My Mom (96) had severe constipation and her bum bled; we used warm salt water. Is it enough?

I think I spend my life uding a whole range of products tha I used to use for my grandson oh and gloves god knows how many of those I go through in a week but 500 doesnt seem to last that long let me tell you.

I also only used adult care desitin

I went thru more in a week with my mom then my baby.

ILove I always use baby wipes on Mum they are a godsend

Soft offds for awhile it seems to be, nothing that is too binding....Colace..warm water to cleanse.. maybe baby wipes that are gentle to a baby......what would a pediatric doctor suggest on a baby? It seems it's the circle of life all over again..........

Should have mentioned decaf tea.

If my mom had a BM and there was some red blood on paper, I would just use desitin for a few days and had no problems. At my moms age, I did not want to go the route of a rectal exam. I would give 3 stool softeners a day, per doc orders, morning, noon and night. She would usually go every 3 days. If more then that I would use the glycerin suppositories. With just a little bit of miralax she would have a blow out 2 days later. I did my best to keep up on the fluids. Would give her tea with lunch, cup later afternoon too. For us, warm liquids seemed to work best. Good luck with your mom.

I have just checked the carton of what looks like petroleum jelly that they use in hospital on my mum and guess what? main ingredient paraffin wax and liquid paraffin also found in vaseline - give me a clue someone? Is it safe to use or not - lots of info out there says not - Mallory I had missed that one I was so confident that as we always used it, it was ok to continue.

EEEEEEK Mallory my doc told me TO use it. I wish they could all get together and write an definitive on elderly care. It is easy to see from coming on here how many variants there are to the same problem FROM THE MEDICS, let alone from us as individuals. I have to say I use Vaseline not petroleum jelly purely because I know there are some rigorous purification issues that Vaseline DO adhere to but I will certainly investigate the coconut oil - I have two HUGE jars of it in the fridge

Please do not use Vaseline or petroleum jelly-based products on any elderly skin, especially mucous membranes like anal/rectal area. It serves to thin the skin. Mom's foot doctor explained this to me (after mom was using Vaseline on her feet). Coconut oil (which is solid at room temp but melts nicely at body temp ) is a great alternative. Plus as someone already noted has health benefits. But the Bigger Question is, yes you need to see a colo-rectal specialist. Anal fissures and/or damage from enema or manual dis-impactions are very common, nothing to be embarrassed about. The doc has seen LOTS of this. They can prescribe special ointment to help heal the area by promoting blood flow (takes a compounding pharmacy to mix). But mostly, time and softer stools will allow area to heal. If it does not heal, the surgical option is no fun (cutting out the wounded area and suturing together), and often fails, and requires....time and softer stools both to heal and prevent failure (so, just do that NOW to try to avoid surgery).

Coconut oil that you use for cooking is very soothing and pleasant to use. It kills germs and prevents infections. I use it on my own body problems: occasional piles and such. Triphala Churna: Indian remedy is very helpful to get good bowel movements: just a tiny pinch in water before bedtime once in a while is what I have found useful.

Eating Bok Choy, steamed oakra, green leafy vegetables, and pears also help with the fiber and is an enjoyable way to live, rather than those pharma powders.
Prune juice is delicious but it doesn't seem to move me.

Do you have an aloe vera plant handy? I cut off an inch and gently squeeze it onto the piles or any sores and things heal very quickly. Also soothing. Aloe gel or aloe juice works well too. I then follow it with coconut oil. Stops anal itching and lubricates the area.

I am not an expert. Just sharing what I found works for me on my own body.

You need to discuss this with her doctor. My Mom is on iron. In the hospital they feel u have to go everyday so they pump her with stool sofeners and laxatives that do the opposite. Spoke woth one of her dovtors about it and he said it was her cholesterol med, Welchol, and took her off. It was hit and miss but I give her 2 Colace in the morning. If she doesn't go for a couple of days, Milk of Magnesia. Anything else is too strong for her and we have the other problem that upsets her. I give a glass of apple juice with her breakfast and fruit with lunch. Part of the problem is inactivity the other old age.

Ooooh wait wait not an expert not at all. Please dont think I am an expert. I just go on what my docs say and if I am not happy I get a second opinion (3rd if I am royally p^$$*" off) and I check EVERYTHING. I am not at all confident that GPs are great at geriatric care and I do question my pharmacist - a lot - whenever a new med is prescribed or in latter times removed as to the typical contraindications that may or may not appear as a result of polypharmacy.
My skills area is not care at all although to be fair I have trained people in infection control and managing and safe handling of meds. My local store think it is madness that I go through so many vinyl gloves, but my house always smells sweet and noone else has ever got an infection from mum or mum from them so I must be doing something right. Why so many gloves? well apart from the obvious toiletting issues, I also use them to rub in creams - if they contain medicine that is for her I dont want them in me thanks all the same. A lot of people dont realise that some of these topical creams have adverse effects especially in sunlight - then they wonder why for the first time they have come out in a rash when they go out into the garden.....gloves all the way and I am not remotely OCD honest

A little bright red blood on the outside of the poop or the toilet paper is more likely just due to the injury and/or hemorrhoids, and would heal OK. If it is mixed in with stool or dark and tarry there would be more of a concern for higher-up GI tract bleeding. Keep stools soft with fluids, fiber, stool softener (DOSS) or even Miralax if need be.

Mechanical damage, see a doctor for this. Keep it a simple rectal exam, avoid extreme measures at her age, ask the doctor. Blood in stool not good.
Use Preparation H or Tucks to soothe anal area.
More fluids, more water to protect from constipation.
Listen to an expert, like Jude, above.

she^ not he
her^ not him dimwit that I am sorry

Oh and do make sure he doesnt have haemmorhoids because they too will bleed when he passes a motion and if that is the case you will needs a different medication. Whatever you do DONT disimpact him yourself - you arent trained to do this

I dont know whether this is any help but it has been a constant issue for me since Mum has IBS among all the other issues and I do the following:
I make sure she has enough liquid
I make sure she takes Laxido/Movicol every day (using it irregularly caused even more problems) If you find that too strong you can use Lactulose or similar
When I bathe her / wash her I always make sure I use Vaseline around the anus (not pleasant to do but hey I am her carer)
If she doesnt pass a stool EVERY day I supplement the above with Bisacodyl (you might know it as Dulcolax) which is a stool softener.

As for the salt water - it is an old tried and trusted remedy for wound cleansing (as long as the salt content isnt too high) but check with your doc or better still the pharmacist - they will advise

Your mom might have developed anal fissures which can happen if one strains too much to have a BM. I wouldn't want to pour salt water into an open sore though.....OUCH!

My dad had anal fissures and would bleed a bit when having a BM but it would probably be a good idea to see the Dr. to make sure it's not something serious. Maybe the Dr. can prescribe a stool softener for your mom.