Top 9 Surprising Reasons Why You Can't Poop
Bad news if you've just been to the loo - you're doing it wrong .
And the worse news is that you can’t even poop.
Everyone is affected by constipation now and then — your diet, travel, and a lack of activity can all trigger a brief bout. But you might be surprised by the conditions and other factors that can be responsible for longer term or chronic constipation.
Here goes the Top 9 surprising reasons why you can’t poop, and how to fix that.
9.You’re dehydrated.
When you don’t drink enough water, that can back you up.
If you’re dealing with constipation, you should try to drink eight to ten glasses of water a day, and see if that helps a bit.
8.You’re a sedentary creature.
Moving around helps your colon move. So being inactive can exacerbate constipation.
Stay regular by making sure you’re getting exercise on a regular basis.
7.You might have a health condition, like thyroid disorder, or diabetes.
Slower contraction times can really gum up the works. Certain health conditions can cause slow transit constipation.
If you have constipation that doesn’t seem to be helped by any of these tips in this story, you should definitely go to a doctor to get checked out.
6.You’re taking narcotics.
Certain medicines can cause slow transit constipation, and narcotics are definitely on that list. Narcotics are typically opioid pain relievers, like Codeine, Morphine, Percocet, Oxycontin, Vicodin, Demerol, and others.
If your doctor-prescribed narcotics are giving you constipation, talk to your doctor about ways to help alleviate the issue.
And if you’re taking narcotics illegally… stop doing that, and not just because of your constipation. It’s incredibly dangerous to take these drugs unsupervised.
5.You recently took medicine for an upset stomach.
Like Immodium, or Pepto Bismol. These meds are meant to calm your stomach and stop diarrhea, but they can have the effect of blocking you up, too. Too much of a good thing.
4.You’re in a rush to get out the door in the morning.
The big cause of this has to do with lifestyle factors — like rushing out the door every morning before you give yourself time to do your business. Our bodies are primed to poop in the morning, thanks in part to cortisol levels.
But if people are rushing out the door or not taking time to go to the bathroom, they can get their muscles all confused. This confusion can make it much harder to poop later on in the day.
3.You’re too shy to go in public, when the urge strikes.
Another thing that can cause muscle confusion is when you feel like you have to go, and then you hold it in.
Looking at you, people who refuse to poop in public bathrooms at all costs. Sometimes those costs = constipation, due to confused anal sphincters.
2.You’ve become hooked on laxatives.
The occasional laxative when you’re having a hard time can be quite a relief. But you can get used to it and then need it more and more.
1. You’re not eating enough fiber.
About a third of people who have constipation are dealing with “low-fiber constipation,”
Start eating four to five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and see if that gets things moving again.
OK great! So what can you do about it?
Drink lots of water, eat lots of fruits and vegetables, get plenty of exercise, and listen to your body. Go when you have to go, even if it means using a public restroom.
And if the issue doesn’t improve after you make all those changes, then go to your doctor and see if there’s something else going on.
(source: buzzfeed.com)
