Constipation affects about 13 million Italians: 9 million women and almost 4 men. The western lifestyle, with its frenetic rhythms and a diet low in waste, contributes heavily to the onset of constipation. However, incorrect living habits are not the only risk factor, often at the origin of constipation there are far more important problems such as the prolapse of the terminal part of the intestine. But what exactly is constipation? what are the causes and the remedies to fight it?
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When a person suffers from constipation he reports a delay or insufficiency in the evacuation of the stools. However, these are subjective feelings that often vary from person to person. In medical language we speak of constipation when in the last year a person has suffered at least two of the following symptoms for at least 12 weeks, not necessarily consecutive (ie in 25% of cases):
- reduced number of weekly evacuations (<2)
- difficulty and effort in evacuating
- presence of hard, goat or ribbon-like stools
- feeling of blockage / anorectal obstruction
- manual help (manual emptying, compression on the back wall of the vagina)
In the adult population constipation affects mainly the elderly and women (almost four times more than men). In children, constipation is more frequent in males (2: 1). In newborns and in early infancy, in the presence of very distant evacuations, we cannot speak of real constipation. It is in fact a physiological condition linked to the almost complete absorption of the nutrients contained in the mother's milk and to the consequent poor production of waste.
Causes of Constipation
If the symptoms of constipation are quite varied, the causes of origin are even more numerous. Anorectal pathologies (haemorrhoids, rhagades, rectocele, etc.), nervous diseases, drugs and functional pathologies that affect the intestine (colitis, diverticulitis, etc.) are just some of the most common causes of constipation.
In the absence of a specific disease, one speaks instead of chronic idiopathic constipation which may be due to:
- Incongruous diet (slimming, anorexic, diabetic, celiac)
- Sedentary lifestyle (reduced motor activity of the colon)
- Pregnancy (dislocation of the colon from the uterus, hormonal changes that relax the muscles of the gastrointestinal tract)
- Irritable bowel syndrome
Diagnosis, when to seek medical attention
Determining the exact cause of origin is the first step towards treating constipation. Only in this way can the therapy be targeted and give its best results.
The patient should seek medical attention when constipation has persisted for some time and when it suddenly arises or is accompanied by other symptoms (abdominal pain, bleeding, asthenia, familiarity with colon cancer or fever).
An indicative diagnosis can be made by interpreting the symptoms of constipation: small (goat), shiny stools, constipation alternated with diarrhea, a feeling of incomplete emptying and pain resolved by defecation are for example typical symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Thin or ribbon-like stools accompanied by a feeling of incomplete emptying and pain during defecation are instead indicative of an anorectal pathology (hemorrhoids, fissures, rectocele, etc.).
Finally, when constipation is responsible for abdominal pain associated with the absence of the stimulus to defecation and to evacuation of hard and small stools, it could be organic stenosis (cancer, chronic inflammation, chronic ischemia, endometriosis, hernias, ovarian neoplasms, of the uterus).
In any case, a correct diagnosis cannot do without more detailed investigations. Among the most used diagnostic tests in the presence of constipation we recall:
- colonoscopy:
- double contrast barium enema (used above all in the case of recent onset constipation and / or accompanied by symptoms such as fever, bleeding, abdominal pain);
- study of intestinal transit times;
- defecography;
- anorectal manometry.
Constipation cures and remedies
To learn more: Drugs for the Treatment of Constipation and Natural Remedies
The treatment of constipation must first of all cure the pathologies or conditions that cause it. We must not forget that constipation in itself is only a symptom that can be the expression of various diseases.
From what has been expressed so far, there cannot be a universal remedy to combat constipation and neither therapies so powerful as to solve a problem that has often persisted for years in a few days.
When at the origin of constipation there is no specific pathology, it is important to go to act on the diet and lifestyle. The "do it yourself" remedies are absolutely to be avoided, or worse still the imitation of constipation therapies undertaken by friends or relatives.
