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Gastroenterology and Health

Purgatives, laxatives

It's Time to Start Constipation Anonymous

By Dr. W. Gifford Jones

Heraclitus was a shrewd observer of humans. In 530 B.C. he wrote "There is always a majority of fools". Barnum and Bailey added centuries later, "There's a sucker born every minute". That may explain why every year millions of dollars are spent on laxatives that cripple normal bowels. So it's time to start "Constipation Anonymous".

For centuries people of all nations have embraced phobias about their bowels. The early Egyptians recommended purging at every cycle of the moon. The Romans prepared strong cathartics of rhubarb. The Greeks administered mixtures of aloe, the Arabians senna leaves.

Even as recently as the 1930's Sir William Arbuthnot Lane believed patients who retained fecal material in the large bowel would absorb poisons. Lane claimed these toxins could cause symptoms ranging from premature senility to falling hair.

No wonder Mothers raced for purgatives for themselves and their children. It boggles the mind that today there are over 700 products available for treating constipation!

Some people have good reason for constipation. Antacids, calcium supplements, diuretics and antidepressants can result in a lazy bowel. Cancer patients requiring large doses of painkillers usually suffer from constipation. And increasing constipation sometimes alternating with diarrhea, may be an ominous sign of intestinal cancer.

"Constipation Anonymous" would stress that faulty lifestyle is the primary culprit. It's members would also have to realize there's a major difference between alcohol and laxatives. Not all social drinkers become alcoholics. But people who reach regularly for laxatives become hopelessly addicted to them.

The medical journal "Modern Medicine" reports that constipated individuals are more likely to reside in the southern states, live in rural areas, are in the lower economic bracket and have had nine years or less of education.

These people are often victims of TV ads that stress the need for once a day regularity. But bowels don't move like clockwork. A bowel routine that is normal for one person may be abnormal for another.

Failure to realize this fact sets the stage for laxative addiction. A laxative is reached for at every minor bout of constipation. The true cure would be simply waiting patiently. Instead the laxative cleans out the bowel so completely that another movement couldn't take place the next day.

But when it fails to do so, often another laxative is taken. This vicious cycle never stops and the "lazy bowel syndrome" begins. The intestinal tract becomes dependent on drug stimulation. And in extreme situations patients develop what is known as a "cathartic colon", an inflammatory disorder resembling ulcerative colitis.

The stress associated with today's fast pace also contributes to sluggish bowels. I realize it's tough to say to the president at a critical point in a meeting, "Pardon me but I have to have a bowel movement". And if you're sitting on an aircraft during delayed takeoff and the washrooms are locked the bowel have to wait.

But some people get lazy and a tend to postpone a bowel movement for no good reason. By ignoring nature's call the bowel becomes overdistended, causing a gradual decrease in sensation and finally the neglected and overdistended bowel sends no further signals.

By the time doctors see these patients suffering from chronic constipation it has become a management nightmare. Breaking this powerful cycle presents the same difficulty as breaking any addiction. And it may take months or years to re-educate the bowel.

Sidney Howard, a playwright, wrote that, "Half of knowing what you want is knowing what you must give up before you get it". If you're on the way to chronic constipation this means there's only one cure. You must get rid of faulty bowel habits.

The best time to have a bowel movement is in the morning. This often means getting up earlier so there's no need to rush out the door without breakfast. Enjoy a relaxed meal along with a hot drink. This will help to stimulate what's known as the "gastrocolic reflex" whereby food in the stomach stimulates the large bowel.

Then make it a ritual to sit on the toilet every morning after breakfast even if there's no urge to do so. In time the gastrocolic reflex may eventually shift into gear triggering the sensation to defecate.

Remember too that constipated bowels are often associated with constipated minds. Active, constructive people generally have normal bowels. The muscles of the large intestine appear to remain in better shape when the other muscles of the body are "worked".

Next week, how we can learn a lesson from the battleship King George V.


W. Gifford-Jones M.D is the pen name of Dr. Ken Walker graduate of Harvard. Dr. Walker's website is: Docgiff.com

My book, �90 + How I Got There� can be obtained by sending $19.95 to:

Giff Holdings, 525 Balliol St, Unit # 6,Toronto, Ontario, M4S 1E1

Pre-2008 articles by Gifford Jones
Canada Free Press, CFP Editor Judi McLeod