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Practical Constipation Tips
Getting into a Regular Habit
Most people's bowels respond best to a regular habit. Some of
us are too busy to make time for our bowels. Other lives a
very irregular lifestyle which makes a habit difficult.
The bowel usually goes to sleep at night and wakes up in the
morning. Eating, drinking and moving around all stimulate the
bowel. The most likely time for a bowel action is about 30
minutes after the first meal of the day.
This makes it important not to skip breakfast. Try to eat at
least something for breakfast and take two warm drinks. Try to
make 5-10 minutes of free uninterrupted time about 30 minutes
later. This is not always easy if your house is busy in the
morning, so you may need to plan ahead or get up a little
earlier while you retrain you bowel.
Sitting Properly
The way you sit on the toilet can make a big difference to
ease of opening your bowels. The "natural" position (before
toilets were invented) is squatting. Countries where squat
(hole in the floor) toilets are still common seem to have less
problems with constipation.
While actually squatting is not very practical, many people
find that adopting a "semi-squat" position helps a lot. One of
the footstools that toddlers use to reach a sink is ideal,
8-12 inches high (20-30cm). Position this just in front of
your toilet and rest your feet flat on the stool, keeping your
feet and knees about one foot (30cm) apart. Lean forwards,
resting your elbows on your thighs. Try to relax.
Breathing
It is important not to hold your breath when trying to open
your bowels. Many people are tempted to take a deep breath in
and then hold their breath while trying to push. Try to avoid
this. Sit on the toilet as described above, relax your
shoulders and breathe normally. You may find it easiest to
breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.
If you hold your breath and push this is STRAINING and tends
to close your bottom more tightly. Also, if you hold your
breath, you are limited in how long your can hold this and
when you have to take the pressure off and breathe, you tend
to be back to square one.
If you find that you cannot help straining and holding your
breath, try breathing out gently, or humming or reciting a
nursery rhyme.
Pushing without Straining
The best way to open your bowels is by using your abdominal
(stomach) muscles to push. Leaning forward, supporting your
elbows on your thighs and breathing gently, relax your
shoulders. Make your abdominal muscles bulge outwards to "make
your waist wide". Now use these abdominal muscles as a pump to
push backwards and downwards into you bottom. Keep up the
gentle but firm pressure.
Relaxing the Back Passage
The final part of the jigsaw is to relax the back passage.
Many people with constipation actually tighten the back
passage when they are trying to open the bowels, instead of
relaxing, without realizing what they are doing. This is like
squeezing a tube of toothpaste while keeping the lid on!
To locate the muscles around the back passage, firstly squeeze
as if you are trying to control wind. Now imagine that the
muscle around the anus is a lift. Squeeze to take your lift up
to the first floor. Now relax, down to the ground floor, down
to the basement, down to the cellar.
Putting it All Together
This is a bit like learning to ride a bike. The above
instructions tell you WHAT to do, but do not tell you HOW to
do it. It sounds simple, but coordinating everything takes
practice, and you have to work it out for yourself. Some
people find it easier than others.
Keep this up for about 5 minutes, unless you have a bowel
action sooner. If nothing happens, don't give up. Try again
tomorrow. It often takes several weeks of practice until this
really starts to work.
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