Can Constipation Kill a Person with Alzheimer ’s Dementia?

When constipation occurs in people with Alzheimer's or another type of dementia it can become dangerous and life threatening.By Rita JablonskiAlzheimer's Reading RoomConstipation is an uncomfortable annoyance for most people.Early in my nurse practitioner career, I practiced in internal medicine. I was asked to see an elderly patient with dementia because she had "diarrhea."Her breath smelled like poop. She had vomited before coming to the office.I was shocked to feel a hard, almost rock-like, abdomen. My exam revealed a constant trickle of watery poop. This was not diarrhea.What is the Difference Between Alzheimer ’s and DementiaSubscribe to the Alzheimer's Reading RoomEmail:I realized that she had a life-threatening blockage in her gut and sent her to the emergency room.She had to have surgery to remove a huge blockage of poop. She died shortly afterwards.The blockage had stretched the gut so far that it tore. Poop and bacteria had spilled into the abdominal cavity and caused a massive infection.I gently explained what happened to her family.She had a large blockage in her intestine. The gut tried to fix the blockage by constantly squeezing to get the blockage out.Picture a huge traffic accident, where only one lane of traffic slowly snakes around the pileup. The contents in her intestines started to back up, much like traffic will back up behind the accident.She had started to vomit feces, which is why her breath smelled so terrible. Her family had unknowingly ...
Source: Alzheimer's Reading Room, The - Category: Neurology Tags: alzheimer constipation alzheimer's Alzheimer's family alzheimers care Alzheimers Dementia care of dementia patients dementia constipation help alzheimer's help with dementia care Source Type: blogs