How Long Does It Take To Have A Bowel Movement After A Colonoscopy?

The term colon is referred for the large intestine and the lower part of the digestive system. Colon plays an important role in processing and discarding the unwanted waste created inside the body after small intestine has extracted all the necessary nutrients from the food. The average size of colon is almost 3 to 5 feet long; it moves from the lower side of the abdomen to live then to the upper spleen and finally ends at anus and rectum. Colonoscopy is the name of the medical examination that helps in getting a clear look inside the bowel lining and colon.

The procedure of colonoscopy is undertaken by doctor with the help of an instrument known as colonoscope. It is a flexible long tube-like structure, which is approximately five feet long and very thin like around one inch. A small high resolution camera is attached at the tip of the tube, which is helpful in getting a clear look inside the entire colon. Doctors prescribe this procedure to identify various types of diseases that can develop inside the colon. If doctors suspect any abnormality in colon region, then they prescribe colonoscopy for further analysis. This is considered as one of the most effective screen tool, which is very helpful in identifying colorectal cancer at a very early stage. Some important points to be known about colon cancer are:

Survey report reveals that colorectal cancer is the 2nd severe cancer type that can eventually leads to death of the patient.
Growth on the lining of bowel, which is commonly known as tumors or polyps is the two main causes that lead to development of colon cancer.
It takes around 5 to 10 years for these tumor or polyps for becoming cancerous. During this span there is a high possibility that patient may not experience any symptom.
People who have family history of colon cancer are more prone to develop the problem as compared to other people.
Usually people are encountered with colon cancer at or after the age of 50 years. After this stage screening is suggested once in every decade.

Colonoscopy is equally effective in identifying other colon problem such as:

This test is very helpful in spotting the prime cause of bleeding or irritation experienced in the colon region.
Any problem related to colon has direct impact on bowel habits i.e. it becomes very irregular.
Infection in the colon region can lead to sudden weight loss, severe abdominal pain and diarrhea.
The problem can occur in people of all age groups it is not limited to any specific age group.

How Long Does It Take To Have A Bowel Movement After A Colonoscopy?

During the procedure the entire bowel is made empty i.e., free from stool. For this, the patients are advised to take a special diet comprising of lot of fluid. After the test is done patients are again asked to follow a special diet that does not include any food item causing irritation in the colon. Digestion of food takes 2 to 3 days, so bowel movement after a colonoscopy is expected only after 3 days or even after that depending on patient’s body type. There is a high possibility that patient may find blood in the bowel, but that is temporary and will disappear in 3 to 4 days max. In case the bleeding still continues then patients are advised to consult about the same with the doctor without any fail. For avoiding further problems, the patient are advised to take more of fluid in various forms in their diet, this will help making the bowel movement smooth and less painful. Make sure to discuss about the diet with the doctor in detail.

Side Effects

Just like other screening process, the colonoscopy also has some mild side effects. Some of the common side effects of this are as follows:

Pain in the abdominal region
Bleeding
Swelling in the abdominal region
Injury in the small intestine (very rare)
Colon perforation or inflammation
Problems related to digestive tracks.

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How Long Does It Take To Have A Bowel Movement After A Colonoscopy?