SCRIPT NUMBER 85
CONSTIPATION AND DIVERTICULITIS
(ONE SPEAKER)
PROGRAM NAME: HEALTH NUGGETS
PROGRAM TITLE: CONSTIPATION AND DIVERTICULITIS
PROGRAM NUMBER:
85
SUBJECT: CAUSES OF CONSTIPATION, MECHANISM OF DEVELOPING
DIVERTICULITIS, TREATMENT AND PREVENTION OF
CONSTIPATION AND DIVERTICULITIS
KEY WORDS: HIGHLY PROCESSED FOODS, CONSTIPATION, STOOL,
FIBER, DIVERTICIULOSIS, INFLAMMATION, ABSCESS,
DIVERTICULITIS, VAGINA, ANTIBIOTICS, WHOLE GRAIN
DATE OF SCRIPT: NOVEMBER 09, 2012
AUTHOR: RICHARD YUKL, MD, FACS
Today, I want to talk with you about an association that exists between the diets
and lifestyles of our modern life and constipation, because the complications of
constipation can be life threatening. As societies around the world mature, their
food supplies become more established and people no longer need to spend
most of their time hunting for their next meal. Everyone becomes less physically
active because hunting and the gathering of food is no longer required. Highly
processed “fast foods” and even completely prepared meals can be purchased in
stores. Some examples of today’s highly processed foods include cereals and
breads made with refined grains and flour, milk products such as cheese and
cottage cheese, well-cooked meat and most sweet desserts.
These highly processed foods differ from more primitive foods in that they are
lower in fiber content and higher in fat. Fiber is that part of unprocessed foods
that the body cannot digest. It’s bulk and soft texture normally helps to prevent
formation of hard, dry stools that are difficult to pass. Primitive diets contained
lots of the fresh fruit, vegetables, and grains that are rich in fiber content.
Unfortunately, both the lower fiber diets and the lessening of physical activity that
have become a part of modern life are major factors in the development of
constipation, and people living in modern societies are suffering marked
increases in constipation.
To understand constipation and the damage it can cause your body, it helps to
know how your large intestine, or colon, works. As food passes through the
colon, water is removed and stool is formed. Then, the colon’s muscle
contractions push the stool out of your body. By the time stool reaches the end of
the colon it is solid because most of the water has been removed. If the colon
removes too much water, or if the muscle contractions are too slow, the stool
moves through too slowly, becoming hard and dry. You become constipated.
Consider how constipation can damage your body. As stool becomes hard, the
amount of pressure your colon must generate in order to move it along increases
dramatically, and that increased pressure can cause the formation of thin-walled
pockets of your colon’s lining tissues. Doctors call the condition diverticulosis.
Once formed, these colon pockets plus the high colon pressures required to
create them can combine to cause infection and inflammation of the pockets, or
what the doctors call diverticulitis. Diverticulitis can cause some life threatening
complications. The infected pockets can rupture, spilling stool into your belly
cavity and causing inflammation of your entire belly, a true medical emergency
that requires immediate medical care in a hospital, and often surgery.
Diverticulitis can also cause other complications such as bleeding from the
bowel, a blockage of your colon or an abnormal passageway to form between an
infected pocket and your urinary bladder, a woman’s vagina or even through the
skin of your belly wall.
Common symptoms of diverticulitis include a sudden, severe pain in the lower
left side of your belly, fever, and either nausea and vomiting or diarrhea. You feel
very sick.
Treatment of diverticulitis depends on the severity of the symptoms and whether
this is your first attack of the pain. If your symptoms are mild, a liquid diet and
antibiotics to be taken at home may be all you need. Your doctor will instruct you
to rest and to eat a totally liquid diet for a few days so that your infection can heal
with the help of the antibiotics. Once your symptoms improve, you can gradually
add high fiber foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grain cereal back
into your diet. You must finish all of the antibiotic pills your doctor gives you even
if you start to feel better, however. Stopping them too early could cause your
infection to return.
If your symptoms are moderate to severe, or if you have experienced previous
attacks of symptoms, you may need more advanced care. Your doctor will give
you the strong pain medicine and antibiotics that are appropriate for you. Strong
pain medicines can make your constipation worse, and that may make your
inflammation worse, so you need to take your medicines exactly as your doctor
directs.
If your pain is severe, you may be at risk of completely obstructing your colon
or of developing generalized inflammation or an abscess in your belly. You need
to be hospitalized to receive strong pain medicines and antibiotics by vein. You
will possibly even surgery to drain pus or to correct other complications that have
developed. You may even need to have the diseased part of your colon
removed.
Here are things you can do to help prevent diverticulitis or to slow its progression.
First, eat foods that contain a lot of fiber – foods such as fresh fruit, vegetables,
and cereals and bread made with whole grain flour. The fiber will soften your
stool, reducing the amount of pressure your colon must generate to move it
along. If you have not been eating foods high in fiber, slowly start adding them to
your diet.
Next, drink plenty of fluids. Fiber makes your stool softer and more bulky as it
passes through your colon by absorbing water. You must drink enough fluids to
keep up with what's being absorbed. Additionally, when you need to use the
toilet, don't delay. Delaying bowel movements leads to harder stools that require
more force to pass, and that increases the pressure within your colon.
Finally, get regular exercise. Exercise helps your colon to function normally, and
that reduces pressure inside your colon. Try to exercise at least 30 minutes on
most days.
Health Nuggets is written by Dr. Richard Yukl, a medical doctor working in the
United States. The medical views expressed in this program are his and may
differ for your particular health needs. If you need medical advice, please consult
a medical professional in your area.