Talk:Laxative/Archives/2014

Define subject please
Can someone please define the subject in the first line? Now it just says what laxatives are used for, not what a laxative actually is. Not everyone knows what it means, particularly non-native speakers. Jens Nielsen 13:08, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

Laxatives are foods, compounds, or drugs taken to induce bowel movements, most often taken to treat constipation.-69.87.200.164 16:16, 5 April 2007 (UTC)

Link info
In Hydrating Agents -> Saline, the links in the sodium phosphate article use different names. dibasic sodium phosphate is HNa2PO4, disodium hydroge phosphate. monobasic sodium phosphate is NaH2PO4, sodium dihydrogen phosphate. Sodium biphosphate is also NaH2PO4. Source: google

Microlax
Microlax is listed in that table about stimulant laxatives. Is it not an osmotic laxative? 60.234.125.237 08:41, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Flatulence in intro
This looks like subtle vandalism and I am editing it out. Kd4ttc (talk) 21:10, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Problems section
I added in a problems section. The intro had these issues in it, but the article didn't flow well. I've added some clinical observations that I know are published, and others I've seen in my clinical experience. I will revisit this from time to time and add some references, but welcome fellow editors to contribute. Stephen Holland, M.D. Kd4ttc (talk) 21:32, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Description problem
"Constipation with no known organic cause, i.e. no medical explanation, exhibits gender differences in prevalence: females are more often affected than males.[2]" Why is this in the description of what a laxative is? Shouldn't it be in the "Constipation" article? Thanks!

Amitiza
I'm working on some information for the drug Amitiza, which is not mentioned. If there are no objections over the next week or so I'm going to add it to the osmotic laxitives section of the topic. Brad Einarsen (talk) 22:29, 5 October 2008 (UTC)

Man, that's old. Anyway, I didn't add it because Takeda is a client so there is a financial connection. Brad Einarsen (talk) 13:25, 9 July 2014 (UTC)

Nicotine?
Most smokers will agree that nicotine can encourage a bowel movement. My (unsourced, non-expert) intuition is that nicotine has this effect because it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, thus encouraging one's GI tract to move.

Can anyone confirm this (with a source)? Is this an example of a "Stimulant/irritant" laxative? Or, is this a "serotonin agonist"? Thanks 71.63.4.110 (talk) 18:05, 15 September 2014 (UTC)

unsafe for chronic use
It seems that most medical "solutions" to constipation are unsafe for chronic use. The article should make this basic fact/situation more clear, and should clearly include or link to whatever safest alternatives may be known.-71.174.175.150 (talk) 15:36, 9 December 2014 (UTC)