Let's talk about shit
Jun. 18th, 2010 11:12 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dezaNo, really, I mean it. Excrement, dung, ordure, night soil, stool, poop, caca, turds, crap, number 2, poo-poo, shit. Get your inner 12-year-old out now, folks.
Most people experience constipation at one time or another. Constipation is technically defined as passing stool fewer than three times a week; passing hard, dry stool; or having to strain excessively to have a bowel movement. Poor diet, medications, lack of exercise and dehydration are common causes, as are certain medical conditions such as IBS and pregnancy. It hits women more than men, children more than adults, and people who have limited mobility more than anyone. Like it or not, odds are at some point in your life you'll be stopped up. Straining to poop can result in hemorrhoids, fissures, fistula, or rectal prolapse. So what do you do about it?
Over-the-counter laxatives generally work in one (or more) of five ways. Bulk-fiber draws more water into the stool, so it's larger, softer and easier to pass. Lubricants, generally suppositories, coat the the passage to make it easier for a hard or dry stool to slide through. Stool softeners mix more water into the stool, so it comes through more easily. Saline draws water out of other tissues and into the bowel, both softening the stool and lubricating the intestinal lining. Stimulants cause the bowel muscles to contract, squeezing stool out. Overuse of stimulant laxatives can make the muscles lose tone and forget how to work on their own.
Now, what do you do if the OTCs don't work?
Well, there's digital manipulation. Yes, you read that right - stick in a finger and dig out what you can. If there's a hard stool blocking the rectum, technically called fecal impaction, digital removal is a way to get it out. People with spinal problems where the nerves controlling bowels are compromised often have to resort to this. Oddly enough, while Medicare will provide coverage for catheters for folks who need them, they won't cover surgical gloves for the people who need to use the digital method. What is wrong with those bureaucrats? Actually, I'd want to gloves for cathing, too, just as a precaution against UTIs. That's just me, though.
Then there's massage. Massage of muscles in the lower abdomen (and to a lesser extent, the lower back and buttocks) relaxes muscles around the bowels, increasing blood flow and bowel activity. People at high risk for constipation, such as pregnant women, can benefit from regular appropriate massage to help keep body systems flowing regularly. More vigorous massage can encourage an impaction to move through the bowels at a faster rate.
Certain acupuncture techniques stimulate the colon and bowel movement. Acupuncturists recognize four broad categories of constipation: heat, qi stagnation, cold, and qi/blood deficiency. Heat and qi stagnation respond well to acupuncture. Cold and qi/blood deficiency respond slowly to acupuncture, and have better response to herbal treatments.
If nothing else, serious constipation needs to be treated by a doctor. Chronic constipation, defined as 12 weeks of constipation within a 12 month period, can be a sign of serious medical concerns including certain cancers. Diagnostic tests include barium enema x-rays, defecography, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, anorectal manometry and marker studies.
Most people experience constipation at one time or another. Constipation is technically defined as passing stool fewer than three times a week; passing hard, dry stool; or having to strain excessively to have a bowel movement. Poor diet, medications, lack of exercise and dehydration are common causes, as are certain medical conditions such as IBS and pregnancy. It hits women more than men, children more than adults, and people who have limited mobility more than anyone. Like it or not, odds are at some point in your life you'll be stopped up. Straining to poop can result in hemorrhoids, fissures, fistula, or rectal prolapse. So what do you do about it?
Over-the-counter laxatives generally work in one (or more) of five ways. Bulk-fiber draws more water into the stool, so it's larger, softer and easier to pass. Lubricants, generally suppositories, coat the the passage to make it easier for a hard or dry stool to slide through. Stool softeners mix more water into the stool, so it comes through more easily. Saline draws water out of other tissues and into the bowel, both softening the stool and lubricating the intestinal lining. Stimulants cause the bowel muscles to contract, squeezing stool out. Overuse of stimulant laxatives can make the muscles lose tone and forget how to work on their own.
Now, what do you do if the OTCs don't work?
Well, there's digital manipulation. Yes, you read that right - stick in a finger and dig out what you can. If there's a hard stool blocking the rectum, technically called fecal impaction, digital removal is a way to get it out. People with spinal problems where the nerves controlling bowels are compromised often have to resort to this. Oddly enough, while Medicare will provide coverage for catheters for folks who need them, they won't cover surgical gloves for the people who need to use the digital method. What is wrong with those bureaucrats? Actually, I'd want to gloves for cathing, too, just as a precaution against UTIs. That's just me, though.
Then there's massage. Massage of muscles in the lower abdomen (and to a lesser extent, the lower back and buttocks) relaxes muscles around the bowels, increasing blood flow and bowel activity. People at high risk for constipation, such as pregnant women, can benefit from regular appropriate massage to help keep body systems flowing regularly. More vigorous massage can encourage an impaction to move through the bowels at a faster rate.
Certain acupuncture techniques stimulate the colon and bowel movement. Acupuncturists recognize four broad categories of constipation: heat, qi stagnation, cold, and qi/blood deficiency. Heat and qi stagnation respond well to acupuncture. Cold and qi/blood deficiency respond slowly to acupuncture, and have better response to herbal treatments.
If nothing else, serious constipation needs to be treated by a doctor. Chronic constipation, defined as 12 weeks of constipation within a 12 month period, can be a sign of serious medical concerns including certain cancers. Diagnostic tests include barium enema x-rays, defecography, sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy, anorectal manometry and marker studies.
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(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-18 03:59 pm (UTC)One of the cute guy's airmen was involved with a group that swore by colonic irrigation.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-18 10:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-19 02:11 am (UTC)Okay I'll stop now.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-19 02:14 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-20 07:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-21 09:49 pm (UTC)I've been to the ER for serious constipation. NOT FUN. Docs are sure I have Crohn's, given that I can get constipated and THEN sick week after week after week, but - no time to deal with that now :(