Do you have unbearable stomach pain? Be careful! It may be...

I haven't had a bowel movement or passed gas for several days in a row, my stomach feels bloated, and my whole body feels blocked.

When encountering this situation, people usually think that eating some laxative foods can relieve the symptoms; or because they have eaten too much meat recently, they choose to eat some vegetables with high fiber content to relieve the symptoms.

If it is just ordinary constipation, this treatment can indeed have a certain effect. But if a similar situation occurs in the elderly at home, it must be taken seriously.

At the same time, pay attention to observe whether the elderly have other symptoms, such as abdominal distension, unbearable abdominal pain or vomiting. If so, it is necessary to consider that the elderly's constipation may be caused by intestinal obstruction .

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Acute intestinal obstruction develops quickly and can lead to death in severe cases. Therefore, we cannot take it lightly and must carefully observe the physical condition of the elderly and confirm whether there are symptoms of intestinal obstruction as soon as possible. If the best time to treat intestinal obstruction is missed, it is very likely to be life-threatening.

What is intestinal obstruction

What kind of disease is intestinal obstruction and how should we treat it?

Intestinal obstruction is a disorder of intestinal contents caused by various reasons. In simple terms, the contents in the intestine are blocked and cannot pass through the intestine smoothly. There are many reasons for intestinal obstruction, such as intestinal adhesion, intestinal inflammation, hernia and tumor.

Currently, intestinal obstruction is mainly divided into three types.

01

Mechanical intestinal obstruction

Mechanical intestinal obstruction is the most common intestinal obstruction clinically. It is an obstacle to the passage of intestinal contents caused by various mechanical factors inside the intestine, intestinal wall and outside the intestine. It is common in intestinal adhesions, intestinal torsion, intussusception, fecal masses and huge tumors in the abdominal cavity.

02

Dynamic intestinal obstruction

Clinically, it is also called paralytic ileus, which is caused by dysfunction of the intestinal wall muscle movement. There are two types of dynamic intestinal obstruction: one is intestinal spastic obstruction caused by acute gastroenteritis or chronic lead poisoning; the other is intestinal obstruction caused by weakened or disappeared mesenteric nerve function after major surgery, peritonitis, retroperitoneal hematoma, general anesthesia, and intestinal paralysis and non-peristalsis.

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03

Vascular intestinal obstruction

Vascular ileus is caused by thrombosis in the mesenteric blood vessels, which results in obstruction of intestinal blood circulation, loss of intestinal motility, and cessation of intestinal contents movement. Vascular ileus is more common in adults, and more common in men than in women.

Symptoms of intestinal obstruction

After understanding the causes and types of intestinal obstruction, let us focus on the symptoms of intestinal obstruction.

The symptoms of intestinal obstruction are relatively obvious, usually manifested as abdominal pain, and it is paroxysmal and severe colic, which is usually unbearable for patients. It should be noted that it is sometimes difficult for the elderly and children to describe the specific location of pain.

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After intestinal obstruction occurs, the patient will experience vomiting symptoms , and then enter a period of quiescence. The time when vomiting occurs again is determined by the site of obstruction.

After a period of time, patients will generally experience abdominal distension . After complete intestinal obstruction occurs, bowel movements and gas discharge will stop. This is what we mentioned at the beginning: no bowel movements or gas discharge for several days.

There is no obvious change in the general condition of patients with early simple intestinal obstruction, which usually makes many people unable to detect it. In the later stages, symptoms such as cold limbs, pale complexion, sunken eyeballs and low blood pressure will appear.

Therefore, once symptoms such as abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distension, cessation of bowel movements and flatulence appear, you must pay attention to it.

Treatment and prevention

Intestinal obstruction can cause internal environmental disturbances in the human body and can be life-threatening when combined with intestinal necrosis, abdominal infection, etc. Therefore, when acute intestinal obstruction occurs, you must go to the hospital for treatment immediately.

The treatment of intestinal obstruction mainly depends on the cause, nature, location, condition and patient's general condition of the obstruction, and includes non-surgical treatment and surgical treatment.

In daily life, we should also adopt a healthy lifestyle to reduce the occurrence of intestinal obstruction. For example, we should eat more fruits and vegetables and avoid spicy food; develop a good habit of daily exercise, exercise appropriately , avoid standing or sitting for long periods of time; develop good bowel habits , have regular bowel movements, and do not take too long.

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As living conditions improve, the amount of meat consumed in a family's daily diet often exceeds the standard. **Excessive protein intake can lead to constipation. **Therefore, proper adjustment of the diet structure, such as increasing the intake of dietary fiber, can improve the symptoms of constipation.

More and more people are beginning to pay attention to intestinal health. Although defecation is a small matter, it is a barometer of intestinal health. Timely detection of changes in bowel habits can help detect intestinal diseases early and treat them in time.

Author: Ma Shuai Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University

Reviewer: Guo Shubin, Chief Physician, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University

This article is produced by Science Popularization China, written by Ma Shuai (Beijing Chaoyang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University), and supervised by the Chinese Medical Association

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