subject: Why People Get Constipation [print this page] Why People Get Constipation Why People Get Constipation
Lifestyle plays a great role in determining how much you are impacted by constipation problems. There are a number of things that happen to you in life that may make you more prone to experiencing constipation - even if you follow a good diet plan. Some of these things you have no control over and others you have limited control over. But, the three things that can have an impact on your susceptibility to becoming constipated are drugs, illnesses, and pregnancy.
A lot of people that are experiencing all sorts of illnesses may suddenly discover that they are experiencing trouble passing stools and are often becoming constipated. What many of them don't realize is that often the cause is not the disease but the drugs and medications they are taking to combat the disease.
For instance, a large number of pain medicines, blood pressure medicines, diuretics, and others can have this type of effect on patients. Normally, the cause is that the medications they are taking can cause dehydration. Dehydration takes water from the body that would normally be used in the formation of stools to make them easier to pass through the colon.
Not only that,but a lot of times when a patient is sick he will become bedridden. And, being bedridden, his movements can be severely limited and he is not able to exercise as much as he normally would. And as researchers have proven in many studies, a lack of exercise is a prime predictor for determining your odds of getting constipation. Bedridden patients who are unable to exercise fall into this group and often they will experience bowel movement problems.
If you were to look at the side effects of diseases, you would find that many of them can cause constipation. Examples are things like multiple sclerosis, strokes (in some cases), diabetes, Parkinson's disease and many others. If you have persistent constipation problems, your doctor will probably try to treat it in the normal ways.
However, if the standard methods are not effective, your doctor may decide to put you through a battery of tests to determine if you are suffering from any of the common diseases that are known to cause bowel movement problems.
It is common knowledge that woman who are pregnant have a tendency to become constipated more than women who are not. This happens for a number of reasons. For one thing, during pregnancy as the fetus begins to grow it exerts pressure on the intestines making it more difficult for foods to pass through them. For another thing, pregnant women usually become more sedentary.
Not being able to exercise as much is another reason. Lack of exercise very often results in them having difficulty passing stools. Add to that the pregnancy hormones that are passing through a pregnant woman's body and that can sometimes cause dehydration, another factor often associated with constipation.