I am curious because my nana needed to take laxatives that were essentially big bags of medicine diluted in water. The resulting volume was like 2 or 3 liters.
I am curious about the pills though. How do they manage to do the same thing while being only a small pill?
Thank you!
In: 2
They are different because they work through different mechanisms. The big bags of powder and some pills work by trying to increase the amount of water in the digestive system and so soften the poo, letting it move through more easily. The powder absorbs water and holds onto it, preventing the digestive system from absorbing it and so increasing the water remaining in the system. Some pills will also act to reduce the amount of water absorbed but they of course need to be paired with the patient consuming more water, and since they can cause dehydration they may be less favored.
Finally some pills will increase the muscle contractions in the digestive system, effectively helping to “move things along”. This can also act to increase the amount of water in the digestive system because as things move faster there is less time for it to be absorbed. They wouldn’t really help if someone had a dehydrated “plug” at the end of their system though.
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