What happens to your body when you have constipation?

Ever heard about constipation? Well, that’s actually the “fancy” medicine word for not pooping regularly, and is described as “ inability to pass hard stools whenever feeling the need to finish that task”.

For many people is a painful process, just because the muscles feel the need, though the task is not being fulfilled.

Let’s mention some of the main causes of constipation:

Bad diet – absence of fiber is the most common cause for constipation

Insufficient water intake –  water directly results the type of your stool, and with that, the ability to poop. Not enough water means your stool is too hard and you might feel pine if you need to go to the bathroom

Diseases – if this is the case, some metabolitical processes of your body are directly influenced by something else that’s going on. If you eat frequently, eat a lot of fiber, such as vegetables and fruits, exercise or walk regularly and still are unable to go to the bathroom, you should pay your doctor a visit.

Here are some of the risks that might happen to your body if you don’t poop regularly.

Lose your appetite

If you don’t poop regularly, you might feel the kind of loss for appetite, such as when you’re ill. This can be explained through the nervous system. Because the gut is a stretchy muscle, whenever you have a meal it stretches and it signals the brain that is full, so you don’t feel hungry anymore.

Then the brain sends the signal for the bowel movement, which makes the intestines send the food further down the gut. You can’t poop with an empty stomach, right? When you’re constipated, this “feedback process” is interrupted and not regular. Even if you’ve had your last meal hours before, you still feel full!

Headaches

Mostly, headaches are connected with stress. Well, because regular pooping is a basic function of our metabolism and body, the disrupted function subconsciously stresses out the whole body, making it more stressed, worried and cramping. Your whole body feels tensed, as well as your head.

Also, if you are among the people who have hard stool, this could be as well a result of dehydration. Another cause that could lead to headaches is the increased level of toxins that didn’t got out, because you’re constipated. Even if you feel full, just drink more water to prevent your headaches.

Fecal incontinence

This term actually means that you’re no longer in control of your bowel movements and it’s the most common effect of being constipated. What actually happens is a physical blockage that makes the colon muscles to stretch.

This condition can be threated with taking some laxatives, or you can also try doing some exercises that could strengthen your pelvic muscles, as well as your weakened bowel muscle contractions. 

Impaction

When you fail to “pop a squat”, the stool sticks somewhere I the intestines, resulting to a physical blockage. The regular contractions sent by the brain to the large intestines to squeeze with some amount of force to get the stool out doesn’t actually work, because the stool is hardened and stuck. Normally, this is a painful process and some people even pay a visit to the hospital, for treatment, such as enema.

an*l fissures

This medical term actually refers to the teared up an*l tissue that is being forced to push out the stool. It can lead to bleeding, itching and can even worsen the whole constipation. The fissures are regularly very tiny, but can expand, due to the fact they are positioned on the an*s, which is a stretchy muscle.

This condition is more common among the children, who, afraid of the pain, push and hold the stool not to be released. If the condition worsens and the fissures get quite bigger, it might even require surgery to heal.

Rectal prolapse

The re*tum is the ending of the an*s. It is the inside part that due to force stretching can partly come out, or even sometimes, the whole re*tum can come out. Normally, as the other symptoms, it is painful and results in bleeding, which is another problems – you can’t sometimes differ it from hemorrhoids.

Bladder control

The organism is a one whole, so when one organ or process is disrupted, it affects the surrounding organs. Such as the bladder in this case, which is very near to the colon. When the colon is full it puts extra pressure on the bladder and you could feel more frequent need to urinate than usually.

Hemorrhoids

The most connected word with rectal problems and constipation is definitely hemorrhoids. What happens is the following: the veins that line the re*tum are more pressured than usual during constipation, thus they stretch beyond their capacity and change their usual shape. Sometimes they can even pop out from the an*s.

Hemorrhoids can be internal and external and when you squeeze further more, they can pop and cause bleeding and pain. The worse that could happen is a big hard bump, which can even lead to surgery.

Bad breath

A study made in Denmark concluded that constipation can lead to occurrence of bad breath. The connection between the two is not very clear, but the theory is that during constipation, you retain toxins, which can occur in your breath, making it smelly, such as the smell from gas.

CONCLUSION

The best prevention for constipation is maintaining a healthy life style, such as a diet rich in fiber, frequent exercise, using your legs more than your car and drinking enough liquids – mostly fresh water. If you do this and still don’t poop regularly, visit your doctor for a regular check up.

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