POOPING PROBLEMS
Yes people get poop problems from time to time
What is poo? Poo is a colloquial term related to feces that means a waste product secreted by an animal through the anus by way of the digestive tract during the final act of digestion, which is defecation.
Although there is no singular term for feces, its etymological origin suggests it was derived from the Latin word faex (pronounced as fece), which means “dregs”. Other modern terms related to feces are dung, doo doo, turd, number two, dump, shit and crap. The last two are considered as profanity and would be used in modern language to curse or cuss. Medical terms related to feces are stool and excrement. Meconium, or merconium, is a newborn baby’s first feces.
Going to the toilet can sometimes be such a chore. It’s either you can’t or there’s just too many to poo. There are also many different problems that may occur during pooping. Some of them are disease-related and some are parasitic related. Either way, they greatly affect our doo doo.
The two most common pooping problems that occur to humans would be diarrhea and constipation. Diarrhea is a digestive condition that makes people release loose or liquid feces three or more times a day. It is considered as one of the common causes of death in developing countries and the second most common cause of death among infants.
In scatology (“scat” for short), there are several types of diarrhea that was classified. Secretory diarrhea is when there’s an increase in secreting feces and sometimes expelling poo continues even without food intake. Osmotic diarrhea happens when there’s maldigestion and there’s just too much water expelled with the feces. Exudative diarrhea occurs when there’s blood or pus in the feces due to inflammatory bowel diseases. Motility-related diarrhea occurs when food moves too quickly in the intestines, resulting to frequent secretion of watery poo. Inflammatory diarrhea occurs when there’s bacterial, parasitic or viral infection.
When there is blood in feces, there’s a likelihood of invasion in the bowel tissue and therefore, it is dysentery. Dysentery is a common symptom of salmonella, shigella and entamoeba histolytica infection.
Diarrhea can be cause by ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, chronic ethanol indigestion, celiac disease, microscopic colitis, parasites (Giardia), viruses, food allergies (lactose intolerance, fructose intolerance, et cetera), irritable bowel syndrome, bile acid malabsorption and bacteria.
Vaccines, proper diet, proper hygiene (frequent hand washing) and drinking purified or distilled water (with electrolytes) can help prevent diarrhea. Taking medications such as loperamide can help regulate secretion of feces.
There are easy ways to relieve diarrhea without making any drastic moves. Just follow the BRATTY (bananas, rice, apple, toast, tea and yoghurt) diet. Eating bananas, which is rich in potassium, have help balance starch and sugar in the body, to create firm feces. Plain rice can also solidify poo. Apples or applesauce are natural thickening agents that are great sources of pectin and therefore can toughen watery poo. Decaffeinated tea (green or black) can help regulate bowel movement. Toasted wheat bread without butter or anything can help solidify poo. Yoghurt has live microorganism that will help regulate poo.
Another most common pooping problem would be constipation. A constipated person has difficulty relieving him or herself of poo. Bowel movement is infrequent and feces are hard to pass from the anus, which can be painful at times. Severe or chronic constipation includes fecal impaction or bowel obstruction and obstipation (inability of gas or feces to pass through the digestive tract).
A person suffering from constipation would have symptoms such as infrequent bowel movement (three or less times of poo secretion in a week), a feeling of incomplete expulsion of poo, and straining to release poo during defecation, resulting to expelling hard feces. Causes of constipation are categorized into primary, secondary and congenital causes.
The most common causes of constipation are not life threatening. These includes insufficient intake of dietary fiber, insufficient intake of fluids, hypothyroidism, obstruction by colorectal cancer, side effects of medication and less physical activity. Sometimes, when people control themselves from pooping, this can also cause constipation. Expelling poo can be influenced by psychological problems such as fear of pain, fear of public toilets or just plain laziness. When poo is withheld, water or moisture that usually accompanies feces will decrease, resulting to hard poo. Taking laxatives, fiber and fluids can help overcome constipation.
Constipation can be prevented. Children suffering from inability to expel poo can benefit from scheduled toilet breaks, usually in the morning or thirty minutes after meals. Taking the correct amount of dietary fiber everyday can help release poo easily. Increase of fluid intake and having sufficient physical activity or exercise can also help. Regular poo breaks can also be achieved by taking supplements.
Taking laxatives regularly to relieve poo is discouraged since bowel movements may be dependent upon taking it. If taking laxatives such as milk of magnesia is really needed, it is safe to consult a physician for the proper dosage. Enemas are a useful treatment as a mechanical stimulant to relieve of poo from the rectum only and not way inside the intestinal tract.
Bowel management may sometimes be recommended to empty the colon of feces and/or prevent uncontrolled defecation. Controlled diet with a dose of laxatives is a part of the bowel management process. Each process is tailored after a person’s case of bowel movement, either its diarrhea or constipation. Children suffering from chronic hypermotility, or inability to hold their poo because of their overactive colon, are likely candidates for this process. Children who suffer from chronic hypomotility, or inability to release poo successfully, and would sometimes have soiling episodes are also probable candidates for this process.
Fruits such as papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, prunes, figs and apricots can help prevent or treat constipation. They are excellent sources of nutrients and dietary fiber. Vegetable are also a great source of fiber. Legumes or beans such as garbanzo, kidney beans, pinto and canella can help loosen up poo. Vegetable like asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots, cabbage, peas, squash, green beans and artichoke hearts can also help clean the poo passages. Flaxseed, brown rice, barley, whole grain breads and high fiber breakfast cereals are also recommended by nutritionists for those suffering from poo problems.
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