Master Zhang, who is in his 60s, is a retired bus driver. Due to the nature of his work, he usually needs to keep sitting for more than 10 hours. This has led to a series of occupational diseases such as lumbar spondylosis, cervical spondylosis, chronic constipation, Among them, chronic constipation, which is the most troubled by his life, so he usually uses sedal to promote defecation, which has been used for more than 2 years.
1 weeks ago, Master Zhang went to a friend's house to have a party and ate more big fish and meat. As a result, he did not expel stool for 3 days after returning home. Even if he used two squids, he did not have any effect. The abdominal pain and bloating were severe. The family hurriedly sent him to the hospital for treatment. Doctor conducted a flat abdominal examination for Master Zhang and found that his intestines had very serious gas accumulation. Considering that it was because the feces were too dry and blocked the intestines, he hurriedly underwent enema treatment . After the painful enema treatment, Master Zhang finally excreted a large amount of stool.
After treatment, Master Zhang's constipation symptoms quickly relieved, but he was afraid that he would have this phenomenon again, because he had obviously felt that the efficacy of laxatives for him had decreased recently, so he asked the doctor that he could not prescribe a more powerful laxative. Doctor explained that chronic constipation is an organic functional degenerative disease. Relying on drugs alone is not a long-term solution, because all laxatives will have adverse reactions. Patients with chronic constipation must combine the adjustment of their living habits while treating drugs to obtain safe and long-term therapeutic effects. The doctor then formulated a conservative treatment plan based on Master Zhang's actual situation. After a period of time, Master Zhang's chronic constipation was well controlled.
1. What is the pathogenesis of chronic constipation?
Chronic constipation is one of the common digestive system diseases. clinically manifests as reducing stool intention, wanting to discharge but not being able to discharge, time-consuming defecation, etc. At the same time, it can be accompanied by a series of discomfort symptoms such as abdominal pain and bloating, but these symptoms can be significantly relieved after defecation is improved. Chronic constipation is a common chronic disease in the elderly . Its incidence rate is as high as 20% among people over 60 years old, and the incidence rate among people over 80 years old even reaches about 40%. It is said to seriously affect the life treatment and physical health of the elderly, so it must be taken seriously.
There are many causes of chronic constipation in the elderly in clinical practice, which can be roughly divided into two categories: physiological factors and pathological factors, and the elderly often have multiple causes at the same time.
First, Intestinal peristalsis in the elderly is significantly slowing down . Studies have shown that with the increase of age, the intestinal peristalsis function of will gradually weaken, among which the deterioration of colon is the most obvious. The colon transmission time in the elderly is significantly longer, which is 2-3 times that of healthy adults. This causes the stools in the colon to remain in the colon for a long time, which leads to difficulties in excretion.
Secondly, The secretory function of the digestive system of the elderly gradually decreases weak. There are a large amount of intestinal fluid in the intestinal tract. These intestinal fluids can not only lubricate the intestinal tract, but also are an important substance that promotes food decomposition and absorption. study shows that the secretion function of intestinal epithelial cells in the elderly will weaken with age, which leads to insufficient secretion of intestinal fluid and loss of lubrication of the intestines. At the same time, it also weakens the intestine's absorption and decomposition of food, which in turn causes poor defecation .
3, Elderly people are prone to chronic diseases, which affects bowel movements . Many chronic diseases are prone to cause difficulty in defecation, especially chronic intestinal diseases, such as colon tumor , diverticulum , intestinal cavity stenosis or obstruction, etc. Secondly, some central nervous system diseases are also prone to affect intestinal function, such as stroke , Parkinson's, senile dementia and other . The elderly are the most common people with these chronic diseases, which also leads to significantly weakening of their intestinal peristalsis function.
Last, Elderly people take some medicines for a long time and can easily affect defecation . Many drugs are also prone to constipation, such as antidepressants, antiepileptic drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, calcium antagonists, diuretics, etc., and the elderly often suffer from hypertension, diabetes , chronic osteoar joint diseases, etc., and need to take these drugs orally for a long time, which will affect normal intestinal peristalsis.
2. What are the harms of chronic constipation to the elderly?
The harm of constipation to many people is only on difficulty in defecation, but in fact, long-term chronic constipation for the elderly is very affecting their health. However, these changes are mostly chronic changes, so they are very easy to be ignored.
1, easily induce depression and anxiety
Patients with chronic constipation due to long-term poor bowel movements, is prone to fear of bowel movements, resulting in excessive mental stress, which leads to adverse emotions such as depression and anxiety. At the same time, it can induce clinical manifestations such as sleep disorders , decreased attention , and in severe cases, it may even lead to mental disorders in the patient, seriously affecting the life treatment and mental state of the elderly.
2, it is easy to induce Cardous and cerebrovascular diseases
Constipation is a common cause of acute attacks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases . Many elderly people experience acute myocardial infarction, acute stroke and other serious diseases during the defecation process. This is because the elderly often exert excessive force during the defecation process, which leads to an increase in abdominal pressure, which in turn induces an increase in blood pressure and an increase in the oxygen consumption of myocardial muscles, which will further induce acute attacks of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases .
3, easily induce chronic intestinal diseases
Chronic constipation is the cause of inducing various intestinal diseases, such as hemorrhoids , chronic intestinal obstruction, rectal prolapse, etc. This is because chronic constipation can easily cause feces to stay in the intestinal tract, and long-term stimulation of the intestinal tract can easily lead to structural damage, which in turn causes intestinal lumen stenosis ; secondly, Because the elderly tend to hold their breath hard during defecation, it leads to increased intestinal pressure, blocking the blood stasis return of the intestinal tract, which leads to easily induce diseases such as hemorrhoids, rectal prolapse and other .
4, easily increase the risk of intestinal cancer
Research shows that patients with chronic constipation have a much higher risk of colon cancer than normal people. This is because feces are stuck in the colon for a long time, which can easily lead to increased secretion of various carcinogens. Moreover, due to the long-term contact between the feces and the intestinal mucosa, it is easy to cause changes in the intestinal structure , which in turn increases the chance of colon cancer in the elderly.
3. Do the following 5 points while using laxatives
Many patients with chronic constipation choose to use laxatives to quickly promote defecation, such as lactulose , Kaisailu, Maren Pills, etc., but relying solely on drugs is not enough, because laxatives can be taken for a long time, and many patients will find that the effect of laxatives is getting worse and worse. This is actually a manifestation of drug resistance. Therefore, while using laxatives, you must improve your own living habits, start from multiple aspects, and jointly improve intestinal function and defecation status.
1. Establish confidence and correctly understand chronic constipation
Many patients with long-term constipation are prone to adverse emotions such as anxiety and depression, and even have a sense of fear of constipation. This actually affects intestinal function very much. Therefore, it is very important to let patients fully understand chronic constipation and establish confidence in overcoming chronic constipation. recommends that patients with chronic constipation consult clinicians for relevant knowledge. Patients with abnormal emotions can appropriately receive anti-anxiety and depression treatment, thereby laying a good foundation for overcoming constipation .
2. Increase drinking water and enhance intestinal lubrication
Reduced intestinal fluid secretion is an important cause of chronic constipation. Therefore, patients with chronic constipation must increase their daily drinking water in moderation, with the total daily drinking amount of about 1.5-2L, which can lubricate the intestines and assist defecation .
3. Improve diet and increase dietary fiber
Reasonable dietary habits are effective measures to improve constipation. Patients with chronic constipation must reduce their intake of high-calorie, high-fat, and high-sugar foods, and avoid ingesting spicy and irritating foods. The diet should be light ; secondly, according to the "China Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Constipation" Recommended . The elderly should consume 25-35g of dietary fiber per day to effectively improve constipation . This is because dietary fiber can not only absorb and contain a large amount of water and retain it in the intestine, but also stimulate the intestinal wall and promote intestinal peristalsis. Therefore, the elderly should appropriately increase their intake of foods rich in dietary fiber, such as oats, buckwheat, corn and other coarse grains, or eat more mung beans , edamame, celery, bananas, cherries and other fruits and vegetables .
4. Moderate exercise to enhance intestinal peristalsis
Exercise is one of the important measures to promote intestinal peristalsis. Therefore, patients with chronic constipation must perform moderate exercise in daily life to assist in improving constipation. However, the elderly are mostly accompanied by bone and joint diseases and their exercise ability has decreased. Therefore, it is necessary to choose the appropriate activities based on their own activities. It is recommended to use slow aerobic exercises such as walking, Tai Chi , swimming, etc., and exercise for about 30 minutes a day to protect the safety of the elderly while exercising.
5. Scientific defecation, reject bad habits
Patients with chronic constipation must establish good defecation habits. First, try to try to defecate at morning or 2 hours after meals, because the activity of the colon is most active in morning and after eating, which helps defecate ; secondly, must avoid bad habits such as playing with mobile phones, reading books, and reading newspapers during defecation, reduce the impact of external factors on defecation, and focus on ; finally, cultivate normal working and rest habits, maintain a good sleep state, maintain a rhythmic life, quit smoking and drinking .
4. Summary
Chronic constipation is a common chronic disease in the elderly and seriously affects the physical health of the elderly. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the adverse consequences it may lead to; secondly, although the use of laxatives can quickly improve constipation, this does not fundamentally solve the problem. Patients with chronic constipation must cultivate their own good habits while using drugs, start from adjusting their mood, diet, exercise, bowel habits, etc., to improve their own living conditions. If necessary, you can consult professional doctors' opinions to effectively get rid of their dependence on drugs.
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