CONSTIPATION--HEMORRHOIDS
A regular daily movement of the bowels is necessary to health. Much of
the illness in the world might have been avoided if the victims had
taken better care of the excretory organs. One of the first questions a
physician asks a patient is, "How are your bowels, do they move
regularly every day?" In some cases that is the first time the patient
has thought of them, and he has to think some time before he can
remember just when and how often his bowels did move. Then perhaps he is
not sure. In a great many cases it is a routine practice with physicians
to give a "good cleaning out," that is, to give a thorough laxative.
Many times this is all the treatment required and in other cases it only
is combined with a little intestinal antiseptic to further carry out the
cleaning process.
The most common cause of constipation is irregularity in going to the
toilet. When the desire for defecation comes, we are too busy and
postpone it until some more convenient time, which time may be too late.
Nature is the best judge as to when the bowels are ready to be emptied.
If we do not obey her call, we must take the consequences. When the
waste material is ready to be voided, it is in a semi-fluid state, but,
if it remains in the intestines too long the water is absorbed and the
waste material is left in a hard mass which is expelled with difficulty.
Not only that, but the desire to expel it soon passes. Nature, finding
we do not respond to her call, ceases to notify us.
If the waste material is allowed to remain in the bowels, not only the
water is absorbed but with it some of the poisons from the waste
material, which are taken up by the blood and carried to all parts of
the system, causing a great deal of trouble and pain. This absorption of
toxins (poisons) causes headache, loss of appetite, a sense of
depression and a lack of energy.
The pressure of the hard material on the tender tissues of the rectum
causes hemorrhoids or piles, by irritating the tissues and causing a
congestion. Hemorrhoids are enlarged veins which have been so irritated
and filled with extra blood that they have lost their power to contract.
These enlarged veins may remain inside the rectum and then are known as
internal piles. Sometimes they protrude externally and then are known as
external piles. Frequently they become tender and cause a great deal of
pain. In some cases one of the little veins becomes so engorged with
blood that it bursts and allows the contained blood to escape. This is
known as bleeding piles. For mild cases of hemorrhoids (piles) the
treatment is to correct the accompanying constipation, then take an
enema or injection of warm water morning and evening, using the water as
hot as can be borne and allowing it to run in and out the rectum for
some time. Following this, an astringent and soothing lotion should be
applied.
Constipation may be caused by retroversion of the uterus. If the uterus
is tipped backwards it presses on the rectum, preventing the passage of
the feces (bowel movement). This pressure also causes hemorrhoids. In
this case the treatment is to correct the displacement. In many cases
all that is necessary is to take the knee-chest position for a few
minutes night and morning.
Always in the treatment of constipation, the first item is to discover
the cause. We have noted that the chief cause is irregularity in going
to the toilet, therefore, the first measure to be taken in the treatment
is regularity in going to the toilet. Choose a convenient hour, usually
right after breakfast, and always go to the toilet at that time no
matter if there is a desire or not. At first there may be no natural
movement but if you persist, your efforts will be rewarded. For the
first few days it is well to take an enema of warm, soapy water at this
time. Every day take exercise that will strengthen the muscles of the
abdomen. Bending forward and touching the toes with the fingers without
bending the knees is one valuable exercise. This should be done ten or
twelve times morning and evening. A daily brisk walk in the fresh air is
another good exercise. Fruit or figs eaten with the meals or a glass of
water taken before breakfast and upon retiring often proves very
beneficial in relieving a tendency to constipation. There is an old
saying, "An apple or two before going to bed, and the doctor will go
begging for his bread." This really is a practical idea and more nearly
true than many old sayings.
Cathartics or laxatives should not be taken except for an occasional
dose or during illness upon the advice of a physician. So common is the
practice of taking daily laxatives that it has become a "national
curse"! People do not realize that they are slaves to this habit, so
they continue to take their daily doses of "teas" or "waters." In many
cases a patient will tell his physician that his bowels are "all right,"
that they move every day. Further questionings reveal the fact that he
is in the habit of taking some laxative frequently. The bowels are not
"all right" if any laxative is required.
Massage of the abdomen usually is very beneficial in treating
constipation. It acts by stimulating the muscles and should be given at
set times in the day but never until two hours after any meal. The
various vibrators act in the same manner as massage. In any massage of
the abdomen the thighs should be flexed, as this relaxes the abdominal
muscles.
Enemas or injections of warm water may be taken occasionally and then
are beneficial, but if long continued are injurious by reason of their
irritating effect. At times, when the stomach and intestines have been
over-loaded with irritating material, an enema is one of the quickest
measures for relief. In obstinate constipation two or three ounces of
warm olive oil injected slowly into the rectum at night and allowed to
remain until morning will soften the waste material so it can be
evacuated easily in the morning.
Constipation never should be neglected as it carries in its train a long
line of disorders, as hemorrhoids (piles), abscesses, and intestinal
obstruction.
Indigestion and constipation frequently are bosom friends. How often
indigestion is a result of nervous strain is perhaps seldom realized. A
business man eats his lunch and other meals in a hurry, with his mind on
his business. His energies are being consumed by his brain and very
little is left to be used in the digestion of his food. One never should
eat when tired and nervous. Take a few moments' absolute rest before
meals. If possible lie down and relax all muscles for a few moments.
Then eat your meal slowly and if possible have some pleasant companion
who will talk with you on subjects not connected with your business
cares. You will be surprised to note the improvement in your digestion
and incidentally in your tendency to constipation.
For the noon meal, office workers should eat only light and easily
digested food. Eat your heaviest meal after the work for the day is
finished and the blood which has been required by the brain can be
spared to the stomach. People doing manual labor that requires physical
strength need, and can digest, a heavy noonday meal but the requirements
of the brain workers are quite different.
Many girls break down on account of lack of sufficient nourishment.
Coffee and rolls for breakfast, ice cream and rolls for lunch and a
sandwich and coffee for dinner is not sufficient food for any working
girl. And yet that is about the diet of hundreds of girls. Often it is
impossible for her to provide more, for when a girl must pay for her
board, room, clothes and laundry from her salary of five or six dollars
a week, sufficient food becomes an impossibility. Many girls actually
are slowly starving on this account. When the wheels of progress make
it possible for every working girl to have a comfortable home and
sufficient nourishing food many of the social problems will right
themselves.