One of the most common digestive ailments in the U.S population is constipation. Although many people don’t take it seriously, this digestive problem can make your life miserable. Apart from making you feel irritable, bloated, and headachy, relieving constipation also costs you a great deal of time and money. The medical costs are even greater if it leads to long-term or chronic constipation.
Notably, around 2.5 million people visit stomach doctors every year in the U.S because of chronic constipation. However, despite being a common digestive problem, not many people are aware of chronic constipation.
Chromic Constipation: What is Normal? What is Not Normal?
If you or anyone around you is dealing with chronic constipation, the majority of the distress and anxiety can result from not having enough knowledge about this issue. Not only are there exaggerated fears regarding the causes of chronic constipation, but the discomfort of the problem itself can also be quite wearing. In such a case, getting constipation relief seems like a complicated thing to do.
Moreover, chronic constipation can also slow down your performance and impact the overall quality of your life. For this reason, it is important to have ample knowledge about this medical condition so that you can know if it’s getting serious and seek timely help from a doctor.
Here are a few myths about chronic constipation that many individuals mistake as truth.
Myth: Not having one bowel movement in a day is abnormal.
Truth: Only less than 50% of individuals have one bowel movement in a day; hence, it is completely normal.
Myth: Having less than fix or six bowel movements in a week means you have chronic constipation.
Truth: On average, most of the adults have only three bowel movements in a week. Hence, you won’t have chronic constipation if the number of bowel movements you have in a day isn’t less than three.
Myth: Various toxins can get accumulated in your intestine due to infrequent bowel movements.
Truth: At variance with the common belief, there is no evidence for toxins getting accumulated in the intestine as a result of infrequent bowel movements.
Myth: Chronic constipation can lead to fatal diseases like cancer.
Truth: Chronic constipation never leads to diseases like cancer. If you think your condition is getting serious, visit a doctor as soon as possible.
Myth: The frequency of bowel movements is increased with age.
Truth: Contrary to this myth, the frequency of bowel movements is decreased with age.
Myth: Chronic constipation is not a very common digestive problem.
Truth: Chronic constipation is indeed a common and serious digestive problem. More than 20% of the U.S population is dealing with chronic constipation.
Myth: If you have a healthy diet, exercise, and drink plenty of water, you would never have to deal with chronic constipation.
Truth: Chronic constipation can be triggered by some psychological issues as well. It is very common for chronic constipation to coexist with depression. Moreover, it can also be caused by some underlying medical conditions like hypothyroidism.
