Dr Zac Turner on the poo problem no one wants to have

This unsettlingly common toilet problem can lead to a doctor having to do a procedure that isn’t fun for anyone involved.

Welcome to Ask Doctor Zac, a weekly column from news.com.au. This week, Dr Zac Turner talks about constipation.

Question: Hi Dr Zac, my mother can be quite overbearing at times, but her worst trait is her to-the-minute tracking of my bowel movements. She is terrified of anyone in the family being constipated.

She always goes on about how back in her day a girl at her school camp didn’t poo for five days and ended up having to get surgery to take the petrified log out of her. She claims this will happen to me if I don’t regularly go to the bathroom.

Her micro managing is getting out of control – she even tries to hand me a glass of Metamucil before I head off to work every day. Is there any truth to what she is saying? Do I need to worry about poo drying up inside of me? – Hannah, 21, Victoria

Constipation happens when stools are passed through the body at a slower rate than normal. Picture: istock

Answer: Interesting question Hannah, one that definitely needs a little unpacking.

I’ll just point out that any story that comes from a school camp is most likely sensationalised or completely made up. I’m pretty sure I had a kid on my school camp rumoured to fall to a similar faeces fate.

There have been some recorded cases of people not going to the bathroom for a long time and needing to have a ‘petrified log’ taken out of them – but I hardly think your mother’s school friend is one of the few documented cases.

There is, however, a chance the poor girl on camp may have had to undertake a manual disimpaction. A gross name that befits an unpleasant medical technique – one that doctors often have to perform on their patients.

If a hardened stool causing constipation is lodged in the rectum, a doctor (yay, me) will insert a lubricated, gloved index finger and break up the stool gently. The finger is moved in a circular manner, and a scissoring manner, until the stool comes out. Sorry if anyone is reading this while eating breakfast!

In some cases there has been reason to put a tube down a patients throat and all the pieces sitting above the dried log is then sucked back up. You can imagine how your senses would kick into overdrive.

I think those descriptions alone are enough motivation for us all to eat enough fibre!

The long list of causes is the reason why you should speak to your doctor if constipation persists. Picture: istock

Why it happens

Constipation is one of those conditions that can be caused by so many things. It happens when stools are passed through the body at a slower rate than normal – typically at the rate of two or fewer times per week.

It occurs in our colon, which is essentially the ShamWow of our body. When a stool passes through the colon, water is extracted. If a stool moves fast then little water will be extracted and diarrhea occurs. In other words, a gastro-virus, or eating a pathogen covered dinner which immediately causes your stomach to grumble. You know the feeling – as your body causes a sharp increase in intestinal motility (sliding and squeezing movement) which project harmful things out of the body. Most of us have probably experienced gastroenteritis – though we take for granted the daily power of our morning coffee to kick-start several organs.

On the other hand (the one without the glove … never shake the hand of a person gloved), when a stool moves slowly it means a lot of water gets extracted, making it dry and painful to pass, causing constipation.

Common causes of constipation include ageing, diet lacking in fibre, dehydration, lack of exercise, pregnancy, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic medical conditions like diabetes, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Keep a poo diary

The long list of causes is the reason why you should speak to your doctor if constipation persists. It could be a warning sign of something more sinister happening inside your body. If you are worried about constipation, a great method to stay on track is to keep a poo diary. Record the time you go number two and soon enough you’ll know your own schedule. These records can be given to your doctor. They also make delightful dinner time reading and will be sure to get your mum off your back!

Your mother is correct in thinking that any stools you are holding in will cause damage. Think of your faeces as the unwanted drunk guest at your party. The longer they hang around, the more annoying they will be for your other guests. Often there are lots of similarities among family members’ regularity so potentially your mother is actually using her own cycle to predict yours. It’s especially easy for her to predict if she knows what your weekend was like – dehydration from a big weekend throws regularity ‘down the drain’ for weeks.

If you do have excess stools backed up in your intestine, it could cause the intestine to tear. The stool can then spill into the abdominal cavity and cause severe and often life-threatening symptoms. This is called Bowel Perforation. Can you imagine the feeling of having something hard and almost spiky in your gut. And every time you ate or drank something it caused it to be pushed painfully towards the exit?

Having said that, it’s important for constipation sufferers and especially children to overcome the fear of toilet pain as avoiding a trip to the loo obviously makes matters worse.

Drink plenty of water every day to prevent dehydration. Picture: istock

How to avoid it

Constipation will happen at some point in everyone’s lives but there are easy ways to avoid it!

● Drink plenty of water every day to prevent dehydration

● Drink other fluids, such as prune juice, coffee and tea, which act as natural laxatives

● Eat foods that are high in fibre, such as whole wheat, oats and vegetables

● Reduce your intake of foods that are high in sugar, which can cause constipation

● Exercise daily to help keep your digestive system running well

Eat foods that are high in fibre, such as whole wheat, oats and vegetables. Picture: istock

Hannah, your mother might be a little overboard but she is teaching you a powerful lesson on being in tune with your body. The preventative methods are far easier and more pleasant than the symptoms … and don’t even get me started on haemorrhoids!! The more you know about yourself, the more you can do to be healthy and, when it comes to your bowel, regular.

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Dr Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He is both a medical practitioner and a co-owner of telehealth service, Concierge Doctors. He was also a registered nurse and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist along with being a PhD Candidate in Biomedical Engineering