Chronic constipation can be more than a passing annoyance—it can disrupt daily life, impacting mood, energy, and overall health. Occasional constipation is not uncommon, but chronic constipation is a recurring problem that could be a sign of an underlying medical condition. Some are relatively harmless and simple to treat, but others will need medical attention.

Chronic constipation is more than an occasional annoyance—it can have a profound effect on daily functioning and overall well-being. Knowing what causes it, making the needed lifestyle changes, and getting the right treatment can bring substantial relief.

What Is Chronic Constipation?

Chronic constipation is defined by less than three weekly bowel movements that are hard to pass or that take a long time, lasting more than several weeks. Symptoms of this condition include less than three weekly bowel movements, straining during bowel movements, hard stools, bloating, and the feeling of incomplete evacuation. Epidemiological studies have shown that as many as 63 million North Americans have diagnostic criteria for chronic constipation, with prevalence rising with advancing age and being higher in women than men.

Dr. Kishan, Consultant Proctologist & Gastro Surgeon, points out the pervasiveness of constipation: "Constipation affects 16 out of every 100 adults and despite its prevalence, many people overlook it, assuming it to be a minor inconvenience rather than recognizing it as a legitimate health concern."

If left untreated, chronic constipation can significantly affect an individual's quality of life and even result in complications like hemorrhoids, anal fissures, and fecal impaction.

Causes of Chronic Constipation

Causes of chronic constipation are very diverse and can be classified into structural, medical, medication-induced, and functional causes. Chronic constipation may at times be a manifestation of underlying medical conditions, which include:

• Conditions such as colon cancer, strictures, or narrowing of the intestine may prevent normal stool passage.
• Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and spinal cord injuries may disrupt normal bowel function.
• Diabetes and hypothyroidism may slow down digestion and cause constipation.
• Hormonal changes and compression of the intestines may cause constipation.

Some medications may cause chronic constipation, including:

• Opioid pain medications (narcotics)
• Calcium channel blockers (for high blood pressure)
• Anti-seizure drugs
• Antidepressants
• Iron supplements
• Antispasmodics

When in such cases drug is the only cause, switching to another under medical guidance could relieve symptoms.

Constipation Without Any Underlying Condition

Functional constipation happens when there is no underlying medical or structural cause. Three are the leading types:

• Normal rate of passing stool through colon but hard in consistency and therefore difficult to pass.
• The colon absorbs too much water, resulting in hard, dry stools and slow bowel movements.
• A condition where pelvic floor muscles do not coordinate properly during bowel movements, leading to difficulty in passing stool.

Modern Lifestyle Habits Contributing to Chronic Constipation

Urban lifestyles of today contribute significantly to the rising incidence of chronic constipation. Lack of physical activity, irregular meal times, and stressful environments interfere with the natural functioning of the body. As per Dr Kishan, "Chronic constipation has a major effect on digestive health, is most commonly a direct consequence of modern lifestyle behaviors that interfere with the body's natural rhythm. The problems of chronic constipation reach far beyond mere physical discomfort, influencing overall well-being and quality of life."

There are a number of factors associated with modern-day lifestyles that add to the prevalence of chronic constipation, which are as follows:

Sedentary lifestyle: Physical inactivity makes it more difficult for the digestive system to work optimally.

Inadequate dietary fiber intake: Diets devoid of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains tend to provide low dietary fiber intake, which is necessary for good digestion.

Poor hydration: Most people do not drink enough water, and this makes the stools harder and more difficult to pass.

Processed and fast foods: Greater dependence on nutrient-deficient, high-fat, and low-fiber foods worsens digestive issues.

Stress and irregular routines: Elevated levels of stress and irregular eating times disrupt the body's inherent digestive rhythms.

Overuse of laxatives: Regular or long-term laxative use causes dependency, compromising the body to naturally control bowel movements.

Managing and Treating Chronic Constipation

A holistic treatment plan involves dietary changes, lifestyle adjustments, and, in certain situations, medical treatments.

1. Dietary Changes

Diet is one of the best methods for controlling chronic constipation.

Boost fiber – Eat more fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.

Hydrate – Drinking 8-10 glasses of water per day softens stools and facilitates bowel movements.

Add probiotics – Yogurt, kefir, and fermented foods support a healthy gut microbiome.

2. Physical Activity

Physical exercise is essential to digestive well-being.

Walking – A 20-30 minute daily walk keeps intestinal motility going.

Yoga and stretching – Specific yoga exercises assist in the relief of constipation.

Core strengthening exercises – Use abdominal muscles to help with digestion.

3. Stress Management

Severe levels of stress affect digestion. Ways to control stress include:

Meditation and deep breathing exercises

Adequate sleep – No rest causes interruption in digestion.

Mindful eating – Eating calmly enhances digestion.

4. Advanced Medical Treatments

For those that don't succeed with lifestyle adjustments, medical treatments can be the solution.

Colon Hydrotherapy – A non-surgical process that facilitates colon cleansing.

Biofeedback Therapy – Employed to retrain pelvic floor muscles in defecatory disorders.

Prescription Medications – Medicines like fiber supplements, stool softeners, and prokinetic agents can help bring relief.

Surgical Interventions – In a few instances when other treatment doesn't work, surgery can be suggested to correct structural problems.

It is crucial to visit the doctor if constipation is long-standing, along with bleeding from the rectum, sharp pain, unexplained weight loss, or if the symptoms are getting worse despite changing lifestyle.

Dr Kishan is a Consultant Proctologist & Gastro Surgeon at Healing Hands Clinic, Bengaluru in India

We have all have experienced fevers, there are many different beliefs about it in different cultures and multiple ways to treat it, ranging from modern medicine to ancient practices. When one has a fever, their body feels warm and weak, they also do not have energy to do extended movements. As fevers are a range, some being slight to others being signs of dangerous conditions, dealing with them can be tricky. Things like fever dreams, conversations and thoughts are often incoherent. There are things called fever hallucinations as well, but why does this happen?

Fever means your body temperature has gone above what's normal. But what's "normal" can be a bit different for everyone and can change based on how active you are and the time of day. Generally, a fever is when your temperature is higher than 99 degrees Fahrenheit in the early morning or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit at any other time.

Do Fevers Make Us More Irritable?

In a 2013 review published in the Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, the researchers found that not only do fevers cause people to feel cold, weak and other bodily sensations, but the participants also expressed emotional changes, vivid dreams/hallucinations.

In one of the interview with a participant from the study, researches noted them experiencing feelings of anxiousness, crabby, angry and frustrated, “Like I said, I think fever is really tied in to how you feel emotionally. Because I know every time I have a fever, I just get snotty, for lack of a better term, because I'm just really agitated.”

“I feel tired. I feel irritable”

How Is Body Heat And Brain Health Connected?

Harvard Heath explains a part of your brain called the hypothalamus acts like a thermostat for your body. When you're healthy, it keeps your body at its usual temperature. A fever happens when the hypothalamus gets set to a higher temperature than normal. This change in the brain's thermostat is usually caused by tiny things in your blood called pyrogens.

According to a 2023 review by Yale School of Medicine heat can change things in the environment, it can also change how our brains work. In a study, researchers found that even small increases in temperature while the brain is active can really change what the brain does, and sometimes these changes can be negative.

Experts from Yale explain that changes in temperature in the brain also affect how our nerve cells (neurons) fire signals. These cells have tiny pumps that give them electrical energy, which they release when the brain is active. The researchers found that if brain cells get heated up too fast, faster than these pumps can adjust, the cells might become more active or less active than usual.

Even tiny temperature changes from brain stimulation can lead to big changes in neuron activity. As neurons get warmer, they can even stop working, and when they cool down again, they can become very easily excited.

Fever Hallucinations and other Psychological Affects

According to an Infections & Chemotherapy 2022 review, fevers can cause febrile convulsions, which is a seizure caused by a fever in young kids. It can also cause confusion, like not understanding where you are, not recognizing your surroundings. It can also cause unstable emotions, conscious and cognitive disturbances like illusions on hallucinations.

These can also be symptoms for things like influenza infections or encephalitis. Like the Yale experts explained even small temperature changes can have such a big impact on brain activity, we need to start paying attention to these small changes. He points out that it's a basic rule of physics that when you send electricity through wires to stimulate the brain, you will create heat, both in the wires and in the brain tissue itself.

Researching more on these matters can help us find better treatments and help doctors change the course of several procedures to help their patients.

Turkey has banned elective caesarean surgeries for childbirth at private hospitals and healthcare centres. "Planned Caesarean sections cannot be performed in a medical centre," said a gazette entry outlining new regulations governing private healthcare institutions in Turkey. It came as the country's president, Tyyip Recep Erdogan, has been pushing hard to have women give natural births, asserting that C Section surgeries promoted Western culture.

The move has triggered massive criticism from the opposition and right-wing organisations. "As if the country had no other problems, male football players are telling women how to give birth," Gokce Gokcen, deputy chair of the main opposition CHP, on X. Meanwhile, many human rights and women's rights organisations have also raised their voices against this new law, calling it out for restricting women's rights and liberty.

ALSO READ: After HIIT, Is Jeffing The New Go-To Cardio Workout

What Is A C-Section Birth?

C-section or caesarean birth is a surgical procedure wherein a baby is delivered through incisions made in mother's abdomen and uterus. The name caesarean comes from the Latin word "caedare" which means "to cut." Interestingly, there are rumours that link the name to Roman emperor Julius Caesar, stating that he was the first person to be born via this procedure. However, there are no records of this.

However, there are many cases where a caesarean section surgery becomes almost necessary. A doctor may order a C-section if:

• Your baby is breech, or the lower part of the body is in the birth canal instead of the head.
• Your baby is in a transverse position, or lying sideways in the birth canal.
• Your baby’s head is unusually large.
• Your baby’s heartbeat is slowing down, or there is a problem with oxygen delivery to your baby.
• You are giving birth to more than one baby. Sometimes one baby will be in an abnormal position, so all of the babies are then born via C-section.
• Your baby has a birth defect that makes vaginal delivery unsafe.
• You have umbilical cord issues.
• You have health conditions that make vaginal delivery unsafe. These include high blood pressure, HIV, open herpes lesions, or heart problems.

What Are The Complications Of Having a C-Section Surgery?

There are many complications that come with this method of delivering a child. They include:

• Reactions to the medicines used during surgery
• Bleeding
• Abnormal separation of the placenta, especially in women with previous cesarean delivery
• Injury to the bladder or bowel
• Infection in the uterus
• Wound infection
• Trouble urinating or a urinary tract infection
• Delayed return of bowel function
• Blood clots

Bottom Line

Despite the potential risks and complications, C-sections are much safer than they once were. With evolution in medical science, doctors are now taking great care to make incisions that will reduce the risk of nicks to the baby and infections to the mother. Meanwhile, the use of anaesthesia, also reduces the pain of the childbirth.

ALSO READ: Dishonesty Is 'More Than A Vice', It Could Make You Sick With

Being dishonest doesn’t come naturally to people, it is a learned virtue, whether out of necessity or pleasure. When kids lie, a lot of it stems from them not wanting to get in trouble, for example, breaking a household item or doing something they were told not to do like running around inside the house. However, when people do learn to tell lies, it can become like a go to tendency for many. It is easier to make something up rather than explaining complex truths.

According to a study published in the Psychological Science 2015, kids start lying around the age of two to three years old. Their habit then progresses rapidly, till the age of 3 and 7.

Not all lies are the same, some are really small and don't hurt anyone, like saying you like someone's new haircut even though you don't. These little white lies often just help keep things smooth and make people feel good. Then there are much bigger lies, like saying someone else did something wrong when they didn't, or lying to people about money. These kinds of lies can cause a lot of damage and have bad consequences for people's lives.

Stress Response of Lying

When we know that being dishonest could really hurt how others see us, the act of lying itself makes our bodies feel stressed. When we tell a lie, things start to happen without us even thinking about it. A 2015 review published in the Current Opinion in Psychology explains that our heart might beat faster, we might start to sweat a little and our mouth can feel really dry. These physical changes are what those old-fashioned lie-detector tests used to try and pick up on.

Some people don't feel as much empathy as others, and they might not have the usual stressed reaction when they lie. The American Psychological Association explains that some people can learn to control their bodies really well and might be able to lie and still pass a lie-detector test. On the other hand, someone who is telling the truth but is just really nervous about being tested might look like they are lying.

Gut-Brain Connection and Extreme Reactions

While it's not common, some people might have a really strong physical reaction to lying, like feeling sick to their stomach or even throwing up a lot. This shows how connected our gut and our brain are. When we feel really anxious, like when we are worried about getting caught in a lie, it can actually make our stomach feel bad. So, for someone who is constantly lying and worried about it, this anxiety could potentially lead to physical sickness.

Living a life where you are often not telling the truth can actually take a toll on your health over time, not just in the moment. Research has suggested that people who lie a lot might have problems like high blood pressure, their heart might beat faster more often, their blood vessels could get tighter, and they might have more stress hormones in their bodies on a regular basis.