Walking into the toilet that morning, Clint never knew a hard poop was what was pushing his anus.
Hmmmmmmm! He squeezed and pushed hard, as he tried to force the poop out of his anus.
It was not the first time. In fact, he could remember that an earlier experience had resulted in the inner lining of his anus pushing out.
Immediately the thought came, he considered stopping, but a part of the hard poop had already pushed out like the tip of an iceberg.
Thrown between continuing or stopping, he sat there thinking of what to do.
Like Clint, so many persons face this situation. Some end up having the inner lining of their anus pushing out or getting a tear.
You can overcome this hard poop experience and still poop without pains if you would only follow the recommendations here.
Why You Have Hard Poop
First, before we share what to do, we will let you know why you are having a hard poop.
First, hard poop often occurs when your colon absorbs too much water.
This could happen when the food you ate passes through your digestive system too slowly.
Sadly, the result is a hard, dry poop that is not easy to pass.
Also, it could happen when you have constipation. When you have constipation, you pass less than three bowel movements per week.
Basically, pooping anywhere from 3 times a day to 3 times a week is normal.
Some common causes of hard poop are; medication, poor activity level, pregnancy, ageing, lifestyle changes and intestinal issues.
It can also happen when you take too many laxatives, eat less fibre, drink less fluid or have irritable bowel syndrome.
If you ever find that you have hard poop, here are few things you can quickly do.
1. Push And Pause Technique
This is one process that works well in ensuring that you do not have a tear or that the inner lining of your anus does not push out because of the hard poop.
All you do is push a little and pause, closing your anus tightly. That way, the anus presses the poop and makes it slimmer to go through.
In fact, in some cases, the anus could cut off the poop that is already out.
Where it does not cut the poop off, it will surely reduce the size of what is inside, making it easier to push out.
Push again after few seconds and repeat process until the poop comes off.
2. Massage Your Abdomen
Unfortunately, in some cases, the poop will not come out at all. When this is the case, try a massage.
Basically, this massage may help bring fast relief if you do it fine.
It will help stimulate your bowels if they are not moving enough to help food digest more quickly.
You may stop the poop process and lie flat on your back with your belly exposed.
Apply any oil of choice and then massage your stomach in a clockwise direction several times.
Also, you can then massage the centerline of your stomach. Start from the area below your sternum and massage down to your pubic bone.
This could give you the relief you seek if you try to poop after 20 minutes of this massage session.
3. Drink Water
Taking more water could help make your stool softer.
Remember that we said earlier that poor intake of fluid could be the reason you are having a hard stool.
Taking a glass of water may give instant result. But also ensure that you adjust your fluid intake to at least 1.5 litres daily.
A study, highlights the role of adequate intake of fluids in making your poop soft (1).
4. Increase Intake Of Fibre
Definitely, this will not give you an instant result.
In fact it is part of the lifestyle changes that you need to make to ensure that you do not have hard poop situations subsequently.
Fibre aids bowel movement and add bulk to the stool.
While it is okay to add fibre, note that too much of it could also have adverse effects. One of those is that it could cause bloating and abdominal discomfort.
There are lots of fibre rich foods to try – red rice, red kidney beans, black beans, apples, carrots, broccoli, almonds and guava.
5. Move Your Body – Exercise
Indeed, sometimes, after exercising, the urge to poop comes. That is because exercise or movements have a way of stimulating your bowel.
For instance, using a waist twister, could stimulate your bowel, well enough to make you poop freely.
6 . Keep Away Foods With Low Fibre And Empty Calorie
These are fast foods, chips and some other foods without fibre.
The truth is that these foods do not add so much nutritional value to your diet.
Most of them cause harm and could lead to constipation in the long run.
Having Hard Poop Too Often?
When you have hard poop too often, you might want to opt for medical treatment.
There are a few treatments a doctor could recommend.
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You may be asked to use stool softeners, bulk-forming agents or osmotic agents.
They all help make your stool soft enough to pass.
However, these are short-term solutions.
Furthermore, if your hard poop causes intestinal blockage or rectal prolapse, they doctor may recommend surgery to correct any problem.
Don’t wait for too long. If after 4 days you have not been able to poop, it is okay to see a doctor.
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