On the Rise

In recent years, with the continuous improvement of living standards and increasingly refined foods, the incidence of constipation has been on the rise. According to epidemiological surveys, the prevalence rate of chronic constipation among adults in China is 4% to 6%, increasing with age; this rate reaches 22% in those over 60 years old, and up to 80% in bedridden or immobile elderly individuals with long-term illness. Some people may not consider occasional difficulty in bowel movements to be a serious issue and pay little attention to it, while others may suffer from chronic constipation but avoid medical consultation, opting instead to self-medicate. In fact, these behaviors are not advisable. What kind of constipation requires treatment? What are the potential harms behind constipation? Let's take a closer look. Manifestations of Chronic Constipation What are the manifestations of chronic constipation? Let’s conduct a self-check for constipation to see if you have any of the following symptoms: ① Reduced bowel movements, fewer than three times per week; ② Hard stools that resemble sheep droppings; ③ Difficulty passing stool, where the stool is not necessarily hard but passage is strenuous, requiring significant effort like squeezing toothpaste, and sometimes manual assistance is needed; ④…