Constipation : Drugs

PSYLLIUM is a bulk-forming fiber laxative. This medicine is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Cellulose derivatives (methylcellulose), calcium polycarbophil, malt soup extract, and psyllium preparations are bulk-forming laxatives.

ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE; MAGNESIUM HYDROXIDE; SIMETHICONE (a LOO mi num hye DROX ide; mag NEE zhum hye DROX ide; sye METH i kone) is an antacid and antigas medicine. It is used to relieve the symptoms of indigestion, heartburn, sour stomach, and the discomfort caused by gas. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

ALUMINUM HYDROXIDE; MAGNESIUM HYDROXIDE; SIMETHICONE (a LOO mi num hye DROX ide; mag NEE zhum hye DROX ide; sye METH i kone) is an antacid and antigas medicine. It is used to relieve the symptoms of indigestion, heartburn, sour stomach, and the discomfort caused by gas. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Antidiarrhea agent; antidyspepsia agent; internal deodorant. Antiulcer agent (as part of multiple-drug regimens for Helicobacter pylori infection).

Antiperistaltic antidiarrhea agent; synthetic piperidine-derivative.

Antiflatulent; antifoaming agent.

Psyllium is a seed used for medicinal purposes taken from the common fleawort, Plantago psyllium . There are about 250 species of the genus Plantago found worldwide; they belong to the Plantaginaceae family. The most common species producing seed for medicinal use, in addition to P. psyllium, are P. afra, P. isphagula, P. ovata , and P. indica . Psyllium is extensively cultivated in many parts of the world. Shrubby perennial plants with narrow green leaves put up spikes of small flowers that mature into seedpods. The seeds and husks are harvested and used in healing. The seeds are small (1.5–2 cm) and brown or reddish-brown. Psyllium has been used in Ayurvedic medicine in India and in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years. It has also been used in Europe for many years, but it has become common in North American healing only near the end of the twentieth century.

PSYLLIUM is a bulk-forming fiber laxative. This medicine is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

PSYLLIUM is a bulk-forming fiber laxative. This medicine is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

SENNA is a laxative. This medicine is used to relieve constipation. It may also be used to empty and prepare the bowel for surgery or examination. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Stimulant laxative; hydroxymethylanthraquinone derivative occurring naturally in plants as glycosides.

Senna, Cassia angustifolia , is known by the name Egyptian senna. A member of the Leguminaceae family, senna is a shrub-like plant whose leaves and pods have been used for centuries in the East and West as a purgative. This property of senna was first described in the ninth century A.D. by Arabian physicians in the service of the caliph of Baghdad. Senna's reputation as a powerful laxative has grown through the ages. Senna can be found as an ingredient in many over-the-counter laxative products in the United States. Senna is also considered an important herb in traditional Chinese medicine, Indian Ayurvedic, and unani medicine. The two species used most often for medicinal purposes are Alexandrian senna and Tinnevelly senna. The Alexandrian variety is obtained mainly from Egypt and the Sudan. Tinnevelly senna is primarily cultivated in India. Senna contains naturally occurring chemicals called anthraquinone glycosides. They are strong laxatives that soften stools and increase the contractions of intestinal muscle, thereby stimulating bowel movements. "Like aloe, buckthorn , and cascara sagrada, senna contains anthraquinone glycosides, chemicals that stimulate the colon," reports James A. Duke, Ph.D. Senna usually starts to work in three to nine hours. Anthraquinone laxatives, such as senna, are believed to alleviate constipation by increasing the amount of water and electrolytes in the intestine. They also work by stimulating contractions of the colon muscles, which help to accelerate the passage of stool. Senna is considered among the strongest of the anthraquinone laxatives. Its effectiveness as a purgative has been supported by centuries of anecdotal reports as well as modern human and animal studies.

SENNA is a laxative. This medicine is used to relieve constipation. It may also be used to empty and prepare the bowel for surgery or examination. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

LACTULOSE is a laxative derived from lactose. It helps to treat chronic constipation and to treat or prevent hepatic encephalopathy or coma. These are brain disorders that result from liver disease. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

LACTULOSE powder is a laxative derived from lactose. It helps to treat chronic constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

A synthetic derivative of lactose; an ammonia detoxicant and laxative.

Castor oil, a stimulant laxative, is a fixed oil obtained from the seeds of Ricinus communis .

Castor oil is a natural plant oil obtained from the seed of the castor plant. The castor seed, or bean, is the source of numerous economically important products as one of the world's most important industrial oils, and was one of the earliest commercial products. Castor beans have been found in ancient Egyptian tombs dating back to 4000 B.C. According to the Ebers Papyrus , an Egyptian medical text from 1500 B.C. , Egyptian doctors used castor oil to protect the eyes from irritation. The oil from the bean was used thousands of years ago in facial oils and in wick lamps for lighting. Castor oil has been used medicinally in the United States since the days of the pioneers. Traveling medicine men in the late 1800s peddled castor oil, often mixed with as much as 40% alcohol, as a heroic cure for everything from constipation to heartburn . It was also used to induce labor. At the present time, castor oil is used internally as a laxative and externally as a castor oil pack or poultice. The castor plant, whose botanical name is Ricinus communis , is native to the Ethiopian region of east Africa. It now grows in tropical and warm temperate regions throughout the world and is becoming an abundant weed in the southwestern United States. Castor plants grow along stream banks, river beds, bottom lands, and in almost any warm area where the soil is well drained and with sufficient nutrients and moisture to sustain growth. They are annuals that can grow 6–15 ft (1.8–5 m) tall in one season with full sunlight, heat, and moisture. The tropical leaves, with five to nine pointed, finger-like lobes, may be 4–30 in (10–76 cm) across. Flowers occur on the plant (which is monoecious, meaning that there are separate male and female flowers on the same individual), during most of the year in dense terminal clusters, with female flowers just above the male flowers. Each female flower consists of a spiny ovary, which develops into the fruit or seed capsule, and a bright red structure with feathery branches (stigma lobes) to receive pollen from the male flowers. Each male flower consists of a cluster of many stamens that shed pollen that is distributed by wind. The spiny seed pod or capsule is composed of three sections, or carpels, that split apart at maturity. Each carpel contains a single seed. As the carpel dries and splits open, the seed is ejected, often with considerable force. The seeds are slightly larger than pinto beans and are covered with intricate mottled designs, none of which have exactly the same pattern due to genetic variations. At one end of the seed is a small spongy structure called the caruncle, which aids in the absorption of water when the seeds are planted. The name "castor" was given to the plant by English traders who confused its oil with the oil of another shrub, Vitex agnus —Castus, which the Spanish and Portuguese in Jamaica called agno-casto. The scientific name of the plant was given by the eighteenth-century Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus. Ricinus is the Latin word for tick; apparently Linnaeus thought the castor bean looked like a tick, especially a tick in engorged with blood, with the caruncle of the bean resembling the tick's head. Communis means "common" in Latin. Castor plants were already commonly naturalized in many parts of the world by the eighteenth century. There are several cultivated varieties of the castor plant, all of which have striking foliage colorations. The castor plant grows rapidly with little care and produces lush tropical foliage. Its use as a cultivated plant should be discouraged because its seeds or beans are extremely poisonous. Children should be taught to recognize and avoid the plant and its seeds, especially in the southwestern United States where it grows wild near residential areas. Flower heads can be snipped off of castor plants as a protective measure. The active poison in the castor bean is ricin, a deadly water-soluble protein called a lectin

Lubricant laxative; complex mixture of hydrocarbons derived from crude petroleum.

Sodium Phosphate salts are used to clean out the bowel. It is given before a colonoscopy. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Laxatives containing magnesium cations or phosphate anions.

TEGASEROD is used to treat women who have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with constipation as their main problem. It may also be used for relief of chronic constipation in patients (men and women) less than 65 years of age. NOTE: This drug is no longer available in the United States. Patients currently taking Tegaserod should contact their prescriber about stopping this medicine and finding alternative therapies. If you have questions about the discontinuation of Zelnorm you may call 1-888-669-6682. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Partial type 4 serotonergic (5-HT 4 ) receptor agonist; modulates serotonin-sensitive GI processes.

DOCUSATE (doc CUE sayt) is stool softener. It helps prevent constipation and straining or discomfort associated with hard or dry stools. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Stool softeners (emollients); anionic, surface-active agents (surfactants) that have emulsifying and wetting properties.

DOCUSATE (doc CUE sayt) is stool softener. It helps prevent constipation and straining or discomfort associated with hard or dry stools. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

BISACODYL is a laxative. This medicine is used to relieve constipation. It may also be used to empty and prepare the bowel for surgery or examination. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Bisacodyl, a diphenylmethane laxative, is a stimulant laxative.

BISACODYL is a laxative. This medicine is used to relieve constipation. It may also be used to empty and prepare the bowel for surgery or examination. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

LUBIPROSTONE is a laxative. It is used to treat chronic constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Bicyclic fatty acid; selectively activates intestinal ClC-2 chloride channels and increases intestinal fluid secretion.

MAGNESIUM HYDROXIDE is a laxative and an antacid. It is used to treat constipation. It is also used to treat acid indigestion, sour stomach, and heartburn. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

MAGNESIUM HYDROXIDE is a laxative. It is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

METHYLCELLULOSE is a bulk-forming laxative. This medicine is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

METHYLCELLULOSE is a bulk-forming laxative. This medicine is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

MAGNESIUM CITRATE is a saline laxative. It is used to treat occasional constipation, but it should not be used regularly for this purpose. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

METHYLNALTREXONE is used to treat constipation caused by opioids (pain medicine). Immediately tell your health care professional if you stop taking your opioid pain medicine. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

Peripherally acting μ-opiate receptor antagonist; quaternary amine derivative of naltrexone.

ALVIMOPAN is used to help the gut function after having gut surgery. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

POLYCARBOPHIL is a bulk-forming fiber laxative. It is used to add more fiber into your diet. This medicine is also used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

POLYCARBOPHIL is a bulk-forming fiber laxative. It is used to add more fiber into your diet. This medicine is also used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 3350 powder is a laxative used to treat constipation. It increases the amount of water in the stool. Bowel movements become easier and more frequent. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

DOCUSATE SODIUM; SENNA (doc CUE sayt SOE dee um; SEN na) contains a stool softener and a laxative. It is used to treat constipation. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

SODIUM PHOSPATE SALT is a saline laxative. It is used to treat constipation or to clean the bowel before a colonoscopy. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.

SODIUM PHOSPATE SALT is a saline laxative. It is used to treat constipation or to clean the bowel before a colonoscopy. This medicine may be used for other purposes; ask your health care provider or pharmacist if you have questions.