Take senna leaf with caution in constipation

Many patients with constipation are used to buying senna leaf water to drink As a result, some of them are short-term effective, some of them are ineffective, some of them have adverse reactions, and some of them aggravate constipation Senna leaf belongs to the purgative medicine of bitter cold, which has the effect of purgative heat and stagnation It is mainly suitable for constipation caused by internal heat It also has the purgative effect on constipation of the elderly and habitual constipation However, in traditional Chinese medicine, constipation can be roughly divided into two types: deficiency and excess The essence of constipation can be divided into three types: stomach heat accumulation, qi stagnation and Yin cold stagnation The essence of constipation can be divided into four types: Qi deficiency, blood deficiency, yin deficiency and yang deficiency Senna is not suitable for all constipation If the patient has dry stool, or sheep excrement, but also hot and dry symptoms, such as blush or two cheeky flushes, body heat, dry mouth and halitosis, less sleep, yellow urine, hot night sweat, less tongue red moss or yellow dryness, pulse number and other symptoms, it is more suitable to take senna leaf But for the constipation caused by qi stagnation, Yin cold accumulation stagnation, yin deficiency, Yang deficiency and so on, it has no effect, or can only take one time effect From the aspect of pharmacology and physiology, senna leaf belongs to anthraquinone drugs, which can soften the stool and stimulate the large intestine to increase the peristalsis function and promote defecation Generally, it has quick effect and may be effective for short-term constipation However, if it is used for a long time, it will lead to the stress reduction or even denaturation of the gut wall nerve sensing cells In this way, even if there is enough feces in the gut, it will not stimulate the gut to cause defecation reaction, but will aggravate constipation Generally, 1.5-3 g of senna leaf is used for defecation every time, and it is taken with warm water, once or twice a day, for two weeks at most, which is not suitable for long-term use and reuse As senna leaves damage Qi and cause stomach failure, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and other side effects may occur if taken for a long time or if the dosage is too high, pregnant women, lactating women and menstrual women should take it with caution or not.