The time necessary for complete digestion of food, from the moment of admission to the esophagus and ending with the act of defecation, normally does not exceed 72 hours. If this period is more than three days, and defecation passes with difficulty and is accompanied by pain, then this condition is called constipation. Such problems are noted in every second woman, and for men this figure is doubled( in one out of four).
Constipation problems in the form of constipation can be at any age, beginning with the first day of life and ending with the most advanced years. Depending on what caused difficulties with the timely evacuation of the intestine, they can be divided into:
- Habitual, lifestyle-related, reaction of the body to unusual conditions, nervous disorders.
- Functional for intestinal disorders.
- Caused by diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, anatomical abnormalities of the body.
Why do constipation begin and what should I do?
Any violation of the process of forming stools and their progress can lead to problems with stool. The main factors why there are constipation are:
- Muscular activity disorder.
- No urge to empty the bowels.
- Pathological changes in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, which do not allow normal movement of the intestinal contents.
- The changed ratio of the volume of intestinal contents to the capacity of the large intestine, which does not correspond to the normal process.
To determine what causes constipation, it is necessary to understand how the process of formation of stool masses occurs before they are released outward. Stirring of incoming liquid contents occurs in the initial section of the colon. At the same time, water and nutrients are absorbed into the circulatory system. The middle compartment serves to accumulate, form and remove faeces. The essential role of the rectum in defecation is that the feces, getting into the bowel, stretch it and, irritated receptors of the mucous membrane, push the feces out.
The vertical position that a person takes when getting up from bed causes pressure of fecal masses on the lower sensory parts of the rectum and provokes the urge to defecate. The absence of a normal stool, while the patient continues to consume food, leads to the accumulation of fecal matter, which is absorbed into the blood and circulating throughout the body, causing it to be poisoned. Accumulating in connective tissues, fecal slags weaken the immune system. At the same time, the load on the kidneys, heart, liver, lungs, skin begins to increase significantly, creating tension in their work.
The most common reason why constipation occurs is food( nutritional) factors. Monotonous, mainly flour or meat food, a small amount of it, a violation of the diet leads to the beginning of constipation. Infringement of intestinal peristalsis is promoted by insufficient quantity of a liquid, a dry food rigid poor-quality water. Why constipation begins in a person can be explained by a violation of the coordination of various types of motility, when spasms arise in one place, and atony develops in another. With violations of intestinal motility, its motor activity and primarily in the sigmoid colon becomes unproductive. Constant inhibition of the movement of fecal masses along it provokes a delay in the stool. At the same time, slowing the transit of feces contributes to additional absorption of water, leading to compaction of stool, a decrease in its volume.
Reduced motor activity leads to an atonic type of stool delay, and convulsive contraction of the intestinal wall to spastic constipation. Stomach motility is depressed by depression, depletion of nerve receptors, part-induced consumption of laxatives or enemas, deliberate suppression of urge to defecate when a person is in unsanitary conditions or shy of publicity. Reduced volumes of fecal matter, due to inadequate nutrition, lack of the necessary amount of chemical pathogens, also affects the weakening of motility.
Why do atonic constipation appear? This may be due to severe infectious diseases, severe exhaustion, lack of physical activity, and also are characteristic of older people who have given birth to many women. Why does a person have constipation of a spastic character? There is a wide variety of answers to this question. The causes may be:
- The onset of inflammatory processes or the development of ulcers in the digestive tract.
- Response of the diseased organ of the abdominal cavity and primarily of the genitourinary system.
- Reflex fear of pain during defecation, with cracks, hemorrhoids, ulcers or scars in the rectum.
In case of violations of the endocrine glands, menopause, failures occur in their work, which explains why constipation begins. Professional poisoning with substances when working with them, poisoning with nicotine or narcotic substances, as well as eating foods that contain a lot of tannic astringents, which is constipation, is also noted in a large number of people. Among the reasons why there is constipation, you can call diseases of the reproductive system in women and men, as well as the presence of such diseases as cholecystitis, kidney stone disease and the like.
To eliminate the reflexive stool delay, it is very important to establish the source of this reflection. In this case, diseases of the nervous system, such as cerebral circulatory disorders, infectious viruses or chronic progressive diseases of the nervous system, quite often serve as a source, from which constipation occurs. Sometimes difficulties with defecation begin in people who lead an active lifestyle, and use a sufficient amount of fiber.
The explanation of why and what constipation occurs in adults, in this case can be covered in the use of certain medications, primarily diuretics, pain medications, and medications for the treatment of diseases of the cardiovascular system. Problems with difficulty in emptying the intestines can cause antidepressants, narcotic and psychotropic drugs, drugs that are taken to normalize the acidity in the stomach.
What constipation in pregnant women explains the hormonal changes in the body leading to a decrease in the activity of the intestine. In addition, the growing volume of the uterus presses its weight on the intestines, destabilizing its work and causing delays with the stool. Emphysema of the lungs, obesity, heart failure lead to weakness of the muscles of the diaphragm and abdominal wall, which increases intra-abdominal pressure during defecation.
Why there are constipation?
Answers to the question of why constipation is formed is very diverse, starting with the muscular weakness of the nervous overstrain and ending with a violation of the habitual pattern of defecation, the so-called tourist syndrome. What causes constipation in an adult and why the chair stays in the child, the reasons can differ significantly. For example, why there is constipation in an adult? The most likely causes may be:
- Increased muscle sphincter tone, abdominal hernia or weakened muscular apparatus of the pelvic floor or abdominal wall.
- Irritable bowel syndrome, conscious suppression of urge to defecate.
- Mental diseases, leading to malfunction of the intestine.
Why there are constipation in adults? A special group of causes are stool disorders associated with taking medications. The most common drugs, the use of which increases the risk of difficulty in bowel movement, can be called:
- containing calcium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide;
- antispasmodics;
- anti-inflammatory non-steroid drugs;
- antidepressants;
- codeine, morphine and derivatives of these drugs;
- means against ulcers;
- preparations for the treatment of epilepsy;
- antibiotics, as well as anti-adrenergic drugs and antihypertensives;
- anti-tuberculosis drugs.
Therefore, using these or other drugs from these groups, you should carefully read the instructions. Especially it concerns those who have a predisposition to the development of functional stool delays. Finding out why constipation occurs, you can start treatment. If the cause of problems with timely evacuation of the intestines is food, then you need to change the diet. The fact is that with malnutrition, the main place in the diet is starchy food with a small content of vitamins and minerals. Mixed with protein products, such food leaves a kind of scum in the diverticula of the large intestine, which is gradually transformed into stool stones.
Increase in the diet of foods high in fiber, their consumption in raw, rough form, as well as fresh juices, cold carbonated drinks, will help stabilize the situation. Why drug treatment of constipation is desirable to strictly dose? Doing this is necessary in order not to provoke further weakening of the muscular tone of the intestine. With the weakening of the abdominal muscles in the elderly or as a result of bed rest, special physical exercises and a lifestyle change to a more active one, including an increase in the time spent in the fresh air, are recommended.
At the beginning of psychogenic constipation, it is necessary to eliminate provoking factors and conduct symptomatic therapy. If the stool retention is a secondary sign, then the primary disease is treated first. In any case, self-medication is allowed only in case of errors in nutrition, and in all others it is necessary to consult a doctor. The doctor will determine why and what constipation is, and prescribe a qualified treatment.