Constipation
in adults
- In
the USA, more than $800 million is spent on laxatives
each year
- Constipation
results in more than 2–5 million visits to
doctors in the USA each year
- About
4,500,000 people in the USA say they are constipated
most or all of the time (National Health Interview
Survey)
- In
a UK survey, 6% of people said they had suffered
from constipation in the past year, 13% had difficulty
in passing their faeces at least once a month and
19% took laxatives at some time
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Are
you really constipated?
Constipation is difficult to define. What one person regards as constipation,
another person may regard as normal for them. So try the following questions.
- Do
you have to strain to pass faeces at least one time in
four?
- Are
your faeces lumpy or hard at least one time in four?
- Do
you feel that you haven’t emptied your bowel completely,
at least one time in four?
- Do
you pass faeces only once or twice a week?
If you
answered ‘yes’ to two or more of these questions,
and you have had the problem for more than 3 months, then
you do have constipation.
Alarm
signals
Constipation is usually just a nuisance. There is no scientific evidence that ‘toxins’ from
faeces in the bowel can affect your health. However, very occasionally it is
a sign of serious disease such as cancer of the colon (large bowel). So it
is very important that you see your doctor if any of the following applies
to your symptoms. (If this is difficult for you, have a look at Seeing
your doctor about an anal problem.)
- Your
constipation is a new symptom, and there is no obvious
reason for it.
- It
is severe and changing your diet hasn’t helped.
- The
constipation alternates with diarrhoea.
- You
have noticed other symptoms, such as bleeding from
the back passage (even if you think this is caused by
piles), passing slime from the back passage, tummy pain,
weight loss, and/or pain in the back passage when you
strain to pass faeces.
- Anyone
in your family has had colon cancer.
You should
also see your doctor if you are a woman and find that putting
a finger in the vagina helps to pass a stool, because this
may mean a weakness in the supporting tissues (known as
a ‘rectocele’). This is not dangerous, but
can be treated by a gynaecologist.
An underactive
thyroid is an often overlooked cause of constipation, so
see your doctor if you are also chronically tired, over-sensitive
to cold, gaining weight or have thinning hair.
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