By Steve Hodges, M.D.
Last week brought news that British authorities have been investigating the death of a teenage girl from constipation. That’s right: death. The girl’s colon became so engorged with stool that it compressed her chest cavity and triggered a heart attack.
This story sounds unbelievable—shocking, at the very least.
But you know what? I’m not shocked.
Though I have not, thank goodness, personally seen a case of such tragic proportions, I have many patients whose severe constipation went unrecognized for years.
The rest of the post can be found here at Parents.com.