CONSTIPATION
1. Acute Constipation
Description: Sudden onset of constipation, often short-term.
Causes:
Dietary changes (low fibre, inadequate hydration).
Lack of physical activity.
Side effects of medications (e.g., opioids, antacids).
Stress or travel.
Symptoms: Infrequent bowel movements, straining, hard stools.
2. Chronic Constipation
Description: Long-term constipation lasting for weeks or more.
Causes:
Chronic dehydration or poor diet.
Sedentary lifestyle.
Underlying medical conditions (e.g., hypothyroidism, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome).
Neurological disorders (e.g., Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis).
Symptoms: Persistent difficulty passing stools, bloating, abdominal discomfort.
3. Functional Constipation
Description: Constipation without an identifiable physical or structural cause.
Causes:
Dysfunction in the colon or rectum.
Pelvic floor dysfunction.
Slow transit of stool through the colon.
Symptoms: Infrequent stools, straining, sensation of incomplete evacuation.
4. Secondary Constipation
Description: Constipation caused by an underlying medical condition or medication.
Causes:
Medications (e.g., opioids, anticholinergics, calcium channel blockers).
Metabolic or endocrine disorders (e.g., hypothyroidism, hypercalcemia).
Structural issues (e.g., tumors, strictures).
Symptoms: Similar to chronic constipation, but linked to a specific cause.
5. Idiopathic Constipation
Description: Constipation with no clear cause, often resistant to treatment.
Causes: Unknown, but may involve abnormalities in the nervous system or intestinal muscles.
Symptoms: Severe and persistent constipation without an identifiable reason.
6. Travel-Related Constipation
Description: Temporary constipation caused by changes in routine during travel.
Causes:
Disruption in diet or hydration.
Lack of access to restrooms.
Stress or jet lag.
Symptoms: Infrequent bowel movements, discomfort.
7. Obstructive Constipation
Description: Constipation caused by a physical blockage in the intestines.
Causes:
Tumors, hernias, or scar tissue.
Impacted stool.
Symptoms: Severe pain, inability to pass stool or gas, bloating.
8. Pelvic Floor Dysfunction (Outlet Constipation)
Description: Difficulty evacuating stool due to improper coordination of pelvic floor muscles.
Causes:
Weak or uncoordinated pelvic muscles.
Rectocele or prolapse.
Symptoms: Straining, sensation of blockage, incomplete evacuation.
9. Lifestyle-Related Constipation
Description: Constipation caused by poor lifestyle habits.
Causes:
Low-fiber diet.
Inadequate fluid intake.
Lack of physical activity.
Symptoms: Hard stools, infrequent bowel movements.
10. Medication-Induced Constipation
Description: Constipation caused by certain medications.
Causes: Opioids, antacids, antidepressants, iron supplements.
Symptoms: Reduced bowel movements, hard stools.
11. Psychological Constipation
Description: Constipation linked to mental health issues.
Causes:
Anxiety, depression, or stress.
Fear of pain during bowel movements (common in
Symptoms: Avoidance of bowel movements, stool withholding.
12. Age-Related Constipation
Description: Constipation more common in older adults.
Causes:
Reduced mobility.
Side effects of medications.
Age-related changes in digestion.
Symptoms: Infrequent stools, straining.
13. Pregnancy-Related Constipation
Description: Constipation during pregnancy due to hormonal and physical changes.
Causes:
Increased progesterone levels.
Pressure from the growing uterus.
Symptoms: Difficulty passing stools, bloating.
14. Habitual Constipation
Description: Constipation caused by ignoring the urge to defecate.
Causes: Busy schedules or lack of access to restrooms.
Symptoms: Infrequent bowel movements, hard stools.
COLITIS
When a person has colitis, their colon lining becomes inflamed, which leads to symptoms such as:
Diarrhea
Abdominal pain
Blood in the stool
Urgency to have bowel movements
Fatigue
Sometimes fever
Over time, ulcerative colitis can lead to other complications, such as severe dehydration, a perforated colon, bone loss, inflammation
of your skin, joints and eyes. It can also increase your risk for blood clots and colon cancer.
Excessive Gas and Bloating
Consuming gas-producing meals, swallowing air, experiencing stress, and having gastrointestinal ailments like irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, or inflammatory bowel disease can all lead to an increase in flatulence.
When stool becomes backed up in the large bowel, it may lead to discomfort and bloating. Additionally, excess gas can build up behind the stool, worsening the bloating.
BAD BREATH
A bowel obstuction is when your small or large intestine is blocked, causing servere constipation and bloating. the blockage traps fermented foods and waste in your intestinal tract. Consequently, the odour emitted from these materails travel upwards to your mouth and causes your breath to smell like fecces.
SUGAR CRAVINGS
- You can’t go with out sweets for more than one day.
- You get irritable when you don’t eat sugary foods.
- You crave sugary foods even when you are not hungry.
- You eat sugary foods even when you are trying to lose weight.
- You feel tired and sluggish after eating sugary foods.
Pathogenic gut bacteria feed on sugar as one of their nutrient sources so that the craving is really the bacteria signaling it wants its food to multiply.
Start Your Wellness Journey
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