Emollients and Lubricant Drugstore Laxatives
Stool Softener Laxatives - Emollients
Stool softeners and emollients work by absorbing water into the fecal matter. This makes the fecal matter softer so it can pass easier through your colon and out the rectum. Two of the chemicals used in stool softener laxatives are docusate sodium and docusate calcium.
Don't use these types of laxatives since they have chemicals that can produce side effects. Docusate sodium has been found to increase the toxicity of drugs when taken at the same time. In addition, they affect liver function.
You can find some of these laxatives at your local drugstore under the names,
* Colace - contains docusate sodium
* Dialose - contains docusate sodium
* Surfak - contains docusate calcium
Other products that contain docusate sodium and docusate calcium are:
* Senokot-S, Correctol 50 plus, Fleet Stool Softener, Phillips Liquid-Gel
Avoid using docusate with mineral oil since this increases the chances of absorbing some mineral oil into the body. Mineral oil in the body tissues can form tumors.
Pregnant women should avoid using this type of laxative.
Lubricants Stool Softeners
Lubricants stimulate a bowel movement by coating your colon walls and fecal matter. These lubricants also help keep water in the fecal matter, preventing them from becoming hard and difficult to pass through your colon and rectum. One such lubricant is Mineral oil - (not recommended)
Avoid laxatives that contain mineral oils. These oils can cause a pneumonia that is difficult to clear. They interfere with intestinal absorption of food nutrients, and fat-soluble vitamins, like vitamin A, and collect in the lymph nodes when used often.
Mineral oil is not a food. It coats food and prevents it from being digested and prevents absorption of vitamins and nutrients.
Dale Alexander, author of Arthritis Common Sense, 1981, reminds us that,
"Crude mineral oil was discovered, by Indians, on top of stagnant water in the oil fields. Today, mineral oil is refined into pure from petroleum. Refineries could not sell mineral oil for automobile use, so their representatives educated people to pour it into their bodies. Just the way mineral oil does not pass qualifications for a car carburetor, it forms puddles of useless oil in your intestinal loops."
Mineral oil passes from the mouth, all the way through your colon, and out the rectum without being absorbed. However, it sometimes passes through the intestinal walls in small amounts and poses a health hazard in the body. It also leaks out of the rectum, if too much is used.
Some of the lubricant drugstore laxatives are:
* Alin plus phenolphthalein -
* Dioctyl sodium sulfosucciante - a detergent type substance that lowers the surface tension of your colon walls and fecal matter.
* Docusate potassium
* Magnesium hydroxide - brings in more water into your colon. When too much is taken, it can create embarrassment for you.
* Osmolak plus lactulose (lactulose is a synthetic sugar that pulls water out of the body and into your colon to soften stools.)
* Sokol plus mineral oil
Dioctyl sodium Sulfosucciante belongs to a family of chemicals that reduces the surface tension of the fecal matter in your colon allowing water and fat to penetrate and make the fecal matter softer. These chemicals are known as,
* Dioctyl sodium succiante (also known as docusate sodium)
* Dioctyl potassium succinate (also known as docusate potassium)
* Dioctyl calcium succinate (also know as docusate calcium)
If you are pregnant, do not use mineral oil or other oils to get relief from constipation. During pregnancy you need good absorption of minerals and nutrients to provide for your newborn. Excessive use of mineral oil during pregnancy can cause bleeding in newborns.
In her book, Linda Clark's Handbook of Natural Remedies for Common Ailments, Linda writes about mineral oil,
"The message has finally got through to the public and the medical profession that mineral oil is one of the most damaging of all laxatives. It robs the body of Vitamins A, D, E, K: interferes with absorption of calcium and phosphorus, and can actually lead to other diseases."
Rudy Silva has a degree in Physics and is a Natural Nutritionist. He is the author of Constipation, Acne, Hemorrhoid, and Fatty Acid e-books. He writes a newsletter http://www.natural-remedies-thatwork.com and his information on other topics can be seen at: http://www.stop-constipation.com
Latest News
BioImagene CEO, Dr. Ajit Singh, Speaks On Enabling Personalized ... MarketWatch - Digital pathology, a key enabler for personalized medicine, will aid clinicians in managing and interpreting data from a whole new set of diagnostic tests ... Aperio Introduces SecondSlide(TM) Digital Slide Sharing Network |
 Boston Globe | Medicine for the Job Market New York Times, United States - By JONATHAN GRUBER A CENTRAL feature of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was an aggressive plan to expand health insurance coverage by subsidizing ... New Report Shows Slower Premium Growth, But Increasing Pressure to ... Health Corps Research database from the US Library of Medicine |
 SmartAboutHealth | American College of Surgeons Comments on Institute of Medicine ... MarketWatch - CHICAGO, Dec 03, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The American College of Surgeons (ACS) today recognized the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for its ... BMC Internal Medicine Residency Program Achieves National ... Report urges more sleep for medical residents Medical Residents Must Sleep After 16 Hours, Experts Urge |
Research and Markets: 2008 Integrative Medicine and Dietary ... MarketWatch - In this 32-page issue, we offer a breakdown of 2007 US Complementary and Alternative Medicine sales data and provides a detailed analysis of new integrative ... |
 Javno.hr | 34 Nigerian Children Dead From Tainted Medicine Voice of America - By VOA News Nigerian health officials say they are flying in doses of an antidote for a poisoned teething medicine that has now killed 34 infants. ... 'Toxic' syrup kills Nigerian babies Teething mixture kills more Nigerian babies Nigeria infant drug toll hits 34, antidote flown in |
Research database from the US Library of Medicine The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - Search PubMed, Clinicaltrials.gov, the CDC and a dozen other medical sites - all at once. AP MEDICAL VIDEO by Michael O'Malley and Joan Mazzolini/Plain ... |
A New Index of Preventive Medicine Companies Motley Fool - The accompanying table [click to enlarge] presents statistics and the top 15 rated companies in the ETF Innovators [ETFI] Preventive Medicine Index. ... |
American Academy of Dermatology Issues Position Statement on Vitamin D MarketWatch - The currently recommended adequate intake levels established by the Institute of Medicine may be revised upward due to evolving research on the increasing ... |
NIGERIA: Jos displaced grapple with food, water, medicine shortages IRINnews.org, NY - JOS, 4 December 2008 (IRIN) - Water, medicine and food supplies are running low for an estimated 10000 people displaced by violence in Jos, northern Nigeria ... |
 Discover Magazine | "Rogue" stem cell clinics exploit hope: report Reuters - "The direct-to-consumer portrayal of stem cell medicine is optimistic and unsupported by published evidence," Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta ... Scientists warn of “rogue” online stem cell clinics Internet stem-cell clinics 'exploiting' MS and Parkinson's patients The International Society for Stem Cell Research Releases New ... |
Resources
-
Sorry Currently Unavailable