Types of Substances and Their Treatments

Information on Laxatives Addiction

Laxatives are any chemicals or foods that are taken to increase bowl movements most frequently used to treat constipation

Acknowledged Laxatives Addiction Rehabs

Laxatives are any chemicals or foods that are taken to increase bowl movements and thus causing to easy removal of stool, most frequently used to treat constipation.

Action in our body

The main sight of action of laxatives in our body is the colon and not the stomach. They cause water and fats to enter in the stool making it easier to move along. Some laxatives like mineral oil make the make the stool slippery so that it would be passing through intestine more easily.

Some laxatives attract and retain water in the intestine thus increasing the intraluminal pressure and thus softening the stool. Some laxatives work under the principal of osmotic pressure in which they retain water in colon by decreasing the pH and increasing colonic peristalsis.

Abuse of laxative

Usually people with eating disorders abuse laxatives. People abuse laxatives believing that they are losing weight from its use and thus making them thinner. But in actual this is wrong because the actual sight of action of laxatives is colon and not the stomach. By the time food reaches the colon, all the calories of the food have already been absorbed by the other part of the GI tract. In colon the laxatives absorb water from body fluid in order to lubricate the stool so that it would be passed from body easily.

Hence overuse of laxatives only reduces water weight without effecting body calorie and the lost water is regained by our body with in 48 hour of laxative use.

Side effects of laxative abuse and overdose

Followings are the side effects to be encountered on frequent laxative abuse:

-Imbalance between body fluid and minerals causing various heart problems like arrhythmias and heart attack.
-Lose of excessive water causing dehydration.
-Severe abdominal pain.
-Complete lose of control over rectum causing chronic diarrhea.
-Nausea and even vomiting
-Bloating and gas production.

Overdose of laxative may cause severe dehydration and heart problems and require hospitalization. When people try to remain abstinence from the drug they might feel nausea, constipation and gas.

Treatment and precautions

As laxatives can cause serious complications in our body it is advisable to take laxatives under the prescription of a doctor. People with eating disorders should not take laxatives with a purpose of reducing body weight. They should consult a psychiatrist with expertise in eating disorders.

People with serious complication of laxative abuse need to be hospitalized and should follow the instruction of a doctor. After hospitalization they must go through a well planned diet with advice of a practitioner.