Question

A woman age 76 years has informed the nurse that she has begun using over-the-counter laxatives because her friend told her it was imperative to have at least one bowel movement daily. How should the nurse best respond to this client's statement?

Answer 1

The nurse should explain that the frequency of bowel movements vary from other individuals.

Step-by-step explanation:

The normal frequency of bowel movements per day vary from 0 to 3 times per day or at least a bowel movement between 1 to 3 days. Using laxatives to induce bowel movement is commonly practiced in elderly people due to the following reasons:

• Avoid excessive stool straining, as it can increase their blood pressure.
• Prevent fecal impaction or stasis which may produce hard stools.
• Lessen risk for chronic constipation.

Some of the possible side-effects of laxative overuse are the following

• Excessive dehydration - excessive bowel movements (more than 3 per day) can cause unnecessary loss of water in the body due to osmotic diarrhea.
• Electrolyte and mineral deficiencies - during diarrhea, water loss is accompanied with electrolyte and mineral loss, causing weakness and fatigue.
• Dependency - tolerance to the drug may develop and the natural stimulus to defecate is decreased.
• Intestinal infections - excessive diarrhea may wipe off the intestine's good gut bacteria, causing an increase in the population of bad gut bacteria like Clostridium difficile and Escherichia coli O157:H7.
• Rebound constipation - eventually, the intestinal muscles are weakened due to excessive peristalsis, causing slow passage of stool, and eventually, rebound constipation.