Ileus

When there is pain and lack of movement in the intestines, it is referred to as Ileus.

An improper movement of food and nutrients in the intestines is termed as ileus. It mostly happens after abdominal surgeries.

If it is not diagnosed timely, it can be fatal because it can block the blood supply to the intestine which can cause necrosis (death of the tissues). This may develop the risk of abdominal infection and intestinal injuries.

Continue to read to learn more facts about ileus.

Main Causes:

Normally, we use a term called peristalsis, which is the relaxation and contraction of the intestine that produce a wave motion. This movement is used by the body to travel food throughout the intestines.

In the case of ileus, this movement stops and does not allow the food particles, fluid and nutrients to pass through the intestines.

If a person continues to eat solid food over a long period, it may cause a barrier for particles to pass through the intestine, leading to the complete or partial blockage of the intestines.

It is most common for ileus to happen after pelvic or abdominal surgery. It is observed that people with ileus or any other bowel disease are more likely to readmit to the hospital after one month of the surgery.

We can justify this as following:

• After surgery scars can cause coagulation

• It is a slow process to regain normal peristalsis.

• There might be any medicinal side effect

Medicines that can cause damage to nerves and muscles in the digestive system are:

• The medicines used for heart patients, such as calcium inhibitors

• Medicines that are used to treat bladder, COPD, and Parkinson’s disease such as anticholinergic.

• Telescoping or intussusception in children can also be a reason for ileus.

Major Risks:

Some causes that can enhance the risks of getting ileus are:

• Aging

• IBD, or other digestive discomforts

• Damaged or injured intestines

• Radiations

• Dehydration

• Sepsis

• Rapid Weight loss

Major Symptoms:

Some common symptoms of ileus are:

• Difficulty in passing gas

• Loss of hunger

• Always feeling full

• Nausea

• Vomiting

• Stomach cramps

• Inflamed or bloated belly

• Constipation

Differences between Ileus and Intestinal Obstruction

People often misunderstand the terms ileus and intestinal obstruction. These two are different things even though there are some similarities. But the major difference is that ileus occurs due to any muscle or nerve issues that stop the movement of the intestine (Peristalsis).Whereas, the physical coagulation or blockage of the digestive system is termed as intestinal obstruction.

Paralytic ileus might because physical blocking of food in the intestines.

Other root causes can be:

Colon cancer

A hernia

Affected stool

IBD

Bloated bags inside the digestive system

Intestinal adhesion

Diagnosis:

First of all, a physician will observe the symptoms and medical records of a person and then diagnose the ileus.

The three things you might be asked, are:

• Any kind of surgical history

• Medication

• Past and present medical history

The doctor will go for checking any kind of swallowing or bloating in the abdomen. A stethoscope may be used to catch the sound of bowel movements. If there is any kind of noise it will indicate ileus. But for confirmation imaging tests are required.

Image testing:

If there is any kind of size enlargement or abnormalities inside the stomach, they can be located by imaging tests. Tests that are in common are:

• X-rays: This technique is merely used to show any kind of blockage or physical obstruction, it is very hard to locate ileus using this technique.

• Ultrasound: Children with ileus are mostly diagnosed with the help of this test. Intussusception or telescope is usually located with the help of an ultrasound scan.

• Barium Air: This technique involves the x-ray of the abdomen right after enforcing air or liquid barium in the colon via the rectum.

• Computerized tomography (CT): This method helps to have a look at the intestine in a close and different manner. That’s why this method is more useful and accepted.

Offered Treatments:

The treatment of ileus depends upon the reasons and intensity of the ileus.

Care at the hospital:

The treatments for the paralytic and surgical ileus are different. The surgical ileus may heal in few days but the paralytic one needs to settle the changes in their medication. In both cases, individuals need to stay at the hospital until they are fully recovered.

Hospitals can assist the patient with the following:

• Pain relief

• Fluids intake that will help them maintain electrolytic balance

• Instead of vomiting, they may introduce nasogastric decompression.

Changes in diet:

Diverticulitis and Crohn’s disease can be a reason for partial intestinal blockage. It can allow selected bowel material to pass through the intestine.

It is recommended by the doctors to eat low-fiber foods; it can help them to pass feces easily. During this period no raw vegetables, nuts, and grains are allowed.

Medication:

A patient can use medicines that can allow intestinal movements such as, metoclopramide. This will help the patients with paralytic ileus, which is caused mainly due to medication.

Another choice is to give up the medicine that you have been using, and it’s a cause of ileus. But it should be done with the guidance of the certified doctor.

If the condition gets worse, and medication or changes in diet have no satisfactory results, then it is crucial to perform surgery.

Surgery:

The surgery mainly involves recovering or removing the injured or ruptured part of the intestine, or removing any kind of coagulation in the intestines.

It is recommended to the older patients to have stents in their intestines, which will widen their intestines and will allow the digested food to pass easily. It is suggested because it may be dangerous for them to have major surgery.

In many situations, a person’s entire intestine needed to be removed from the body. In this situation, the physician will create a hole called a stoma in the bell, ostomy. This will allow waste to move outside the body through that hole into the bag placed over the stoma

There are great chances of surviving and having a normal life, after ostomy although the intestine is being removed.

More Complications

Death of cells:

Necrosis is a term used for the death of body tissues. It occurs when blood I unable to meet the intestine. Ultimately an intestinal wall without blood becomes weak. And this results in the rupturing of the intestinal wall. This will lead the bowel material to leak out in the abdomen.

Any kind of Infection:

Leakage of the bowel content in the abdomen causes infection. Bowel material has a lot of bacteria and microbes. These bacteria when entering into the abdomen they become the reason for peritonitis, an infection. This infection develops the chances of having sepsis, which can be very dangerous for life.

Healing:

Usually, the normal functioning of the intestines starts after 5 days, following the surgery. But if it takes no longer than this it is called paralytic ileus.

Conclusion:

Ileus is mostly observed in people with any pelvic or abdominal surgery. It is not so hard to treat. But it is important to have awareness and training related to ileus, to avoid any kind of complications.

Dietary changes after an ileostomy

If you have an ileostomy this means that your feces don’t pass through the normal intestinal pathway. This affects the absorbed minerals and passing out of feces. This is why it is recommended by doctors to have a special and conscious diet after the ileostomy.

 During ileostomy, a hole is created in the abdominal wall. This gives a clue that the ileum and small intestine can pass out feces through this orifice.

As it is mentioned that the feces don’t need to pass through the rectum, this surgery can be helpful in case of inflamed or damaged intestines.

The pouch that a person wears on the stoma can be permanent or temporary.

This article is really helpful if you are looking for nutritive and dietary tips after an ileostomy.

But it must be insured to adapt these tips after consulting with your doctor.

The most reported issues after an ileostomy are diarrhea and high waste output.

It can also be harmful to be uneasy, awkward, or embarrassing. A person facing thin feces may have low levels of sodium in the body or it might be due to malnutrition.

This issue can be solved by using intravenous fluids or nutrients.

To avoid these issues a person is advised to eat food that can help him or her to thicken the feces. These food items are mentioned below:

• Rice

• Pasta

• Cheese

• Bananas

• Applesauce

• Smooth peanut butter

• Yogurt

• Marshmallows

If a person faces dehydration he must take electrolytic fluids. But, these drinks must not be taken more than 2 -3 times per day. And they should be sugar-free.

Some examples of fluids that can help you to maintain electrolytic balance are:

• Sports drinks

• Fruits juices

• Veggies juices

• Soup or broth

A patient should also notify the reason for diarrhea. It can be one of the followings:

• A viral infection

• Use of antibiotics

• Food indigestion

• Use of medicines

• A bacterial infection

• Radiotherapy

People with very high stool output should contact their doctor immediately.

Food items that help in thinning of feces

It is reported by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center that a patient may face constipation following an ileostomy if:

• If using any specific painkiller

• Taking any specific medicines for nausea

• not consuming enough fibers

• lack of enough exercise

• not drinking enough water

It is suggested to ask your doctor about the number of fibers in the diet. Laxatives should not be used anyway.

Foods that are allowed are:

• Products of bran

• Oatmeal

• Raisins

• Well-cooked and peeled vegetables

• Warm broth

• The drinks that will help you loosen your feces are:

• Lemon juice or water mixed with the lemon

• Coffee

• Prune juice

Foods that help to reduce odor

Some patients may notice that their ostomy bag gives a stinky smell when it is filled. The following food items will help you to lessen this issue of odor.

  

 

FOODS YOU SHOULD TAKE	FOODS YOU SHOULD AVOID
Yoghurt	Asparagus
Smaller but more frequent meals	Broccoli
Properly washed fruits and vegetables	Brussels sprouts
Plenty of water	Cabbage
Place air fresheners such as gel, tablet or any other product in your ostomy bag	Eggs And fatty foods
	Garlic

 

 

Food items that will help you to gain weight

Food items that are taken orally are rich in calories and can help to gain weight, following an ileostomy. Some good examples are:

• Boost

• Instant breakfast

• Ensure

• Diabetic patients can use Glucerna

• Nutritional shakes

• Orgain Nutrition shakes

These all shakes can help you to gain weight very easily and without taking much time. But, still, a patient should take his doctor’s advice before starting these shakes.

If a person takes small meals, 2-3 times a day it can be more beneficial and good as well for gaining weight.

Food items that will help you to lose weight

If you want to lose weight, following surgery, then you need to burn a lot of calories and should avoid calories-rich food.

Since an ileostomy patient should be careful about the minerals and nutrients in the diet, that’s why he must be very careful while cutting off the dietary intake.

You should start any diet or exercise after consulting your doctor.

You should adopt the following habits if you want to lose weight:

Avoid skipping meals

Have less filled plate

Avoid alcohol consumption

• Plan your meals beforehand

Food items you must avoid

Since every person is different so they may have different stool output and gas managing problems. But some foods that should be avoided by all patients are:

• High-fat milk

• High proteins and fat meat for example fried chicken 

• Beans or legumes

• High fiber veggies

• Fruits with the skin

It is recommended to avoid seeds and skin of fruits and veggies after an ileostomy. The digestive system is not able to digest them and they pass through the intestine undigested and unchanged. It can be dangerous for ileostomy.

Supplements

If you have an ileostomy this means that your food doesn’t reach the colon that is why the important nutrients can’t be reabsorbed. This can cause a deficiency of important nutrients and minerals. That is why supplements are recommended by doctors for the compensation of those nutrients.

Supplements should be chewable so that they can be broken by the body and digested easily. For instance, chewing multivitamins and calcium supplements.

Nutrients deficiencies can be of the following types:

• Calcium

• Magnesium

• Iron

• B vitamins

• Folic acid

• Vitamin A,D,E,K

Some tips for a healthy life

Some important tips for wellbeing are:

Eating frequent but small meals: you should take small meals frequently instead of large quantity at once

Chew your food properly: This will help the food to be digested easily

No eating at night: Eating snacks or meal at night can cause your bag to fill and you would need to change it 

Limit the consumption of alcohol: Alcohol can cause inflammation, gas, and dehydration.

Summary

Every person reacts differently to different food items, following surgery. But most people take initiative with light and soft food and gradually moves to any other food.

You should take plenty of fluids and nutritive food to avoid weakness and any other complication, following ileostomy. For more clear suggestions you should visit your doctor.