1. LUMINATION
Choose a time,
shortly to defecate whether or not you have "the urge." Allow ten
minutes. Relax, be comfortable, read if you like-the important thing is not to
feel tense or hurried. Prop your feet on a footstool so your knees are close to
your chest. If you choose to go before breakfast, it will help to drink a glass
or two of fluid upon getting out of bed; it can be warm or cool water, fruit
juice, tea, or coffee. Teaching your bowels to move regularly is a little like
training yourself to wake up at a given hour every morning; it can be done,
with patience, and once acquired the habit persists.
2. DIET.
The
residue of foods you eat is easier to eliminate if it contains some roughage in
the form of fibers, lubricants in the form of fats or oils, and fluid. These
should be included in the diet of healthy people. (In some disease states,
there may be an inability to tolerate roughage; in such cases, a physician will
so advise.) To cure or prevent constipation, make certain your diet includes:
For breakfast: 1/2 to 1 glass of tomato, grapefruit, prune, or orange juice.
Also include one item from each of the following, (a) through (e): (a) Mixed
dried or stewed fruits-prunes, apricots, figs (b) Cooked, whole-grain cereals
with milk-barley, brown rice, oats, wheat (c) Margarine (d) Whole-grain bread
(e) Beverage For lunch, dinner or supper, some of the following: Green leafy
vegetable--beet greens, spinach, escarole, lettuce, turnip greens, dandelion
greens, mustard greens Baked potatoes (eat the skins) Margarine, salad oils
Dried or stewed fruits-especially for dessert at evening meal Take two glasses
of fluid between meals and at least eight all told during the day.
Drink an
extra amount of water in summer because part of it is lost in perspiration.
3. EXERCISE.
Strong abdominal muscles help
elimination. If you do not have a firm, well-toned abdominal wall, start the
exercises described on page 89. If your job requires much sitting and very
little physical activity, you should indulge in regular sports or other forms
of exercise. You will feel better generally as well as have fewer tendencies
toward constipation.
4. LIVE
SENSIBLY.
Try as much as you can to avoid the stresses and strains of modern
living. Get relaxation to help temper those stresses and strains. Don't worry
about constipation. If your physician gives you a clean bill of health on your
regular visits, and you follow our suggestions for home checkups (page 33),
constipation is not going to harm your health. Usually, these suggestions are
enough to prevent or cure constipation. If they are not, and failure to move
the bowels causes real discomfort, you may:
5. TAKE AN ENEMA.
Use a pint of warm water containing
a level tea- spoonful of table salt. If you use an enema bag, hold it about two
feet above the toilet seat; if you use a bulb, do not press it too hard-the
water should flow under gentle pressure. This should help soften the stool so
it can be passed easily. You may take an enema every day-but remember that this
is a crutch and the sooner you discard it, the better. If an enema does not
help, your physician can show you how to insert olive oil into the rectum at
night through a catheter, which will soften the stool and make it easier to
pass in the morning.
6. LAXATIVES.
If you cannot take an enema, use a mild
laxative such as petrolatum and agar, aromatic cascara sagrada, or milk of
magnesia. Do not do this until you have given your bowels a chance to work by
themselves. An important step in curing constipation may be to stop taking all
laxatives and cathartics. Strange as it seems, laxatives are frequently the
cause of constipation and seldom are necessary in its cure. As noted above,
mineral oil may be of value. A final warning: Don't give a laxative to a child,
and don't take one yourself, if there is any fever, nausea, pain, or general
feeling of illness associated with the constipation. It can cause fatal
consequences if the condition is caused by appendicitis.
