mild nausea, has a fever, with time the pale skin appears, despite a good appetite, the patient constantly loses weight. All these manifestations lead to a decrease in the standard of living, to the appearance of weakness, rapid fatigue.
How to treat atonic colitis?
It is the absence of emptying the intestines for three days and indicates that atonic colitis is developing, treating it is reduced to diet compliance. Restoration of peristalsis is promoted by the use of puree-shaped food, foods with a high content of coarse fiber, raw fruits and vegetables. It is important to learn how to eat by the hour, as much as possible to shorten the time between two meals and not allow long hungry pauses.
In addition, treatment of atonic colitis involves an increase in motor activity. It is useful not only to just go out and walk along the street, but also do physical exercises aimed at strengthening the press. It is important to daily massage the abdominal wall. Conventional circular movements with a warm hand clockwise promote recovery of motor-evacuation functions of the intestine.
Then, when the diet does not help, the treatment of atonic colitis is done using medication. What can appoint a patient?- Means that can eliminate the symptoms of the disease. It can be:
- Spasmolytics that relieve pain.
- Laxatives, softening the stool mass.
- Means that improve peristalsis( Proserin, for example).Rectal suppositories that form the urge to defecate.
- Oil enemas, which help to remove stool masses accumulated in the rectum.
Physicians pay attention to the fact that if you find any of the above symptom, you can not engage in self-treatment. And all because the indicated signs can be signs of other, more dangerous diseases, such as cancer of the large intestine. Therefore, it is so important in time to seek help from specialists and to identify the cause of the formation of the same long constipation. And afterwards to start the treatment itself. To prevent atonic colitis, you can use the whole range of preventive measures. What do we have to do?
Effective prevention of atonic colitis
There is a certain set of measures, the observance of which helps to prevent chronic atonic colitis. It is not difficult to list them:
- First, you need to walk more, walk, strongly move and develop the muscular skeleton of the abdominal wall.
- Secondly, it is necessary to enrich your daily diet with vegetable fiber and dairy products.
- Thirdly, when the first long constipation occurs, it is important that once a day before meals, there are bran, one teaspoon, boiled in a glass of boiling water.
- Fourthly, it is useful in the morning before eating to drink a glass of yogurt, in which a spoon of vegetable oil is added.
Please note! Intestine very quickly gets used to laxatives, so it quickly stops working independently. It is by no means necessary to abuse these drugs. Timely treatment of atonic colitis helps to quickly restore the evacuation functions of the large intestine, and neglected, severe cases are treated with difficulty.