JONAS TRISTAN DEL MUNDO

BSN 1-C

Normal Manifestations of the Digestive System

Regular and Pain-free Bowel Movements

Keeping track of your bowel movements is a good way to keep tabs on your
gut health. While everyone’s body is different, most healthcare providers
agree that having a bowel movement anywhere from three times a day to
three times a week can be considered healthy. That said, what’s normal for
you might not be normal for someone else. If you notice any changes in
bowel movement frequency that persist for more than a few days, you
should talk with your healthcare provider.
Shape, color, and consistency of bowel movements are also important
indicators to keep an eye on. Healthy bowel movements should be smooth,
firm, and easy to pass. If you notice that your poop is hard, overly soft, or
painful to pass, you could be experiencing diarrhea or constipation.

Consistent Energy
If you consistently make it through the day without needing a nap or
caffeine as a pick-me-up, it’s a good sign that your body is getting the right
nutrients and absorbing them properly. Digesting food requires a lot of
energy. If your digestive system isn’t functioning properly, your body might
send more stored energy to the stomach or intestines than other internal
systems. This can leave you feeling fatigued as your body tries to
compensate for the imbalance.
In fact, studies show that there could be a link between chronic fatigue
syndrome (CFS) and IBS. Patients with CFS are more likely to have a
previous IBS diagnosis and experience digestive issues. If you experience
fatigue along with symptoms of IBS, it could be linked to your digestive
system.

Normal Amount of Gas and Bloating

Passing gas throughout the day is completely normal and generally isn't
cause for concern. Gas is a natural part of the digestive process, and
releasing it prevents it from building up in the intestines or stomach. In fact,
most healthy people pass gas up to 21 times per day.
That said, excess gas can lead to abdominal pain, discomfort, and bloating if
it becomes trapped. This is a common problem for people who eat too many
gas-producing foods—like beans, starch, and lactose—at one time. However,
intestinal infections, digestive disorders, and some medications can also
cause excess gas, so you should contact your healthcare provider if you
experience recurring symptoms.
Healthy Bowel Transit Time
Bowel transit time refers to the amount of time it takes for food to move
from the mouth to the end of the digestive tract. In a healthy person, this
generally takes 30 to 40 hours but can take up to 72 hours. While you won’t
be able to measure this at home, regular bowel movements are a good
indicator that food is moving through your body at a healthy pace.
If your healthcare provider suspects that you have impaired bowel function,
they can perform a radiopaque marker test to determine bowel transit time.
To perform this test, a medical professional will ask you to swallow a capsule
or bead containing radiopaque markers. They then track the markers’
movement through your digestive system over time using an X-ray machine.
If markers remain after five days, you likely have slowed bowel function.

Mental Clarity
Gut health is closely tied to your ability to concentrate and stay mentally
alert. If you experience frequent brain fog or struggle to stay focused, poor
gut health could be the culprit. Celiac disease and other digestive issues can
interfere with nutrient absorption, making it harder for your body to get
enough energy. Poor digestion can also interfere with sleep, making it
harder to stay alert during the day.

Healthy Reactions to Stress

The way your digestive system responds to stress can reveal a lot about
your gut health. Chronic stress and depression can alter the balance of
microbiota in the digestive tract, increase inflammation, and impact the
body’s metabolic response to food. If you experience digestive issues after
stressful situations, stress and anxiety could be harming your gut health.

No Adverse Reactions to Food

While anyone can fall victim to expired food, if you do experience abdominal
pain, excessive bloating, nausea, or diarrhea after eating certain foods, it
could point to a food allergy, sensitivity, or other digestive disorder.

Abnormalities Affecting the Digestive System

Bleeding
Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a symptom of a disorder in your digestive
tract. The blood often appears in stool or vomit but isn't always visible,
though it may cause the stool to look black or tarry. The level of bleeding
can range from mild to severe and can be life-threatening.
Bleeding may be:
 Inside the body (internally)
 Outside the body (externally)
Bleeding may occur:
 Inside the body when blood leaks from blood vessels or organs
 Outside the body when blood flows through a natural opening (such as
the ear, nose, mouth, vagina, or rectum)
 Outside the body when blood moves through a break in the skin

Bloating
Abdominal bloating occurs when the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is filled with
air or gas. Most people describe bloating as feeling full, tight, or swollen in
the abdomen. Your abdomen may also be swollen (distended), hard, and
painful.
Common causes include:
 Swallowing air
 Constipation
 Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
 Irritable bowel syndrome
 Lactose intolerance and problems digesting other foods
 Overeating
 Small bowel bacterial overgrowth
 Weight gain
You may have bloating if you take the oral diabetes medicine acarbose.
Some other medicines or foods containing lactulose or sorbitol, may cause
bloating.
More serious disorders that may cause bloating are:
 Ascites and tumors
 Celiac disease
 Dumping syndrome
 Ovarian cancer
 Problems with the pancreas not producing enough digestive enzymes
(pancreatic insufficiency)

Constipation
Constipation most commonly occurs when waste or stool moves too slowly
through the digestive tract or cannot be eliminated effectively from the
rectum, which may cause the stool to become hard and dry.
Constipation in infants and children occurs when they have hard stools or
have problems passing stools. A child may have pain while passing stools or
may be unable to have a bowel movement after straining or pushing.
Constipation is common in children. However, normal bowel movements are
different for each child.
In the first month, infants tend to have bowel movements about once a day.
After that, babies can go a few days or even a week between bowel
movements. It's also difficult to pass stools because their abdominal muscles
are weak. So babies tend to strain, cry, and get red in the face when they
have a bowel movement. This does not mean they are constipated. If bowel
movements are soft, then there is likely no problem.
Signs of constipation in infants and children may include:
 Being very fussy and spitting up more often (infants)
 Difficulty passing stools or seeming uncomfortable
 Hard, dry stools
 Pain when having a bowel movement
 Belly pain and bloating
 Large, wide stools
 Blood on the stool or on toilet paper
 Traces of liquid or stool in a child's underwear (a sign of fecal
impaction)
 Having less than 3 bowel movements a week (children)
 Moving their body in different positions or clenching their buttocks
Make sure your infant or child has a problem before treating constipation:
 Some children do not have a bowel movement every day.
 Also, some healthy children always have very soft stools.
 Other children have firm stools, but are able to pass them without
problems.

Diarrhea
Diarrhea — loose, watery and possibly more-frequent bowel movements —
is a common problem. It may be present alone or be associated with other
symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain or weight loss. Luckily,
diarrhea is usually short-lived, lasting no more than a few days. In other
people, it may last longer. It can make you feel weak and dehydrated.
Diarrhea in babies and children can be serious. It needs to be treated
differently than you would treat diarrhea in adults.

Heartburn
Heartburn is a painful burning feeling just below or behind the breastbone.
Most of the time, it comes from the esophagus. The pain often rises in your
chest from your stomach. It may also spread to your neck or throat.
Almost everyone has heartburn at some time. If you have heartburn very
often, you may have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
Normally when food or liquid enters your stomach, a band of muscle at the
lower end of your esophagus closes off the esophagus. This band is called
the lower esophageal sphincter (LES). If this band does not close tightly
enough, food or stomach acid can back up (reflux) into the esophagus. The
stomach contents can irritate the esophagus and cause heartburn and other
symptoms.
Heartburn is more likely if you have a hiatal hernia. A hiatal hernia is a
condition which occurs when the top part of the stomach pokes into the
chest cavity. This weakens the LES so that it is easier for acid to back up
from the stomach into the esophagus.
Pregnancy and many medicines can bring on heartburn or make it worse.
Medicines that can cause heartburn include:
 Anticholinergics (used for sea sickness)
  Beta-blockers for high blood pressure or heart disease
 Calcium channel blockers for high blood pressure
 Dopamine-like drugs for Parkinson disease
 Progestin for abnormal menstrual bleeding or birth control
 Sedatives for anxiety or sleep problems (insomnia)
 Theophylline (for asthma or other lung diseases)
 Tricyclic antidepressants

Incontinence
Bowel incontinence is an inability to control bowel movements, resulting in
involuntary soiling. It's also sometimes known as fecal incontinence. The
experience of bowel incontinence can vary from person to person. Some
people feel a sudden need to go to the toilet but are unable to reach a toilet
in time.

Nausea and Vomiting

Nausea is feeling an urge to vomit. It is often called "being sick to your
stomach."
Vomiting or throwing-up is forcing the contents of the stomach up through
the food pipe (esophagus) and out of the mouth.
Common problems that may cause nausea and vomiting include:
 Food allergies
 Infections of the stomach or bowels, such as the "stomach flu" or food
poisoning
 Leaking of stomach contents (food or liquid) upward (also called
gastroesophageal reflux or GERD)
 Medicines or medical treatments, such as cancer chemotherapy or
radiation treatment
 Migraine headaches
 Morning sickness during pregnancy
 Seasickness or motion sickness
 Severe pain, such as with kidney stones
 Excessive use of marijuana
Nausea and vomiting may also be early warning signs of more serious
medical problems, such as:
 Appendicitis
 Blockage in the intestines
 Cancer or a tumor
 Ingesting a drug or poison, especially by children
 Ulcers in the lining of the stomach or small intestine

Pain
Abdominal pain is pain that you feel anywhere between your chest and
groin. This is often referred to as the stomach region or belly. Almost
everyone has pain in the abdomen at some point. Most of the time, it is not
serious. How bad your pain is does not always reflect the seriousness of the
condition causing the pain. For example, you might have very bad abdominal
pain if you have gas or stomach cramps due to viral gastroenteritis.
However, fatal conditions, such as colon cancer or early appendicitis, may
only cause mild pain or no pain.
Other ways to describe pain in your abdomen include:
 Generalized pain. This means that you feel it in more than half of your
belly. This type of pain is more typical for a stomach virus, indigestion,
or gas. If the pain becomes more severe, it may be caused by a
blockage of the intestines.
 Localized pain. This is pain found in only one area of your belly. It is
more likely to be a sign of a problem in an organ, such as the
appendix, gallbladder, or stomach.
 Cramp-like pain. This type of pain is not serious most of the time. It is
likely to be due to gas and bloating, and is often followed by diarrhea.
More worrisome signs include pain that occurs more often, lasts more
than 24 hours, or occurs with a fever.
 Colicky pain. This type of pain comes in waves. It very often starts and
ends suddenly, and is often severe. Kidney stones and gallstones are
common causes of this type of belly pain.

Swallowing Problems
Difficulty with swallowing is the feeling that food or liquid is stuck in the
throat or at any point before the food enters the stomach. This problem is
also called dysphagia.
The process of swallowing involves several steps. These include:
 Chewing food
 Moving it into the back of the mouth
 Moving it down the esophagus (food pipe)
There are many nerves that help the muscles of the mouth, throat, and
esophagus work together. Much of swallowing occurs without you being
aware of what you are doing.
Swallowing is a complex act. Many nerves work in a fine balance to control
how the muscles of the mouth, throat, and esophagus work together.
A brain or nerve disorder can alter this fine balance in the muscles of the
mouth and throat.
 Damage to the brain may be caused by multiple sclerosis, Parkinson
disease, or stroke.
 Nerve damage may be due to spinal cord injuries, amyotrophic lateral
sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig disease), or myasthenia gravis.
Stress or anxiety may cause some people to feel tightness in the throat or
feel as if something is stuck in the throat. This sensation is called globus
sensation and is unrelated to eating. However, there may be some
underlying cause.
Problems that involve the esophagus often cause swallowing problems.
These may include:
 An abnormal ring of tissue that forms where the esophagus and
stomach meet (called Schatzki ring).
 Abnormal spasms of the esophagus muscles.
  Cancer of the esophagus.
 Failure of the muscle bundle at the bottom of the esophagus to relax
(achalasia).
 Scarring that narrows the esophagus. This may be due to radiation,
chemicals, medicines, chronic swelling, ulcers, infection, or esophageal
reflux.
 Something stuck in the esophagus, such as a piece of food.
 Scleroderma, a disorder in which the immune system mistakenly
attacks the esophagus.
 Tumors in the chest that press on the esophagus.
 Plummer-Vinson syndrome, a rare disease in which webs of mucosal
membrane grows across the opening of the esophagus.

Weight Gain – Unintentional

Unintentional weight gain is when you gain weight without trying to do so
and you are not eating or drinking more.
Gaining weight when you are not trying to do so can have many causes.
Metabolism slows down as you age. This can cause weight gain if you eat too
much, eat the wrong foods, or do not get enough exercise.
Drugs that can cause weight gain include:
 Birth control pills
 Corticosteroids
 Some drugs used to treat bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and
depression
 Some drugs used to treat diabetes
Hormone changes or medical problems can also cause unintentional weight
gain. This may be due to:
 Cushing syndrome
 Underactive thyroid, or low thyroid (hypothyroidism)
 Polycystic ovary syndrome
 Menopause
 Pregnancy
Bloating, or swelling due to a buildup of fluid in the tissues can cause weight
gain. This may be due to menstruation, heart or kidney failure,
preeclampsia, or medicines you take. A rapid weight gain may be a sign of
dangerous fluid retention.
If you quit smoking, you might gain weight. Most people who quit smoking
gain 4 to 10 pounds (2 to 4.5 kilograms) in the first 6 months after quitting.
Some gain as much as 25 to 30 pounds (11 to 14 kilograms). This weight
gain is not simply due to eating more.

Weight Loss – Unintentional

Unexplained weight loss is a decrease in body weight, when you did not try
to lose the weight on your own.
Many people gain and lose weight. Unintentional weight loss is loss of 10
pounds (4.5 kilograms) or 5% of your normal body weight over 6 to 12
months or less without knowing the reason.
A loss of appetite may be due to:
 Feeling depressed
 Cancer, even when other symptoms are not present
 Chronic infection such as AIDS
 Chronic illness, such as COPD or Parkinson disease
 Drugs, including chemotherapy drugs, and thyroid medicines
 Drug abuse such as amphetamines and cocaine
 Stress or anxiety
Chronic digestive system problems that decrease the amount of calories and
nutrients your body absorbs, including:
 Diarrhea and other infections that last a long time, such as parasites
 Chronic inflammation of the pancreas
 Removal of part of the small intestine
 Overuse of laxatives
Other causes such as:
 Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa that have not been
diagnosed yet
 Diabetes that has not been diagnosed
 Overactive thyroid gland