Travel Therapeutic | Constipation - When Your Bowels Don’t Feel at Home

By: Kester Wong www.kester-and-homeopathy.com | Instagram: @kesterwong @homeopathyinpractice

You have arrived at your destination. Your suitcase is unpacked and you are ready to enjoy the trip.

But your abdomen feels heavy. You know you need to go, but nothing happens.

Travel constipation may begin before you even leave home.

You wake early, rush to the airport, miss your usual morning routine and tell yourself:

“I will go later.”

At the airport, the toilet is busy. On the plane, you do not want to keep getting up. At the hotel, everything feels unfamiliar.

One delay becomes another. Before you realise it, several days have passed and your bowel seems to have stopped moving.

It Is Not Only the Flight

Travel constipation can continue throughout the whole trip.

Common causes include:

• Drinking less water• Eating unfamiliar food• Eating less fruit, vegetables and fibre• Eating more white bread, white rice or processed food• Sitting for long periods• Changed meal and sleeping times• Jet lag• Drinking more alcohol• Missing the usual morning coffee• Ignoring the urge to pass stool• Feeling uncomfortable in unfamiliar toilets

For some people, the main feeling is simply:

“I cannot go in a strange place.”

The body may be ready, but the person cannot relax enough to let go.

Travel constipation may cause:

• Hard, dry or lumpy stool• Straining• Bloating and heaviness• Passing stool less often than usual• Frequent urging with little result• Feeling that the bowel has not emptied fully.

General Care

Drink water regularly throughout the journey.

Include fresh fruit, vegetables, prunes, figs and whole grains. Ground flaxseed, chia seeds or psyllium may also help when taken with enough water.

Avoid relying too heavily on white rice, white bread and processed food.

Walk, stretch and move whenever possible.

Try not to ignore the urge to pass stool. Give yourself enough time and privacy to relax.

Some travellers also choose to take probiotics to support the intestinal flora, although the effects may vary between individuals.

Looking Through a GNM Perspective

From a GNM perspective, constipation may relate to an indigestible morsel conflict.

The morsel is not always food. It may also represent a situation or experience that feels difficult to accept, process or digest.

During travel, there may be too much to take in:

• Different food• New places• Delays and changed plans• Noise and crowds• Lack of sleep• Unfamiliar toilets• Too many activities and experiences

The inner feeling may be:

“This is too much for me to process.”

“I cannot relax here.”

“This is not the right place to let go.”

The person may physically hold back because the toilet feels dirty, public or unfamiliar.

At the same time, they may also be emotionally holding on, trying to stay in control while everything around them feels different.

The GNM theme may help us understand the possible conflict. The homeopathic remedy picture helps us understand how the individual reacts to it.

Homeopathic Therapeutics

Two people may experience the same travel constipation but react very differently.

One person feels overwhelmed but continues pushing, eating, drinking and trying to do everything.

Another person has had enough. They stop, withdraw and want everything around them to become still.

The conflict may be similar, but the individual reaction helps us differentiate the remedy.

Nux Vomica

Everything is too much, but the person continues pushing and trying.

There is too much food, too much alcohol, too little sleep, too many delays and too many plans.

They may still want to taste more food, visit more places and complete every activity, even when the body is already tired.

Remedy Picture

• Overstimulated, tense and irritable

• Wants to remain in control

• Continues working, eating or drinking beyond their limit

• Easily annoyed by delays, noise or interruption

• Feels they must keep going

• Wants everything to work properly

Constipation Symptoms

• Frequent urging, but little or nothing passes

• Repeated straining

• Feeling that the bowel has not emptied

• Feeling unfinished after stool

• Bloating and heaviness in the stomach

• Nausea, especially in the morning

• Restless sleep

• Painful haemorrhoids may be present

The constipation may follow:

• Overeating

• Rich or unfamiliar food

• Alcohol

• Too much coffee

• Suddenly missing the usual coffee

• Eating many different foods together

• Diarrhoea followed by constipation

The bowel reflects the same struggle.

The person keeps trying to push the indigestible morsel through, but cannot complete the process or release it.

The central experience is:

“Everything is too much, but I keep pushing.”

“I need to go, but I cannot finish.”

Bryonia

Everything is too much, so the person wants everything to stop.

There is too much light, too much noise, too much movement, too much conversation and too much change.

They have had enough.

They want to return to the hotel, close the curtains, lie down and be left alone.

Remedy Picture

• Wants to be left alone

• Does not want to move

• Irritable when disturbed

• Wants to return to the hotel and rest

• Feels worse from movement

• Withdraws from activities and stimulation

• Does not want to take in anything more

Constipation Symptoms

• Very dry and hard stool

• Large stool that is difficult or painful to pass

• Dry mouth

• Dry or cracked lips

• Strong thirst

• General dryness throughout the body

• Little bowel movement

• The whole system feels slow, still and stuck

Instead of trying to push the indigestible morsel through, the whole system appears to stop.

Movement slows. The bowel slows. Everything becomes dry and stuck.

The central experience is:

“It is all too much. Stop.”

“Everything stops, dries up and withdraws.”

A little Bryonia travel tip: Dry mouth, dry bowels, dry energy… and a dry wallet. 😄

When to Seek Medical Advice

It is easy to think:

“It is only because I am travelling.”

Most travel constipation is temporary, but severe or continuing symptoms should not be ignored.

Seek medical advice if constipation is persistent, increasingly uncomfortable or associated with:

• Significant rectal bleeding

• Unexplained weight loss

• Frequent or severe abdominal pain

• Vomiting• Fever

• Marked abdominal swelling

• A sudden change in your usual bowel habits

Everyone has a different normal bowel pattern. However, if several days have passed and you are becoming increasingly uncomfortable, speak with a pharmacist or qualified healthcare professional.

Sometimes the bowel needs water, movement, privacy and time to return to its normal rhythm.

Sometimes, beneath the physical holding, there may also be a quieter message:

“I do not feel ready to let go here.”

This article is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose, prescribe or replace individual medical advice or treatment from a qualified healthcare professional.

References

-          Pitt, R. Essential Natural Health Guide for Travel and Home

-          T.S.Iyer, Beginner’s Guide to Homeopathy

-          Dr Khush Mark, Rapid Relief Homeopathy

Kester Wong | Homeopathy in Practice