bowel movements

5 Stories

American Habits Are Causing a Laxative Shortage

Overuse of laxatives in the US blamed on poor eating habits, travel, and hybrid work

(Newser) - Overuse of laxatives by Americans is making it harder to find them at the store. The shortage, first reported by the Wall Street Journal , comes from a variety of factors. Along with an aging population and Americans' tendency to eat less fiber, poor eating habits developed during the pandemic and...

Teen Dies After Avoiding Toilet for 2 Months

She goes without bowel movement for weeks, suffers heart attack

(Newser) - A British teenager's toilet phobia appears to have cost her her life. The 16-year-old girl suffered a heart attack after going without a bowel movement for eight weeks, reports the Independent . Authorities say her chronic constipation resulted in distended organs and a compressed chest cavity, factors that contributed to...

Woman Who Swallowed Stolen Ring Has to Retrieve It

Cops: 'We don't get paid enough' to do it

(Newser) - There are some things you just know are part of the job if you're in law enforcement: dealing with criminals, putting your life on the line, even tedious paperwork. But one thing that cops in Orem, Utah, don't consider part of their job description is sifting through a...

Over 65? Your Incontinence Is ... Normal

Report: 51% of US seniors who live at home suffer bladder or bowel incontinence

(Newser) - If you're over the age of 65 and grappling with incontinence, the government has some potentially reassuring news for you: You're basically normal. A report released yesterday by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics tracks "the prevalence and the magnitude" of bladder and bowel incontinence...

Poo-Poo to Navel-Gazing: Look Lower

Enough navel-gazing; looking lower will yield clues into your inner workings

(Newser) - Poop isn't just joke fodder, Leslie Crawford writes in Salon, it can also be a vital way to assess your health and well-being, and Americans are being prompted to scrutinize (and rhapsodize over) what they produce in a variety of media. From Oprah to the popular book What's Your Poo ...

5 Stories