Can enema be used frequently?

Suppositories are a common medicine. When severe constipation occurs or is caused by illness or other reasons, doctors can use suppositories to treat patients' severe constipation. However, it is also important to understand that suppositories should not be used frequently. Frequent use will cause greater irritation and impact on the intestinal wall, and the harmful effects are relatively large. Long-term reliance on suppositories will aggravate constipation. Let's take a look at this aspect.

Is it okay to use enema every day?

For people who occasionally suffer from constipation or in emergency situations, it is completely possible to choose enema to help with defecation. The characteristics of enema determine that it can only be used "occasionally" or in "emergency" situations.

Because the enema squeezed into the anus helps defecation by stimulating the intestinal wall to cause the defecation reflex. If used frequently, the more times the rectum is stimulated, the less sensitive it becomes. Once people get used to the drug, they will no longer respond. This is especially true for patients with dry and small stools. Long-term reliance on enema for defecation will make it more difficult.

Therefore, for people who often suffer from constipation, it is completely undesirable to simply use enema to help defecation. What is more important is to find the cause of the constipation. There are many causes of constipation, such as: slow intestinal peristalsis, outlet obstruction, other chronic diseases, dehydration, drug factors, etc. Not every type of constipation is suitable for enema. Only symptomatic treatment can completely relieve defecation difficulties.

There are two common enema preparations.

One is a glycerol preparation, and the other is a mannitol and magnesium sulfate preparation. The two preparations have different ingredients, but the principles are basically the same. They both use the high concentration of glycerol or sorbitol, that is, the hyperosmotic effect, to soften the stool, stimulate the intestinal wall, and reflexively induce a defecation reaction. In addition, its lubricating effect can make the stool easier to excrete.

Normal defecation should be caused by the rectum being stimulated by feces to trigger the defecation reflex. This is a physiological process that does not require the help of external stimulation, so there is naturally no need to use enema.

People who suffer from constipation mainly do so because their rectum is insensitive to the stimulation of stool, or because their stool is dry and hard and it is painful to defecate, so they deliberately hold back their stool. Constipation may be improved by dietary changes or medications to soften the stool or by changing bowel habits.