Constipation

Constipation (synonyms constipation, obstipation) – this is a syndromethat includes a delay in emptying the intestine less than 3 times a week, difficult defecation, a feeling of incomplete emptying, hard scanty stools. 

The objective criterion for constipation is considered to be a mass of feces less than 35 g per day.  

The World Health Organization in the " International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Health-Related Problems» refers to constipation as a disease. At the same time, gastroenterological organizations such asThe World Organization of Gastroenterologists and the American Gastroenterological Association, take a different position, emphasizing that constipation is not a disease, but a syndrome.

Chronic constipation is associated with 15-25% of the population of highly developed countries, its prevalence is higher in women. In elderly people, constipation is 5 times more common than in young people. 

Depending on the cause, three types of constipation are considered:

• primary (congenital or acquired during the development of abnormalities of the colon and its innervation),
• secondary (resulting from diseases, injuries, or side effects of medications),
• idiopathic (violation of the motility of the colon for an unknown reason).

In pathogenetic terms, the following types of constipation are distinguished:

• alimentary (develops due to a decrease in water in the body, a decrease in food intake or dietary fiber),
• mechanical (occurs due to the presence of organic changes in the intestine),
• dyskinetic (develops as a result of functional disorders in the gastrointestinal tract, its innervation, etc.).

Constipation is a problem of millions of people in our country. Living in a huge metropolis in conditions of chronic stress, we are forced to eat incorrectly every day, lead a sedentary lifestyle, and have a number of bad habits. All this can not but affect the work of the intestine. Slowing down the process of moving feces through the intestine, characteristic of chronic constipation, leads to a change in the composition of the intestinal flora (dysbiosis), straining leads to the development of hemorrhoids, traumatization of the rectal mucosa with the development of anal fissure. All of the above dramatically reduces the quality of life, starting as a temporary inconvenience and gradually turning into a serious problem, shifting the psychological status of the patient in a negative direction. 

  InMCSC in the laboratory of functional diagnostics of intestinal diseases, we can offer a comprehensive examination aimed at identifying the causes of constipation, and the selection of individual treatment regimens.