Forget all the above ‘crappy’ advice and
Hie thee thyself to an M.D. pronto!
I always use Ex-Lax when fiber and fruit don’t do the trick. However, I have irritable bowel syndrome, and so I know that having diarrhea or being constipated is probably not a symptom of some acute disease. Ex-Lax is a chemical laxative, and I always use the chocolate variety (in fact, I’m not sure if there’s a non-chocolate variety) which tastes all right. I recommend staying very close to a toilet after eating this medicine…it always makes me go, and go, and go.
Other complications of constipation are pretty rare, but if “your friend” is worried about them, by all means, a doctor’s visit could ease the mind.
You know, I’ve never been constipated (rather the opposite, sometimes) and have never had to have a medical exam that involved internal cleansing. All of these threads describing what laxatives, barium shakes, citrate of magnesia etc. do to one… are frankly making me curious. Am I missing something good in life…?
no, you are not
Enjoy your innocence. Barium milkshakes taste horrid, and are unpleasant to dispose of. The more aggressive laxatives can make a strong man or woman curl up into the fetal position and whimper. One side effect of chemical laxatives is that the rectal tissue quickly becomes sore from all that cleansing. Another side effect is that the abdominal muscles become sore from the artificial stimulation. Then there is the embarrassment of not having complete control of one’s bowels.
In short, you’re very, very lucky. Don’t go looking for trouble.
Has ‘he’ been to the M.D. and what were the results?