Constipation

Constipation is a widespread and very common condition. Constipation affects up to 30% of the population, with women twice as likely as men. Irritable bowel syndrome can also present itself as a constipation.

The disease affects the large intestine and the rectum and can be roughly divided into 3 groups as follows:

1. Ecological constipation
2. Anorectal constipation
3. Ideopathic constipation

Ecological constipation is a "slow transit constipation", which means that the large intestine, which takes its name from the thickness of the stool, has to remove water from the stool for too long by too slow passage of the stool through the intestine. This includes all diet-related causes, such as too little fiber and too little fluid intake, too little exercise, too long bowel with normal or delayed passage, all drug-related constipation and also hormonal causes, such as hypothyroidism, but also all nerve disorders of the nerve plexus of the colon.

In the anorectal obstruction "outlet obstruction" there are various causes to a voiding disorder. Bottlenecks, impaired motor skills, sensitivity or coordination, or even a prolapse of the rectum, intussusception or a rectocele can play a role.

In the case of ideopathic constipation, there is no medically detectable pathology in the colon or rectum. The shape is very common. In addition to the often very unpleasant symptoms such as bloated stomach, hard and painful bowel movements, several other diseases can also be caused by constipation & nbsp; and increased pressing occur such as hemorrhoids, anal fissure, anal or rectal prolapse, diverticulosis / diverticulitis, coprostasis, intestinal obstruction.

A special or extreme form of constipation is the so-called paradoxical diarrhea: a very compact stool is followed by liquid stool. This phenomenon is often combined with an imperative to defecate and is therefore extremely unpleasant. Those affected are very often significantly impaired in their progress because they no longer dare to leave the house. What the patients report to the doctor is not the constipation, but the annoying diarrhea. If the patient is not asked exactly here, the treatment is fatally wrong and constipating drugs are prescribed with the result that the situation continues to worsen. Here, too, the therapy of choice is a high-fiber diet, adequate fluid intake and sufficient exercise. This means that both the urge to defecate and the diarrhea disappear and the fear of leaving the house quickly.

In order to avoid these "concomitant diseases" and to treat the constipation adequately, an effective therapy after a precise investigation of the previous history and a targeted investigation is essential for the treatment of chronic constipation.