Irregular Bowel Movements
Irregular bowel movements are said to occur when a person has more than three bowel movements (diarrhea) per day or less than three bowel movements (constipation) per week. Change in consistency or frequency of the stool is also regarded as irregular bowel movements. The number of bowel movements is seen to decrease with age. Majority of adults have bowel movements between 3 and 21 times per week, which is considered normal. However, the most commonly observed pattern is one bowel movement a day.
Irregular bowel movements may be caused by several factors such as
- Improper diet
- Lack of exercise
- Insufficient intake of water
- Hormonal causes (Hypothyroidism, diabetes, pregnancy, and adrenal gland insufficiency)
- Diabetes
- Anxiety or stress
- Panic attacks
- Side effects of medication (iron supplements, sedatives, opiates, diuretics, anti-acids, etc)
- Digestive disorders
- Congenital diseases such as cystic fibrosis in new born infants
- Bacterial or parasitic infections
- Allergy to certain food items such as eggs, cow’s milk, soy, wheat, and peanuts
- lactose intolerance
- Inadequate fructose absorption
- Food poisoning
- Excess alcohol
- Crohn’s disease (inflammation of the bowel)
- Celiac disease
- Other medical problems
People suffering from irregular bowel movements are likely to experience the following symptoms
- Pain and discomfort while passing stool
- Feeling of bloating and abdominal pain
- Bowel movement soon after having a meal
- Bowel movement accompanied by pain and bleeding
- constipation after a surgery
Making some changes to the lifestyle and food habits of a person can be highly beneficial in regulating irregular bowel movements. There are a few home remedies that offer relief for the symptoms associated with irregular bowel movement. A few of the remedies are listed below:
- Drinking plenty of water is one way to relieve constipation. It is recommended that an individual should drink 8 or more glasses of water daily.
- Intake of fiber rich food such as papayas, pineapples, grapes, bananas, mangoes, figs, almonds, dried apricots, prunes, raisins, dates, celery, parsley, coconut, olives, soybeans and green vegetables is a good way to ease constipation.
- Ginger is considered to be very effective in curing irregular bowel movements. It can be taken either raw or in the form of ginger tea. People having diabetes and heart diseases should avoid taking this herb.
- Mix two or three drops of peppermint oil in a cup of warm water and drink this mixture at regular intervals. This is a very effective remedy for treating irregular bowel movements.
- Drinking one liter of water immediately after waking up and going for a walk every day will help to regulate the bowel movements.
- Reducing the intake of coffee and alcohol can relieve the irregularities in bowel movements.
- Organic pro biotic yogurt is rich in good bacteria such as Lactobacillus that helps in digestion and improve bowel health.
- Add a few drops of castor oil in a cup of warm milk and take the mixture before going to bed. This is helpful to relieve severe constipation.
- Taking a stimulant laxative will offer fast relief from bowel irregularities.
- Another way to get relief from irregular bowel movements is to increase bulk in your diet by taking psyllium (Metamucil) or methylcellulose (Fibercon) thrice a day along with a glass of water.
If the above remedies are not helpful, then a doctor should be consulted to find out if irregular bowel movements are caused by some other underlying cause such as diabetes, thyroid problems, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and cancer so that appropriate treatment can be started.