Constipation can become a serious problem if not treated on the right time. The sedentary life-style and wrong eating habits of people are responsible for constipation. Most of the people not have the exact knowledge of this disease. When you are facing difficulty to pass stools from several weeks or longer it leads to chronic constipation. In chronic constipation your bowel movements are infrequent. The main work of colon is to absorb water from residual food as it passes through digestive system. When the colon muscle work it throughout waste from the rectum but when the stool in the colon remain for too long it makes the stool hard & difficult to pass out. This is known as constipated bowel. Low fiber diet & inadequate water is the responsible for constipation. With constipation you feel stressed, energy gets low, & your overall activities are disturbed.
What are the Signs & Symptoms of Constipation?
The signs & symptoms may vary from patient to patient mentioned below in detail:
- Hard stools
- Lumpy stools
- The frequency of stool passing decreases three stools in a week.
- Felling it tough to completely empty the stool from your rectum.
- Presence of blockage in rectum that prevents bowel movements.
- Fingers are used for removing stool from rectum.
- When you need to empty your rectum you make pressure on your abdomen.
- Loss of appetite
- Rectal blockage
- Nausea
- Indigestion
- Hyperacidity
- Heaviness of body
- Abdominal pain
What are the Causes of Constipation?
The constipation is a common problem that occurs when waste or stool is not able to get eliminated or move too slowly through the rectum. There are different possible reasons for constipation mentioned below in detail:
- Bowel obstruction
- Colon cancer
- Anal fissure
- Rectal cancer
- Bowel stricture
- Abdominal cancer
- Rectal cancer
- Rectocele
- Pregnancy
- Lack of exercise
- Dehydration
- Low-fiber diet
- Certain medications like pain killers, calcium, & antacids
Who are at Higher Risk for Constipation?
The people that are at higher risk for constipation are:
- Lack of high fiber diet & not doing any work-out.
- At the age of 65 years or older than this are at higher risk of developing constipation.
- Pregnant ladies mostly have constipation due to hormonal changes & pressure on intestines.
- Certain medical condition like spinal cord injuries, fractures, etc that makes your bowel movement difficult.
What is the Ayurvedic view of Constipation?
In Ayurveda Constipation is known as “Vibandh” that causes disturbance of vata dosha in the body. The undigested food & occult stool accumulates in the stomach & large intestines that ultimately lead to constipation. When we don’t have take proper care of food & our health such type of condition take place.
Healthy Tips & Diet in Constipation
- Drink plenty of water & juices.
- Avoid eat fast & processed food items.
- Eat a diet rich in fiber like apple, papaya, carrot, bottle gourd, ridge gourd, spinach, tomato, turnip, radish, ripe banana, green leafy vegetables, whole grains, nuts, etc.
- Drink green coconut water daily.
- Avoid white rice instead of that you can take brown rice.
- Cold drinks, alcohol, meat, fried food, other beverages, ice creams, smoking, etc should be avoided.
- Take 2 to 3 figs soaked in a glass of water overnight. Early in the morning eat this on an empty stomach.
- In a glass of cow’s milk add a teaspoonful of castor oil & drink it at bed time.
- Do perform yoga poses like uttanasana, halasana, mayurasana, balasana, baddha konasana, pawanmuktasana, mandukasana, kumarasana, vakrasana, sarvangasana, etc.
- Also perform meditation to keep you stress free in constipation.
- You can also drink half cup of radish juice.