The autumn weather is crisp and clear, and it's gradually getting drier. Recently, Xiao Liu has been feeling depressed: for the past few days, using the toilet has become his biggest headache. He would spend ten to twenty minutes in there, but it was all for nothing. Moreover, due to the "blockage" caused by constipation, Xiao Liu constantly feels bloated and uncomfortable, and his appetite has also been affected... According to a reporter, since Beijing gradually entered autumn, there have been quite a few patients like Xiao Liu.
From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), constipation must be differentiated into excess and deficiency syndromes before being treated accordingly. Li Zongxin, director of the TCM Department at Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing, pointed out that young people who tend to overindulge in autumn often eat spicy foods. However, these foods can easily cause "internal heat," leading to excess heat in the body, which in turn causes gastrointestinal acute heat and constipation. In TCM, this type of constipation is called "excess constipation." Generally, excess constipation has a short course of disease, manifesting as short-term constipation attacks, and the person may also have bad breath, red eyes, a thick and greasy tongue coating, abdominal bloating and pain, and a tendency to be irritable and angry. "Deficiency constipation," on the other hand, is a long-term type of constipation, more common in the elderly, mostly caused by qi deficiency due to insufficient qi and blood. Patients often present with a pale complexion, physical fatigue, weak bowel movements, and may not have a bowel movement for several days. Moreover, the stool is not necessarily very dry and may not appear in a hard, lumpy state. Additionally, insufficient yin and blood in the body can lead to yin deficiency constipation. Patients often also experience long defecation times, lumpy stools, hot palms and soles, tinnitus, dizziness, and irritability. For example, pregnant women are prone to yin deficiency constipation after childbirth due to damage to their yin and blood.
Experts remind that the use of medication for deficiency and excess constipation is different. Excess constipation is generally a short-term condition and can be temporarily treated with some suppositories like glycerin enemas and oral laxatives. However, deficiency constipation, being a long-term chronic condition, should not be treated with the indiscriminate use of laxatives, as this can lead to drug dependence and is harmful to the body. However, deficiency and excess constipation are often difficult to distinguish. Therefore, after experiencing constipation, it is best for patients to see a doctor first to clarify their condition before prescribing the appropriate medication.
Li Zongxin pointed out that as Beijing gradually enters autumn, the climate becomes increasingly dry. Autumn dryness is one of the most common health problems. Due to insufficient water intake, constipation is one of the serious consequences of autumn dryness. Furthermore, as the weather cools down, people's appetite improves, and hot pot and some spicy foods are back on the table in full swing. This type of diet makes many people enjoy eating but suffer from painful bowel movements. In addition, factors such as work stress and pressure, a diet that is too refined with a reduction in coarse fiber leading to decreased bowel motility, an irregular lifestyle, reduced intestinal sensitivity from the overuse of laxatives, and certain diseases of the rectum, colon, endocrine, or nervous systems, as well as the use of sedatives and neuroleptic drugs, can all lead to constipation. Some women also eat boiled foods with little oil to lose weight, which can easily lead to constipation. In short, the above factors have led to a significant increase in the proportion of constipation patients among outpatients in hospitals during the autumn, and among constipation patients, women significantly outnumber men.
Six Tips to Relieve Constipation
1. Regular Schedule: Develop a regular bowel habit. This will condition your body to increase intestinal motility at a set time, thus reducing the likelihood of constipation.
2. Hydration: Drinking an adequate amount of water can help dilute the stool, making it easier for the intestines to push it through, which in turn can reduce the discomfort of constipation.
3. Medication Avoidance: Avoid the medications mentioned above that can cause constipation, such as sedatives like diazepam.
4. Exercise: Avoid prolonged sitting, inactivity, and high mental concentration. Engage in more exercises like deep breathing, abdominal exercises, waist turning and leg bending, walking, running, and practicing Tai Chi.
5. Massage: People troubled by constipation can perform self-massage daily to alleviate it. Before sleeping each day, massage your abdomen in a clockwise direction for 30 to 50 repetitions to promote intestinal peristalsis and facilitate bowel movements.
6. Dietary Therapy: TCM experts recommend some dietary therapies for constipation: boil two bananas with an appropriate amount of rock sugar for flavor; or take 30 to 60 grams of raw He Shou Wu and cook it with rice and red dates; or take four or five water chestnuts and cook them with about 50 grams of jellyfish; or cook 50 grams of white fungus with an appropriate amount of rock sugar; or cook 50 grams of pine nuts into a porridge; or mix 50 grams of honey, 25 grams of sesame oil, and 100 ml of boiling water. These methods can all help prevent or relieve constipation.
In your daily diet, you can eat more fiber-rich foods. Eating more coarse flour high in wheat bran, brown rice, corn, oats, soybeans, and more vegetables like cabbage, celery, chives, radishes, sweet potatoes, and white potatoes, as well as sesame, walnuts, donkey-hide gelatin, and fruits like pomelos, apples, and peaches, can all help prevent and relieve constipation.