Intestinal Well-being And Natural Laxatives
For idiopathic constipation, there are a handful of FDA approved medications available by prescription. Sufferers may also turn to conventional high fiber therapy.
There is a final therapeutic possibility known as home-based or natural remedies to treat the condition. It is important that note that although they are not classified as medications, improper use can lead to dangerous health effects. Furthermore, before taking any herbal or natural treatments, the user would be well-advised to investigate claims as to their efficacy.
Before reading the following, please keep in mind what you read is not medical advice but was written solely for educational and medical purposes. In fact, it’s impossible that this article be useful for diagnosis of anyone’s particular condition. Furthermore, products are mentioned in this article not for endorsement, but for educational value.
The class of constipation known as chronic idiopathic constipation is somewhat mysterious because it is only defined in terms of its symptoms, but the causes are, by definition, unknown. If the cause can be found, then it would lose the idiopathic label and become one of several classes of diseases, e.g. rectal prolapse, dyssynergia.
To begin, we must consider that physiological characteristics vary from person to person, such as height, weight, metabolism and more. Among these varying characteristics is the idea of bowel regularity. For the entire life of some, having a bowel movement is mandatory once per day. For others, ever since their childhood they have found that it’s not unusual to go for several days without having a bowel movement. Despite such differences, doctors have come to a broad consensus known as the Rome Criteria, which is a set of conditions that a patient must satisfy to be diagnosed with chronic constipation.
The disease may be hard to define, but after diagnosis, the patient is fortunate to be able to select from three kinds of treatments. The first kind is rather mundane, known as high fiber therapy. Diagnosis and success of treatment go hand-in-hand. The second kind is to turn to federally approved pharmaceuticals, e.g. laxatives, 5-HT inhibitors, and anthraquinones. The number of new medications continue to increase. The third kind is for the patient to try home-based and natural remedies for constipation.
Natural treatments may sound safe, however they should be treated with utmost caution like FDA-approved medicines. For one, correct dosage has never been tested in a scientific way. For another, there are no standards of purity to which a manufacturer must adhere as the natural treatment is not claimed to be a real medicine.
Given these caveats, there are indeed some remedies which are based on either common ingredients (such as mineral oil) or herbs that have a long history of being used for treatment in constipation (such as senna). The natural treatments can roughly be divided into kinds. One kind belongs to what are known as stimulant laxatives. These natural laxatives chemically induce motion in the colon, as well as retain water to help propel the contents to expulsion. Examples of these include the senna laxative, derived from the senna plant. Previously the cascara plant was used as a natural laxative, but its dangers became known to the FDA and it was banned entirely.
The other type of natural laxatives include prune juice, mineral and castor oil. Each of these seem to have an effect of increasing water retention. The oils likely coat the digested food mass to prevent fluid loss. Whereas the sorbitol of prune juice cannot be digested and therefore acts like a bulk, fiber material that absorbs water. Water seems to have the effect of helping the contents move swiftly through the gastrointestinal lumen. Indeed prunes are one of the main ingredients in the homemade laxative known as Beverly-Travis.
Just because such products are available for consumption without the need for a prescription doesn’t mean they are safe. If a patient is intent on trying them, it should be done with the help of a physician who understands the patient. If such natural treatments end up working for any patient, then he and his doctor should be congratulated.
Some of these ideas were graciously supplied by a site on natural laxatives. Discover the newest research and writings in regards to purchasing homemade laxatives.
Processing your request, Please wait....
