Constipation

Constipation and its causes are a collection of diseases that are very important to health providers around the entire globe. Constipation is a global health problem affecting more than 12 percent of the entire world (that is, people who have on average less than three bowel movements per week). Constipation means different things to different people. Some consider constipation difficulty passing stool, having hard stool, infrequent bowel movements, or a feeling of partial clearing after a bowel movement. Treatment of symptoms varies depending on region and culture.

Constipation is twice as common in Americans and in Asian Pacific Islanders as in Europeans. Of the 720 million people who suffer from constipation, one quarter of these people do nothing to try to alleviate their symptoms. These people would rather just wait and hope their symptoms go away by themselves. The main reason for not treating their constipation is myths about what treatments are safe and effective.

Some common treatments for constipation in America are the use of dietary fiber, lubricant laxatives, saline laxatives, stool softeners, exercise regimens, surgical procedures, and some prescription medications like tegaserod, lubiprostone, or orlistat. In less Westernized countries, it is more common to treat constipation simply by just changing dietary habits. This includes adding certain foods that may help with constipation. Some of these foods are bananas, honey, pears, prunes, walnuts, pine nuts, seaweed, cabbage, bran, flax seed, licorice root, rhubarb root, dark green vegetables, and other certain chlorophyll-rich foods.

A large majority of people with constipation try to first treat their constipation by changing dietary intake, even though it has been shown through extensive research that nutrition and lifestyle do not necessarily affect the incidence of constipation. Increasing dietary fiber and fluids will not necessarily provide effective relief from constipation. One of the safest and most effective treatments of constipation is the use of contact laxatives.

Asia Pacific Islanders have one of the highest incidences of constipation in the world (17 percent), and their use of laxatives is one of the lowest; less than 20 percent effectively treat their constipation with laxatives. Americans, on the other hand, who have the highest use of laxatives (40 percent), are still not effectively treating their constipation with useful laxatives. It is up to healthcare providers to give good suggestions on how to treat constipation and to dispel myths about its treatment.

There are many different treatments for constipation, just as there are a many different causes of constipation. Constipation is a sign or symptom that can be associated with certain diseases or side effects to medications. Some common causes of constipation in the United States are personal habit (not wanting to use the restroom in public), chronic overuse of stimulant laxatives causing dependence, and pelvic floor dysfunction. Some common medications that cause [Page 448]constipation are narcotic pain medications, some anti-depressants, some anticonvulsants, iron supplements, some calcium channel blockers, and some antacids. Constipation in other countries is typically caused by certain hormonal disorders, colonic diseases (diabetes, cancer, intestinal obstructions), and some central nervous system diseases.

Constipation is a worldwide problem that is easily detectable and treatable, yet there are still a large number of people who live with constipation without any relief. If healthcare providers continuously screened for constipation in routine exams, then gave patients suggestions for treatment, the amount of people who suffer from this problem could be decreased significantly.

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