When we are becoming so conscious of our diet, still constipation is becoming a problem of grave concern. Why is it so. How diet and lifestyle changes can cure constipation. How do you know you have constipation. If you have constipation, can you try taking over the counter medicines available. What’s the difference between using Indian toilet and western toilets for bowel movements. This is what this article is about.
In Ayurveda, Constipation is not mentioned as a disease but as a symptom. It can give rise to many diseases but. Constipation is a commonly used term but very few people know what the meaning of it is.
How do you know you have constipation?
How do you know you have constipation
Constipation word is often misused. When I ask my patients, “Do you have constipation, they admit it”
Then I ask, do you have bowel movement daily, “Yes”
Is your stool hard, “Not really”
Does it pain you while passing stool
“Not at all”
Have you seen blood with your stool, “Never”
Then how do you say you are constipated? I get a general reply to this, “I pass stool daily, but I do not have satisfaction after it” or “I have to go for 3-4 times in the morning only then my stomach gets light. This is not constipation; it is incomplete evacuation, and its treatment is altogether different from constipation.
Going by the definition, constipation is when you pass stool not more than 3 times a week or you get hard stool, pain while defaecation, blood accompanied with stool. At some point of time, you all must have experienced constipation in life. If you get constipation occasionally may be while travelling, or there is change of place, or you didn’t sleep the previous night, or you had outside food or you are taking some medicines, then it is fine. But if you face constipation for more than 6 months of time then you need to get in touch with an ayurvedic doctor and get treatment started.
When I say constipation needs to be treated, it doesn’t mean just having laxatives is a solution. Ayurveda treatment works on the cause and your Agni. If your Agni is good, your digestion will be better and bowel movements will be best. In Ayurveda, it is mentioned that constipation can cause fissure, piles, hiccups, asthma and many Vayu disorders. Majority of patients having low back ache, sciatica, arthritis are usually found constipated.
Do you have an Indian Toilet at home When I ask this question to the parents of children who complain of constipation, the answer I get is NO with a surprise in their eyes and a shrug that who keeps them these days?
There should be at least one in the house. No big a surprise if we are increasingly facing incomplete evacuation, gut issues, IBS, constipation, problems due to excessive expulsion effort in sitting toilets. Western toilets are easy and comfortable but the thing with them is the colon is not emptied, some stool remains inside.
Now when you eat food, the faeces that’s there will mix with digested fresh food and form toxins in the body. You also have to strain more in these toilets. If there is only a western toilet in your house, what you can do is get a squatting stool, you can place in front of the commode, place your legs on it and lean forward.
This will create pressure on diaphragm. The position we sit in Indian toilet help easy evacuation of the bowel as pressure is exerted on the diaphragm which not only helps the easy passage of the stool but sees that the entire intestine is emptied.
Ayurvedic treatment of constipation
Ayurveda works on the root cause and not just prescribing laxatives. Here, Agni is taken care of. Medicines like Amrita, Harda, Baheda, Amla, Aragwadh, Trivriti are used to cleanse the bowels and slowly the peristalsis of intestines is restored.
Panchkarma treatment for constipation is also done at out Ayurvedic clinic. Virechan and Basti are two panchkarma procedures which every constipation patient should undergo. Proper and wise choice of drugs for virechan has to be made. Prakriti of a person has to be analyzed and only then drug for virechan is decided.
Patients that visit our ayurvedic clinic in Delhi-NCR have been suffering from constipation for years. Don’t rely on laxative churnas instead visit a Panchkarma centre near you get the bowels cleansed. You won’t need laxatives then.
Copyright @jyotiayurclinic.com.