An overloaded condition of the large intestine may cause inflammation of the liver or dropsy of the abdomen. When the colon is distended, it becomes a mechanical impediment to the free circulation of the blood in other organs, and causes congestion of the portal system, predisposing to chronic inflammation or cirrhosis of the liver. This latter is a structural affection, and may, in turn, give rise to abdominal dropsy. In a word, the accumulation of feces in the colon irritates both the large and small intestines, thus causing congestion of the bowels, liver, or stomach.
The protracted presence of feculent matter deadens the sensibility of the intestine, so that great stimulation is required to provoke it to action. The contents become dry, solid, knotty, and hard, and very difficult to evacuate. If drastic, irritating physic be taken, only temporary relief is afforded, and it must be repeatedly resorted to, and the dose increased, to obtain the desired effect.
Symptoms. One diagnostic symptom of a loaded state of the colon, is an abundant secretion of urine, as limpid as water. The direct symptoms relate to the hardness of the feces and the great difficulty of voiding them. The influence of constipation upon the functions of the liver, is indicated by the sympathy displayed between that organ and the mind. The patient manifests apprehension, mental depression, taciturnity, and melancholy, all indicative of hypochondriac dejection, induced by constipation.
We have treated patients, who, from this cause, had renounced their bright hopes, lost their buoyant spirits, and, becoming subject to superstitious fears, had given themselves up, night and day, to devotions and penance. It often happens that the victims of this deep dejection and morbid feeling of self-abasement, are persons not only of good moral character, but of high religious attainments, and their painful exhibitions of fear, distrust, and gloom, originate in physical rather than in spiritual causes. It is interesting to witness this strange perversion of the imagination, this morbid debasement of the religious faculties, and dejection of mind, due to causes disturbing the functions of the liver and other vital organs.
Young girls, as they approach the age of puberty, seem possessed with the idea that the unfrequent action of the bowels is a desirable habit. They do not associate with the duty a proper regard for health, but consider it as an inelegant and repugnant practice. The consequence is, that at this susceptible period, constipation, induced by neglect, arouses a latent hepatic or pulmonary disease which has been lurking in the system.
How many girls illustrate the truth of this statement by their complaints of dizziness, throbbing pain in the forehead and temples, flushing of the face, transient flushes of heat over the body, while at the same time the extremities are cold. At other times, they manifest the evils of such a course by their stupor, drowsiness, and deep sleep, although upon arising in the morning, they are still tired and unrefreshed.
The constipated condition of the bowels, often leads to congestion of the uterus and leucorrhea, followed by uterine debility, prolapsus, excessive menstruation, anteversion or retroversion of that organ. The infrequency of the habit, incorrectly supposed to be desirable by a young woman, becomes nearly, if not quite disastrous to all her desires and bright prospects. Complications arise, and neither the inexperienced girl nor her solicitous and afflicted parents know where to look for remedial aid. If they seek an asylum from these sufferings, they find many private institutions, where flattering expectations of speedy recovery are aroused. At such institutions, these uterine disorders are generally treated merely as local diseases, while the causes are overlooked, and, consequently, a permanent cure is not effected. Having spent nearly all the money at her command, the patient returns home utterly disheartened. After such failures, many of these unfortunate individuals have applied to us and received treatment, and by persistently following our directions, have in due time been restored to health, amid all the comforts of home, and among friends, who rejoiced with them in the unexpectedly favorable turn of affairs, accomplished at a comparatively trifling expense.
We have seen infants, and also young children, in whom constipation was obstinate. It therefore seems that it is often hereditary. In some persons, this affection continues from childhood, with but little variation, until bleeding pile tumors are developed. Habitual constipation of the bowels for a long period of years will generate a class of diseases, which are often very serious in their results.
Causes. We have already alluded to a sense of false modesty which prevents a response to the calls of nature, and we may mention other reasons, equally trifling, which deter many from fulfilling its demands. Some are in the habit of temporarily postponing their visits to the water closet, until, when they do go, they find themselves unable to evacuate the bowels. Sometimes the closet is a damp, uncomfortable out-house, situated at a distance from the dwelling, or the access is too public, and, hence, there is an unwillingness to visit it at the proper time. Some appear to be too indolent to attend to this duty. Others are too energetic, and think they cannot take the time, until they have finished some self-imposed task or attended to a pressing engagement.
Inactive life and sedentary occupations are also causes of constipation. Active exercise promotes all the bodily functions, and helps to regulate the bowels. Those who are engaged in literary pursuits, find that mental occupation determines the blood to the brain, thus drawing it from the extremities; the temperature falls below the natural standard, and there is almost invariably congestion of the bowels. The inmates of boarding-schools, factory girls, seamstresses, milliners, employés in manufacturing establishments, and all who sit and toil almost unremittingly twelve hours in the day, do not get sufficient exercise of all the muscles of the body, and are often troubled with obstinate constipation.