Medsarticles. Medical Weblog

Constipation can also be caused by cancer directly, through partial or complete blockage of the bowel. Constipation due to blockage is often accompanied by pain and sometimes by passage of blood and/or small amounts of slimy fluid through the back passage. If the blockage is right down near the rectum you may feel as though you want to open your bowels all the time. This is because a growth inside the rectum or pressing on it can feel just like a motion always waiting there. I think it is easier to cope with this unpleasant symptom if you understand what is causing it. Of course, if you have hard motions in the rectum which you cannot pass without help, you can get exactly the same symptoms—a feeling as though you want to go all the time, but when you do, you pass only small amounts of slimy fluid. These symptoms are sometimes mistaken for diarrhoea, which can be disastrous— obviously treating it as diarrhoea can make it much worse! This mistake should never be made because it is very easy for a doctor or nurse to tell one from the other simply by checking inside your rectum with a gloved finger.

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Pinch the patient’s nose between finger and thumb, take a deep breath and apply your lips firmly on the lips of the patient.

If this procedure or blood or vomit around the mouth makes you sick, place a clean handkerchief over the mouth and breathe through that.

If the mouth is injured or if it is difficult to breathe through the mouth, “mouth-to-nose” resuscitation will produce equally good results.

Breathe into the mouth and watch to see if the chest is rising. This will show that your breath is getting into the patient’s lungs. Then sit up and watch the chest collapse. This will show that the air is coming out. Take another deep breath and repeat the exercise.

For a child, breathe at the rate of about 20 per minute, and for adults about 10-15 per minute. As a rule a few quick breaths for a start, then settle into a routine.

If artificial respiration has to be maintained for some time, you may become tired. If there is someone with you, taking turns will make it easier. Keep it up until the patient starts breathing on his own.

If your patient starts breathing, even shallowly, time your breathing to coincide with his.

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