Due to slow intestinal peristalsis, constipation is much more common in the elderly than in the young.
When the elderly feel that they have defecation problems, they should first check whether they have the following alarm symptoms:
1. Defecation habits have changed greatly in a short period of time, such as sudden defecation difficulties, constipation, etc.
2. Blood in stool;
3. Stomach pain is obvious before and after defecation;
4. No reason for obvious weight loss;
When these situations occur, you must go to see a doctor to rule out whether there are other diseases such as tumors.
If there are no above alarm symptoms, don’t ignore constipation, difficulty in defecation and laborious defecation all have the risk of inducing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular accidents.
There are what reasons for constipation in the elderly?
Diet:
- Lack of dietary fiber in diet, such as vegetables, fruits and coarse grains, and excessive consumption of high-fat and high-sugar foods; Age increases, intestinal peristalsis slows down, constipation is easy to occur; Too little daily drinking water; If the teeth of the elderly are not good, they often choose softer food to eat. Lack of cellulose will easily lead to or aggravate constipation.
Improper medication:
Many people use laxatives to relieve constipation as soon as it occurs. If laxatives are not used properly, constipation may also be aggravated.
- If it is a laxative containing rhubarb or senna, it may cause intestinal mucosa and intestinal nerve damage and constipation is more serious. Some elderly people rely too much on lubricants such as Kaisailu to relieve it, which may affect intestinal sensitivity, over-dependence on drugs, affect normal defecation, and even lead to the situation that [there is no way to defecate without Kaisailu].
Missing Exercise:
Older people will have a sharp drop in activity or even no activity due to mobility difficulties or bed rest due to illness. This is very unfavorable to intestinal peristalsis.
- We should try our best to move more within our ability to promote intestinal peristalsis, which is very beneficial to relieve constipation. If you have to stay in bed because of illness, you can ask your doctor to give you drugs to relieve constipation.
Poor defecation habits:
Some people are used to defecating at home. When there is a tendency to defecate outside, they will want to hold back and go home to deal with it. In fact, this is not good. If the tendency to defecate is delayed for too long, the rectum will absorb the water in the stool, making the stool dry and causing difficulty in defecating. If this happens for a long time, it is very likely to interfere with the normal defecation habits.
Disease and drug effects:
- Some diseases, For example, stroke, diabetes and hypothyroidism may all lead to constipation. Therefore, if constipation occurs, you should seek medical treatment in time to eliminate constipation caused by the disease. Some antihypertensive drugs, antidepressants, antiallergic drugs, gastric mucosal protective agents containing calcium or aluminum, iron supplements, and some painkillers may lead to constipation. If there is constipation, you should consult your doctor to adjust the corresponding drugs.
How to recuperate?
Adjust diet:
- Increase the content of high fiber foods in your diet: Such as vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, Eat more nuts properly. If the original diet contains less dietary fiber, Suddenly starting a high-fiber diet may cause discomfort such as abdominal distension, Can gradually increase the content of dietary fiber. Drinking more water can promote intestinal peristalsis, It helps to maintain regular defecation habits. At the same time, drinking water can also promote the generation of defecation, For example, people who are used to defecating in the morning, If one morning you don’t feel comfortable, Can drink a glass of water, let the intestinal tract start to move, will quickly produce defecation, help maintain regular defecation habits. For people with kidney diseases, you can first ask the doctor how much water you can drink a day to avoid the burden on the kidney caused by drinking too much water. As for drinking what water. Light salt water will increase salt intake, which is not good for people with hypertension and heart disease. Honey water contains more sugar, which is not suitable for diabetics. Therefore, Dr. Clove’s advice is to drink plain boiled water.
Multiple Activities:
Besides improving constipation, it is also good for overall health. There are no restrictions on the forms of activities, such as fast walking, running, Taijiquan…
Any activity that you like without causing too much burden on your heart can be done.
Drugs:
If all the above methods have been tried, Constipation problem is still not solved, it is recommended to see a doctor in time. You can try probiotic preparations, or lactulose and other safe laxatives, minimize the use of Kaisailu, avoid the use of irritant laxatives containing rhubarb and senna leaves. If there is no effect, the doctor may carry out some examinations to find out the cause of constipation and carry out targeted treatment.
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