Faecal Impaction

barry1010 | 10:29 Sun 21st Jun 2020 | Body & Soul

56 Answers

The heading should be enough to warn you that this is not going to be a pleasant post, certainly not smelling of a bed of roses. Those who are tickle tummed should avoid.

I had my first experience of this last night. I hadn't realised I was constipated and had not been feeling uncomfortable. I woke around 1am and went to the toilet. I was stuck on that loo for nearly 4 hours, unable to get off and in a lot of pain. I had to resort to asking my wife to bring me the disposable gloves and a bowl of hot soapy water.

The websites tell me I should not have done this myself. I hope it doesn't happen again but if it does, what should I do? There is no way I could have sat down anywhere but the loo.

Social Distancing Breach At Work.

Watery Eye

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tiggerblue10

Oooo...sorry to hear this Barry! Awful :o(

The only time I suffered with this was when I was in the latter stages of pregnancy. I tried to eat plenty of fibre and drink plenty of fluids. Exercise is also good. I think prevention is better than cure but can't always be helped.

My nan, who is in her late 80s, suffers with this and is constantly on laxatives these days.

calmck

Try some senna tablets. Are you drinking enough water? We can get something here called “dufolac” it helps soften the stool. The other thing you could keep for emergency is “Fleets enema”. However should this happen again a chat with your GP would be advisable

woofgang

I speak from a professional pov. Its worth trying to work out of there is a correctable underlying cause so you may like to talk to your doc or practice nurse. They can give you good advice about management as well. Having said that, available OTC are things like Movicol which can add bulk to your intestine, like adding fibre to the diet but maybe easier as less likely to give you digestive issues. Yes up fluid intake and things like juicy fruit. Glycerine suppositories are also available OTC and can be bought online. They will help to ease the passing of hard matter and may be easier for you to use than soapy water. Please be careful. Anal fissures are painful and hard to heal. I'd start at the doc.

woofgang

Be a bit careful with senna. By the time your lower bowel is full of really hard stuff, its a bit late. Senna will stimulate your bowel to move and MAKE you pass the hard stuff which can lead to tears and anal fissuring. It may also be very painful indeed. Once the hard stuff is passed, senna can be a useful management tool though.

pastafreak

It happened to me once post pregnancy, and again more recently. I'd not "gone" when my body demanded it. A few hours later, and it was impossible. I'd also not been drinking enough water...I upped it immediately.

barry1010

Question Author

Good advice, thank you. I do drink plenty of water and other fluids, I eat more than my 10 a day and exercise daily. I haven't really had bowel problems before so was taken aback by this.

Glycerine suppositories wouldn't have worked last night as the matter was bulging outside of my body in a solid mass, hence not being able to move from the loo. I will certainly keep an eye on things and take a laxative if I think I need to before it gets to this stage.

What I really want to know is - if I shouldn't have manually removed the blockage myself, what should I have done? The NHS website says that is the 'last resort' but it should be done by a doctor. Would I really be expected to call my GP out for this?

dannyk13

Are you getting enough fibre in your diet? If not try adding oat bran to your meals.

woofgang

Its one of those things that the NHS will NEVER advise people to do as its so risky....but sometimes needs must.

barry1010

Question Author

Danny, I eat porridge and prunes every morning, have lots of high fibre veg and pulses and snack on fruit. My daughter is a vegan so although I do eat meat I eat a lot of vegan friendly meals too which tend to be full of high fibre foods. I drink a lot of water throughout the day. I do yoga daily and at least 30 minutes twice a day on the treadmill. I should be fit as a butcher's dog.

pastafreak

Too much fiber can have the opposite effect...it can cause constipation.

New Judge

//Glycerine suppositories wouldn't have worked last night...//

No. For all the good they do you may as well shove them up your ***!

dannyk13

Barry, I suffered from constipation although I thought that I was getting enough fibre( 30g day) but I wasn't.I started adding oat bran to my porridge and drinking at least two litres of water a day.Since then I have had no problems.