Common Medical Misuse of Laxatives

All medications can result in dangerous effects when they are not used according to directions. This warning applies to not just prescription medications, but those bought over the counter at your local drug store. The misuse of over the counter medications can include everything from taking them when they absolutely are not needed to using them for purposes other than that described on the label. One of these over the counter medications that often cause problems that you might not think of are laxatives.

Laxatives are commonly misused by elderly people who are under the impression that it is imperative to have at least one bowel movement every single day. In fact, a bowel movement ever other day or even every two days is not necessarily a dangerous situation as long as the stool is voided without discomfort or difficulty. In addition to this misuse of laxatives, younger people will try to use them as a dietary aid. The only problem with this is that the food has already been digested by the time the laxative even comes close to beginning to work. As far as using laxatives for the purpose of weight loss, you might as well as stick an eel up your anus in the hopes of it reaching your stomach and feasting on the Big Mac you just ate.

Some people can actually get addicted to laxatives, popping them like Orange Sunshine or Bennies and Little Moe Syszlaks. As with overdoing it on any other kind of medicines taking too many laxatives can lead to a vicious cycle in which the abuser thinks that the next time it will work, even though it hasn't the past fifty times. The end result of abusing laxatives in this way is cycle of constipation and diarrhea. The effects of the constipation and diarrhea cycle can lead to the actual inability to produce a bowel movement. In addition, moving from constipation to diarrhea and back and forth again can also lead to the depletion of body fluids and vitamins and minerals that absolutely vital. Finally, addiction to the use of laxatives in this way can reduce the amount of electrolytes in your system and even adversely affect your body's ability to absorb Vitamin D.