subject: Non-pharmaceutical Laxatives And Remedies For Constipation [print this page] The herb senna has been used as a laxative or anti-constipation agent for hundreds and perhaps thousands of years. It is found in temperate zones, and written records in the Middle East date back hundreds of years detailing its use in the form of a brewed tea for fighting stomach troubles. Senna is used even now although it comes in more diverse forms such as pills or tablets. The tea form is still available of course.
Is the herb senna an effective anti-constipation agent? Because it cannot be patented as a therapy, no drug companies have stepped forward to conduct a clinical trial. Nor do they need to as the FDA permits its use as an herbal or natural agent. Therefore, the question as to its efficacy can only be answered by anecdote and limited scientific studies (that are not clinical trials).
The verdict is that anecdotes as well as small scale science studies vindicate senna's role as a natural laxative for constipation remedies. The key to senna's efficacy lies in the preponderance of the sennoside compounds, which are a group of related chemicals that induce bowel movements. Despite senna's success as a natural agent, some people may feel that they want more opinions in combating idiopathic chronic constipation. Are other treatments available.
Fortunately for those who actively seek remedies, several non-prescription strategies and a number of medicated methods are available. The standard line of therapy suggested by physicians without other information is high fiber therapy. Such therapy involves targeting every day foods with high fiber or consuming nutritional supplements containing fiber.
There are patients who are unhappy that the attention required in homing in on good fiber foods is too much. One frequently used alternative is to look into the class of supplements with high fiber. Originally derived from particular plant matter like the plantago, these nutritional agents are offered in finely crushed powdered blends and can be dissolved with water to reconstitute a quaffable solution. People who undergo this kind of treatment may require a little more than ten to fourteen days until the benefits are fully felt.
Different classes of laxatives can be prescribed to sufferers with constipation problems. Prime examples of classes of these laxatives are the osmotic laxatives which primarily cause modulation in water resorption, and stimulant laxatives which seem to impact gut smooth muscle. The members of the osmotic family have the increased water content in the intestinal passageway which from empirical studies apparently is able to assist in natural intestinal contractions.
