Constipation Relief: Home Remedies and Methods to Try

Table of Content

• Health Essentials
• Medications & Supplements
• Foods That Cause Constipation
• Eat probiotic foods or take probiotic supplements
• Load up your plate with leafy greens

A gentle massage with the right pressure on your gut can stimulate the passage of poop. You can incorporate a simple morning routine, consisting of drinking lukewarm water on an empty stomach and giving your abdominal region a gentle massage. Although dietary fibers reduce constipation by improving the consistency and bulk of stool, prebiotics have their effects by improving digestive health. Some studies have found sparkling water to be more effective than tap water at relieving constipation. This includes in people with indigestion, or dyspepsia, and people with chronic idiopathic constipation . Luckily, diet and lifestyle are often to blame, which means small and consistent changes can make a big difference in the health of your stool.

Allow your body time to adjust to the fiber supplement. Drinking extra water can help reduce side effects, such as bloating. Studies show that fish oil supplementation is effective for relieving constipation and improving bowel movement frequency and consistency . Probiotics are beneficial bacteria that can be found in certain foods. A healthy gut contains billions of bacteria, including some that may promote health .

Health Essentials

This can occur for numerous reasons, including stress, travel, and as a side effect of medications. Besides hard stool, dehydration makes a person feel more stressed, which can further complicate digestive problems. Add fiber by eating fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, beans, and whole grains. You should consume at least 22 to 34 grams of fiber per day, depending on your age. If you need to take a fiber supplement for chronic constipation, start with a low dose and then increase it slowly. For some people, consuming a large amount of fiber can lead to bloating.

It is also important to make sure you drink plenty of water because adding fiber to your diet without adequate water can actually worsen constipation. Regular exercise can help maintain healthy bowel movements. Both vigorous and passive activity can have a positive effect on the bowels. Running can jostle the intestines and colon in a manner that encourages the stool to move.

Medications & Supplements

Or, worse, you might try to force it and then start straining. That’s because when you sit, the puborectalis muscle—which helps you maintain continence by creating a kink between the colon and rectum—only partially relaxes. As a result, your rectum shortens, which allows for more adequate evacuation of your stool. Leakage of stool can happen when hard stool is pushed back into the rectum.

Exercising regularly is a must to control various ailments in the body. With the right set of exercises, you can combat constipation. Recommended exercises include light jogging, brisk walking, and regular squats. These movements provide a massage to the abdominal region which is helpful for accelerating the movement of stools. In fact, some prebiotics may help increase the frequency of bowel movements, as well as make stools softer .

Foods That Cause Constipation

Some OTC laxatives are not recommended for people with specific diseases or conditions . Some laxatives may have negative side effects if taken over a long time. Pooping, otherwise known as defecation or bowel movements, is the end result of digestion. According to experts, it's normal to have bowel movements as often as 3 times a day or as infrequently as 3 times per week.

Certain foods or natural products can help do the trick as well. Constipation happens when you pass fewer than three bowel movements per week or have bowel movements that are hard or difficult to pass without straining. This can include a daily walk, jog, bike ride, or swim or another form of exercise. Light exercise helps maintain proper circulation and can keep the bowels healthy. Light exercise, such as walking, yoga, or jogging, can encourage bowel movements by increasing blood flow throughout your abdomen. Bring a small footstool into your bathroom the next time you need to poop.

Why Is My Poop Green?

While constipation can go away on its own, it is helpful to know what can ease the discomfort of this common ailment. If home remedies for constipation or OTC products do not produce a bowel movement, an individual may need to seek medical attention. Mag citrate is used to “cleanse” the colon because it pulls a large amount of water into the bowel once it is ingested. This often results in a large and very urgent bowel movement or multiple bowel movements.

Baking soda, another household staple, can be used to clean out the colon. Make a solution of one teaspoon of baking soda to approximately one-fourth cup of warm water. The baking soda reacts with stomach acids to stimulate a bowel movement.

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With the Home Doctor, you can become a “home doc” yourself. Home docs are self-reliant people who take care of themselves and their families when the situation demands it. I’m also going to show you 25 remedies made from things you usually throw away. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure as they say. For example, you can turn the eggshells you throw away into calcium pills that will be greatly appreciated in times of need or when food becomes scarce.

Acupressure is an ancient Chinese healing technique that involves applying pressure to specific points on the body. Some research suggests that acupressure may be effective for relieving constipation. They also contain water and other nutrients that can help keep the digestive system healthy. This is because the intestine cannot move food through the digestive system properly. Laxatives are a medication that can help to relieve constipation. They work by softening stool and stimulating the intestine muscles.

Eat probiotic foods or take probiotic supplements

You should never be embarrassed to discuss constipation, problems pooping, or booty problems with your doctor. Seeing a physician knowledgeable about these problems to discuss your symptoms and get a good exam is invaluable. Toilet stool under your feet while pooping can bring back the correct pooping position. Our bodies are meant to poop in a squatting position, as it straightens out our rectum, which is the final storage area of the poop.

You can also get magnesium from food sources such as almonds, beans, fortified foods, leafy greens, milk, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. This is often the first idea that comes to mind if faced with the dilemma of how to make yourself poop. Warm beverages in general, particularly a hot cup of coffee or tea, in the morning, can help to get things moving, says Dr. Lee.