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How do you know when your bowels are completely cleaned out?

Signs Your Colon is Clear The morning of your exam if you are still passing brown liquid with solid material mixed in, your colon may not be ready and you should contact your doctor's office. Passing mostly clear or only a light color, including yellow, is a sign your colon is clean enough for an accurate examination.

crspecialists.com - How Do I Know If My Bowel Prep Is Working?

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One of the most common questions we get at CRS is “how do I know if my bowel prep is working?

When prepping for a colonoscopy your doctor has probably talked to you about how important the bowel prep process is for accurate results. Residue left behind can make it harder for the doctor to view your colon during the exam – meaning a polyp or other issue might not be seen as clearly or even missed. And no one wants to get to a colonoscopy appointment and be told their prep didn’t fully empty the colon and they’ll have to do it again.

So how do you know if your bowel prep isn’t working?

Everyone Colon Is Different

When To Call Our Office

If it has been more than 4 hours since you started bowel prep and you aren’t feeling the effects

If you experience persistent nausea or vomiting during preparation

Many people start their prep and expect something to happen within minutes– but everyone is different and for some people, prep just takes longer to begin and complete. For the average patient prep takes about 6-8 hours to complete, and often women can take longer than men. Women often have longer colons due to childbirth or hysterectomies, so it can take more time for material to travel through the colon. Generally, if you’ve started prep but haven’t felt the urge to go to the bathroom after an hour, there is no cause for concern or a call to the doctor’s office. However, if it has been more than 4 hours since you started the bowel prep process and you aren’t feeling the effects please contact our office for instructions. Or if you experience persistent nausea or vomiting during preparation you should call and let us know.

Health Issues or Medications May Also Impact Prep

Not following the instructions, or drinking clear liquids as prescribed can slow or negatively impact bowel prep. And patients with diabetes, neurologic conditions or those who take certain medications or suffer from chronic constipation may take up to twice as long to complete the process. This is just one of the many reasons the physicians at CRS may meet with patients beforehand to review your health history and identify and factors that might impact the type of prep given. It is important to bring a list of every medication you are taking, as there are several different colon preparations and your CRS doctor will determine the best prep based on your specific situation. If necessary your CRS doctor may consult with your primary care, or GI doctor, to discuss stopping or altering dosage, or certain medications prior to your exam.

Signs Your Colon is Clear

The morning of your exam if you are still passing brown liquid with solid material mixed in, your colon may not be ready and you should contact your doctor’s office. Passing mostly clear or only a light color, including yellow, is a sign your colon is clean enough for an accurate examination.

Talk to a Colon Doctor in Richmond, VA

Established in 1913, CRS is one of the oldest continually operating groups of colon and rectal surgeons in the country and the largest state-of-the-art practice on the East Coast with three locations around Richmond, VA. The physicians and staff of Colon & Rectal Specialists are committed to providing all our patients with the special care and education needed for the treatment of colon and rectal problems. Contact us for more information or an appointment at one of our three Richmond area locations.

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Leaves, sticks, moss, sand and water were common choices, depending on early humans' environment. Once we developed agriculture, we had options like hay and corn husks. People who lived on islands or on the coast used shells and a scraping technique.

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What the Romans used before toilet paper

The first well-documented example of what people used pre-toilet paper comes from A.D. – or rather Roman times to be exact. Romans used what is called a “Tersorium” – a sea sponge stuck on the end of a stick that was kept in either a bucket of salt water or vinegar. The general population used a communal latrine in Roman times, which consisted of several holes cut in a slab of marble. Picture the hole you sit on in an outhouse. Now picture several holes in a row, right next to each other. No dividers between you and your neighbour. There was a hole you sat on and a hole between your legs where you inserted the tersorium and wiped it around your bum area until everything felt ‘clean’. Poor people shared their tersorium – one stick-sponge per communal latrine. And though tersoriums were left soaking in vinegar or brine, precisely because these things kill infection, disease (such as intestinal worms or parasites) was an issue. But if you were a wealthier Roman, you used wool instead of a sponge, soaked in a bucket of rosewater. And best of all, it was all yours. No sharesies.

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