Can You Have a Bowel Obstruction and Still Poop?

Overview

What is a large bowel (intestinal) obstruction?

A large bowel (large intestine) obstacle is a blockage that keeps gas or stool from passing through the body. An intestinal blockage tin can occur anywhere in the large intestine.

The large bowel obstruction may block the bowel completely or partially. A blocked intestine may rupture, causing a life-threatening infection.

What is the big bowel (large intestine)?

The large bowel or large intestine is part of the digestive system. It includes the colon and rectum.

The large intestine plays a vital office in removing waste from the body. Liquid food waste from the small intestine goes into the large intestine, where information technology turns solid. Yous pass this solid waste material every bit stool when you lot poop.

How mutual are large bowel obstructions?

Large bowel obstructions account for near 20% of all intestinal blockages. Small bowel obstructions are more mutual.

Symptoms and Causes

What causes a big bowel obstruction?

People of all ages and genders tin can get large bowel obstructions.

Some infants are born with a nascence defect chosen malrotation. The intestines don't form properly. This condition can cause the intestines to twist (volvulus), causing a blockage.

In children younger than three, a disorder chosen intussusception may crusade blockages. In children with this trouble, 1 segment of the intestine collapses within another segment (like a telescope). The collapsed segments tin cake the bowel and claret flow.

Up to half of adults who develop a large bowel obstruction have colorectal (colon) cancer. A cancerous tumor causes the blockage.

Other causes of bowel obstructions in adults include:

• Intestinal adhesions (scar tissue) from surgeries.
• Diverticulitis.
• Hernias.
• Inflammatory bowel affliction (IBD).
• Radiation therapy to the abdomen or pelvis.
• Twisted intestine (rare in adults).

What are the symptoms of large bowel obstruction?

Yous may have precipitous stomach pains that come in waves. Eventually, the pain becomes constant. You lot may as well have one or more of these symptoms:

• Abdominal pain, cramping or bloating.
• Diarrhea.
• Disability to pass gas or poop (constipation).
• Loss of ambition.
• Nausea and vomiting.

Infants and children experience the aforementioned symptoms every bit adults. Infants tin't tell you where it hurts, but they may pull their legs up toward their bellies and cry. Other symptoms of bowel obstructions in children include:

• Fever.
• Blood in stool (rectal bleeding).
• Green or yellowish-light-green vomit.
• Languor.
• Bloated, firm belly.

Diagnosis and Tests

How is a large bowel obstruction diagnosed?

Your healthcare provider will perform a concrete exam to check for a swollen abdomen or masses. Normally, the tum isn't tender to touch.

Your healthcare provider volition use a stethoscope to mind to the intestines. Loud or high-pitched bowel sounds or a quiet bowel may bespeak a problem.

Your provider may gild these tests:

• Blood tests: A blood examination checks for signs of infection and aridity.
• Ten-rays: Abdominal X-rays tin can show a bowel blockage'due south location. These images can also evidence air around the intestine or diaphragm (the muscle that separates the stomach and breast). Air in these places can indicate a dead bowel or rupture.
• CT scan: If x-rays reveal a problem, your provider may perform a CT scan. This imaging process provides more detailed photos than x-rays.
• Barium enema x-ray: A barium enema 10-ray is a lower gastrointestinal (GI) exam. While you are sedated with anesthesia, a provider inserts a catheter (thin tube) into the anus. The catheter fills the intestine with a safe, white barium liquid. This liquid travels through the intestine while a machine takes x-rays.

Management and Treatment

What are the complications of big bowel obstacle?

A bowel blockage can terminate blood menstruation, causing part of the intestine to die. As pressure builds upward from the blockage, intestinal bacteria tin can leak into the bloodstream.

You may develop peritonitis, an abdominal infection. You are likewise at risk for a life-threatening system-wide infection called sepsis.

Your healthcare provider may surgically remove a segment of expressionless intestine. In that case, you may demand a colostomy. With a colostomy, poop empties into a sealed bag outside your body.

How is a large bowel obstruction managed or treated?

A large bowel obstruction is a medical emergency. It requires hospitalization. Fractional bowel obstructions, particularly those due to scarring or adhesions, may clear up without much medical aid.

Treatments for large bowel obstructions include:

• IV fluid replacement: Four fluids and electrolytes (sodium, chloride and potassium) care for dehydration.
• Medications: Anti-nausea medicine and pain relievers tin keep you more comfortable.
• Nasogastric tube: Your healthcare provider inserts a long, sparse tube through your nose. The tube reaches into the stomach or intestine. Information technology suctions out fluids backed upwardly from the blockage.
• Barium enema: The same endoscopic process to detect a blockage tin can as well treat some bug, such equally a twisted intestine.
• Surgery: Your healthcare provider may remove adhesions or tumors that are causing a blockage. Or surgery can fix a hernia. Your provider may place a stent (a mesh tube) to keep the intestine open. Rarely, a provider must remove a segment of the damaged or dead intestine.

Prevention

How do I foreclose a big bowel obstruction?

Unfortunately, there is no known way to forestall big bowel obstructions.

Outlook / Prognosis

What is the prognosis (outlook) for people who have a big bowel obstruction?

Most people with large bowel obstructions ameliorate after treatment. Their bowels start to function over again.

If an obstacle causes a rupture, the condition can be life-threatening.

Living With

When should I call my healthcare provider?

You lot should call your healthcare provider if you experience:

• Fever.
• Persistent airsickness.
• Severe abdominal pain or cramping that comes and goes.
• Signs of dehydration.

What questions should I ask my healthcare provider?

You may want to inquire your healthcare provider:

• Why did I get a large bowel obstruction?
• What is the best treatment for a big bowel obstruction?
• Am I at take chances for another large bowel obstacle?
• How can I prevent another large bowel obstruction?
• Should I look out for signs of complications?

A note from Cleveland Clinic

A large bowel obstruction is a serious medical emergency. Non all bowel blockages require surgery. Merely y'all yet need to exist in the infirmary. There, your healthcare provider can treat aridity and drain excess fluid. This care can forestall more serious problems. Most surgically treated bowel blockages improve, resulting in normal bowel function later.

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Source: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15287-large-bowel-intestinal-obstruction

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