Dad’s bowel movements are difficult to manage. He goes 2-3 days without a bowel movement, then I have to give him a laxative. I feed him fruits/fiber and plenty of water. Any natural way/food/products to make him regular?
For my parents and aunt two things always worked and timely, warmed prune juice and if not that one teaspoon of olive oil daily. The prune juice only when constipated. Works great!
Is your dad on any medication, perhaps for pain? Constipation is often one of the side effects. Have you talked with your dad's doctor about how to manage his condition?
As a retired geriatric nutrition counselor I provide my mom with 3 dried prunes daily and a piece of fresh fruit. Apple or orange. She lives in Assisted living. We keep a fresh bowl of fruit in her room. She also chooses a small bowl of bran cereal. She chooses fruit and salad when on her menus also. This works for her and she does not require meds for her bowels. I also encourage her to drink 50 oz fluid daily which she does. Dates {natural laxative} and figs add extra fiber also. It takes a while to straighten sluggish bowel function out. Senna is a stool softener and can be helpful also along with real fruit. P.S. not everyone has a daily BM… elderly do need to go at least everyone other day to avoid obstructions.
Senna tea or capsules seem to work quite well. Avoid laxatives. Senna will help you do that. If his diet needs fiber, add psyllium to make him regular. And of course have a balanced diet with lots of fruits & veggies and water/liquids. Dehydration can cause constipation. My Mom had constipation problems. We tried fruit but really Senna was the great equalizer. And not too much. Test it out first to see how much it tskes to regulate him. You want to try and avoid over compensating because then you have diarrhea, dehydration, need for electrolytes, that whole snowball. Prebiotics and probiotics should be incorporated as well.
How often do you have your mom take Senna? Is it bad to rely on it? Myself: I eat fruit, vegetables, drink water and exercise but still get constipated or do not evacuate completely.
I would have his magnesium checked. Low M can cause constipation, milk of magnesia is not going to be anything but a laxative. A true supplement is what you would want.
There is a tea called Smooth Move. It is Senna based. I pureed Papaya and Pineapple and portioned it in 1/2 cup servings for my Husband. These 2 ingredients were listed in every "cleanse" that I saw when I was looking for something that would help. And getting him to eat a puree of fruit was easier than getting him to take a pill. Prunes or prune juice. Miralax works well and I used it daily. The caution about that is if your dad has to have liquids thickened you can not use Miralax with a thickened liquid as the Miralax will thin out the liquid again. So Miralax has to be put in a food. It go to the point that the Dr. ordered Lactulose that my Husband was given daily. I also resorted once to Magnesium Citrate.
I would not stress if he did not have a BM daily. He was on Hospice and the Nurse would check for any sounds, rigidity and I would watch for discomfort. I did find that often he would have a BM while he was in the Hoyer Sling after a shower. And looking at the position it was almost like the "squatty potty" position where the knees are higher. (thankfully the sling I used was a split leg one or the shower sling with the commode hole)
If you do a site search for constipation (using the magnifying glass beside your avatar at the top of the page) you will see this is a very popular topic, everyone has their favourite remedies but none of them are effective for every person. Beyond the more common prunes and prune juice one simple natural product that you might try is a probiotic, as well including prebiotics in his diet. First though you need to be aware that having a BM every other day or even every third day can be absolutely normal for some people, as long as his stool is not hard, dry and difficult to pass it's not a crisis.
Prunes and figs...or prune juice.
The prune juice only when constipated.
Works great!
Is it bad to rely on it?
Myself: I eat fruit, vegetables, drink water and exercise but still get constipated or do not evacuate completely.
I pureed Papaya and Pineapple and portioned it in 1/2 cup servings for my Husband. These 2 ingredients were listed in every "cleanse" that I saw when I was looking for something that would help. And getting him to eat a puree of fruit was easier than getting him to take a pill.
Prunes or prune juice.
Miralax works well and I used it daily. The caution about that is if your dad has to have liquids thickened you can not use Miralax with a thickened liquid as the Miralax will thin out the liquid again. So Miralax has to be put in a food.
It go to the point that the Dr. ordered Lactulose that my Husband was given daily.
I also resorted once to Magnesium Citrate.
I would not stress if he did not have a BM daily. He was on Hospice and the Nurse would check for any sounds, rigidity and I would watch for discomfort.
I did find that often he would have a BM while he was in the Hoyer Sling after a shower. And looking at the position it was almost like the "squatty potty" position where the knees are higher. (thankfully the sling I used was a split leg one or the shower sling with the commode hole)
First though you need to be aware that having a BM every other day or even every third day can be absolutely normal for some people, as long as his stool is not hard, dry and difficult to pass it's not a crisis.