Constipation

Constipation is infrequent bowel movements or difficult passage of stools. Constipation is a common gastrointestinal problem.

What's considered normal frequency for bowel movements varies widely. In general, however, you're probably experiencing constipation if you pass fewer than three stools a week, and your stools are hard and dry.

Fortunately, most cases of constipation are temporary. Simple lifestyle changes, such as getting more exercise, drinking more fluids and eating a high-fiber diet, can go a long way toward alleviating constipation. Constipation may also be treated with over-the-counter laxatives

Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

Not having a bowel movement every day doesn't necessarily mean you're constipated. You likely have constipation, however, if you've had at least two of the following signs and symptoms for at least three of the past six months:

• Pass fewer than three stools a week
• Experience hard stools
• Strain excessively during bowel movements
• Experience a sense of rectal blockage
• Have a feeling of incomplete evacuation after having a bowel movement
• Need to use manual maneuvers to have a bowel movement, such as finger evacuation or manipulation of your lower abdomen

When to see a doctor
Although constipation may be bothersome, it's usually not serious. Most people who have constipation don't seek a doctor's care. However, chronic constipation may lead to complications or be a sign of a serious underlying disorder.

See your doctor if you experience an unexplained onset of constipation or change in bowel habits, or if symptoms are severe and last longer than three weeks. Also seek medical care if you experience any of the following signs or symptoms, which might indicate a more serious health problem:

• Bowel movements occurring more than three days apart, despite corrective changes in diet or exercise
• Intense abdominal pain
• Blood in your stool
• Constipation that alternates with diarrhea
• Rectal pain
• Thin, pencil-like stools
• Unexplained weight loss

Causes

By Mayo Clinic staff

Gastrointestinal tract

Constipation most commonly occurs when waste or stool moves too slowly through the digestive tract, causing it to become hard and dry.

Normally, the waste products of digestion (stool) are propelled through your intestines by muscle contractions. In the large intestine (colon), most of the water and salt in this waste mixture are reabsorbed because they're essential for many of your body's functions.

However, when there is not enough fluid or fiber-rich food in your diet — or if the colon's muscle contractions are slow — the stool hardens, dries and passes through your colon too slowly. This is the root cause of constipation.

You may also experience constipation if the muscles you use to move your bowels aren't properly coordinated. This problem is called pelvic floor dysfunction (anismus), and it causes you to strain with most bowel movements — even soft ones.

A number of factors can cause an intestinal slowdown, including:

• Inadequate fluid intake or dehydration
• Inadequate amounts of fiber in your diet
• Ignoring the urge to have a bowel movement or delaying until later
• Lack of physical activity (especially in older adults)
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Changes in lifestyle or routine, including pregnancy, aging and travel
• Illness
• Frequent use or misuse of laxatives
• Specific diseases, such as stroke, diabetes, thyroid disease and Parkinson's disease
• Problems with the colon and rectum, such as intestinal obstruction or diverticulosis
• Certain medications, including pain medications, diuretics and those used to treat Parkinson's disease, high blood pressure and depression
• Hormonal disturbances, such as an underactive thyroid gland
• Anal fissures and hemorrhoids, which can produce a spasm of the anal sphincter muscle
• Loss of body salts through vomiting or diarrhea
• Injuries to the spinal cord, which can affect the nerves that lead to and from the intestine

In rare cases, constipation may signal more-serious medical conditions, such as colorectal cancer, hormonal disturbances or autoimmune diseases. In children, constipation might indicate Hirschsprung's disease, a congenital condition that results from missing nerve cells in the colon.

Children may also become constipated if they are afraid of or unwilling to use the toilet. Older children may ignore or forget to attend to bowel movements.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

What is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)?

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common ailments of the bowel (intestines) and affects an estimated 15% of people in the US. The term, irritable bowel, is not a particularly accurate one since it implies that the bowel is responding irritably to normal stimuli, and this may or may not be the case. The several terms used for IBS, including spastic colon, spastic colitis, and mucous colitis, attest to the difficulty of getting a descriptive handle on the ailment. Moreover, each of the other names is itself as problematic as the term IBS.

IBS is best described as a functional disease. The concept of functional disease is particularly useful when discussing diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The concept applies to the muscular organs of the gastrointestinal tract; the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, gallbladder, and colon. What is meant by the term, functional, is that either the muscles of the organs or the nerves that control the organs are not working normally, and, as a result, the organs do not function normally. The nerves that control the organs include not only the nerves that lie within the muscles of the organs but also the nerves of the spinal cord and brain to which they are connected.

Some gastrointestinal diseases can be seen and diagnosed with the naked eye, such as ulcers of the stomach when visualized by certain methods. Thus, ulcers can be seen at surgery, on X-rays, and at endoscopy. Other diseases cannot be seen with the naked eye but can be seen and diagnosed under the microscope. For example, celiac disease and collagenous colitis are diagnosed by microscopic examination of biopsies of the small intestine and colon, respectively. In contrast, gastrointestinal functional diseases cannot be seen with the naked eye or with the microscope. In some instances, the abnormal function can be demonstrated by tests, for example, gastric emptying studies or antro-duodenal motility studies. However, these tests often are complex, are not widely available, and do not reliably detect the functional abnormalities. Accordingly, by default, functional gastrointestinal diseases are those involving the abnormal function of gastrointestinal organs in which abnormalities cannot be seen in the organs with either the naked eye or the microscope.

Occasionally, diseases that are thought to be functional are ultimately found to be associated with abnormalities that can be seen. Then, the disease moves out of the functional category. An example of this is Helicobacter pylori infection of the stomach. Many patients with mild upper intestinal symptoms who were thought to have "functional" abnormal function of the stomach or intestines have been found to have an infection of the stomach with Helicobacter pylori. This infection can be diagnosed by seeing the bacterium and the inflammation (gastritis) it causes under the microscope. When the patients are treated with antibiotics, the Helicobacter pylori,gastritis, and symptoms disappear. Thus, recognition of Helicobacter pyloriinfection removed some patients' diseases from the functional category.

The distinction between functional disease and non-functional disease may, in fact, be blurry. Thus, even functional diseases probably have associated biochemical or molecular abnormalities that ultimately will be able to be measured. For example, functional diseases of the stomach and intestines may be shown ultimately to be caused by reduced levels of normal chemicals within the gastrointestinal organs, the spinal cord, or the brain. Should a disease that is demonstrated to be due to a reduced chemical still be considered a functional disease? I think not. In this theoretical situation, we can't see the abnormality with the naked eye or the microscope, but we can measure it. If we can measure an associated or causative abnormality, the disease probably should no longer be considered functional.

Despite the shortcomings of the term functional, the concept of a functional abnormality is useful for approaching many of the symptoms originating from the muscular organs of the gastrointestinal tract. This concept applies particularly to those symptoms for which there are no associated abnormalities that can be seen with the naked eye or the microscope.

While IBS is a major functional disease, it is important to mention a second major functional disease referred to as dyspepsia, or functional dyspepsia. The symptoms of dyspepsia are thought to originate from the upper gastrointestinal tract; the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum (the first part of the small intestine). The symptoms include upper abdominal discomfort, bloating (the subjective sense of abdominal fullness without objective distension), or objective distension (swelling, or enlargement). The symptoms may or may not be related to meals. There may be nausea with or without vomiting and early satiety (a sense of fullness after eating only a small amount of food).

The study of functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract often is categorized by the organ of involvement. Thus, there are functional disorders of the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, and gallbladder. The research on functional disorders is focused mostly on the esophagus and stomach (such as dyspepsia), perhaps because these organs are the easiest to reach and study. Research into functional disorders affecting the small intestine and colon (for example, IBS) is more difficult to conduct and there is less agreement among the research studies. This probably is a reflection of the complexity of the activities of the small intestine and colon and the difficulty in studying these activities. Functional diseases of the gallbladder, like those of the small intestine and colon, also are more difficult to study.

Recently, experts in the field of functional gastrointestinal disorders have met to begin organizing an approach to the functional disorders, specifically by setting definitions for the various functional diseases (the Rome I, II, and III criteria). The definition for IBS has been narrowed greatly; as discussed later in this article.

Picture of the organs and glands in the abodmen

Cervical Spondylosis

Cervical spondylosis is a general term for age-related wear and tear affecting the spinal disks in your neck. As the disks dehydrate and shrink, bone spurs and other signs of osteoarthritis develop.

Cervical spondylosis is very common and worsens with age. There also appears to be a genetic component involved because some families will have more of these changes over time, while other families will develop less.

More than 90 percent of people older than age 65 have evidence of cervical spondylosis and osteoarthritis that can be seen on neck X-rays. Most of these people experience no symptoms from these problems. When symptoms do occur, nonsurgical treatments often are effective.

Symptoms

By Mayo Clinic staff

In most cases, cervical spondylosis causes no symptoms. When symptoms do occur, they typically affect only the neck — causing pain and stiffness.

Sometimes, cervical spondylosis results in a narrowing of the space needed by the spinal cord and the nerve roots that originate at the spinal cord and pass through the spine to the rest of your body. If the spinal cord or nerve roots become pinched, you may experience:

• Tingling, numbness and weakness in your arms, hands, legs or feet
• Lack of coordination and difficulty walking
• Loss of bladder or bowel control

Panas Balik

Hurmmm...mlm ni bdn danish panas balik...dah bg mkn ubat, now danish dah tido, but tak berapa nak lena..mungkin sb badan rasa tak selesa...esok kerja, susahnya hati nak tinggalkan dia sok...harap2 danish bertambah sihat la esok..kalau demam pun jgnlah terlalu panas...

Anak2 sakit merupakan kelemahan aku...sebab aku terpaksa tinggalkan dia org demi mencari rezeki...aku lebih selesa bila anak2 sakit ada depan mata aku...aku yg jaga dan pantau sendiri...tak aman rasa hati bila melepaskan mereka pada org lain utk jaga...tapi apakan daya, adakalanya terpaksa merelakan...

Hampir setiap tahun, tak sampai hujung tahun...medical benefit utk anak2 mesti overlimit..satu hal lagi cuti aku pun selalunya akan habis tak sampai hujung tahun krn byk di habiskan menjaga anak sakit di hospital mahupun di rumah...setiap tahun, pasti ade sesi berkampung di hospital...inilah dugaan aku sepanjang membesarkan anak2...

Danish mesti kuat lawan sakit yg Allah berikan ya...mama sentiasa mendoakan yang terbaik utk anak2 mama...

Dugaan Lagi

Ya Allah...satu persatu kau duga hambamu ini...semalam danish demam dan hari ni pun masih blm kebah sepenuhnya...hari ni si abg pulak semput...cuaca tak menentu ni aku rasa jadi puncanya...si abg ni susah nak kena attack asthma berbanding si kakak, pantang salah mkn sikit dah semput...

Namun aku bersyukur, mempunyai kelengkapan di rumah seperti inhaler dan chamber..kalau tak jalan portable mesin / nebulizer pun ada...so boleh pantau..cuma kena sentiasa waspada dengan pesan doktor, 3kali tak ok lepas bg nebulizer wajib bawa ke hospital untuk rawatan lanjut...semoga tak berlarutan la asthma nya...

Esok kerja..hurrmmm...pastu cuti lg...tangan ni sakit yg amat...walaupun dah mkn ubat...dah rasa mcm nk potong2 jer jari ni..tk tertanggung rasanya sakit dia...pada siapa aku nak mengadu...bukan jenis aku nak merengek2 bila sakit..selagi mampu bergerak selagi itulah aku akan berdiam dan menahan sakit sendirian...harap2 dlm masa sehari dua ni bertambah kurang la sakitnya..if not, next week have to go to the hospital to get further treatment...paling ngeri kalau doktor suggest utk buat steroid injection...Ya Allah lindungilah aku dan keluargaku dan murahkan lah rezekiku..