Why is intestinal obstruction more common in older people?
There are several reasons why bowel obstruction is more common in older people than in younger ones. The main reason is that the different causes of bowel obstruction become more common with age. In addition to adhesions, abdominal wall hernias are also more likely in older people.
These are one of the most common causes of intestinal obstruction. In addition, older people are more likely to take medications that can promote the occurrence of bowel obstruction, such as certain painkillers. In addition, older people often exercise less and drink less, which also contributes to poorer bowel passage and therefore increases the risk of getting an intestinal obstruction.
In addition, long-term consequences of certain chronic diseases can trigger or promote the occurrence of intestinal obstruction, such as diabetes (“diabetes”). With increasing age, these late effects occur more frequently and also increase the risk of bowel obstruction. Likewise, with age, the risk of suffering an intestinal infarction, which can also be a possible cause of intestinal obstruction, increases due to increasing calcification of the blood vessels and cardiac arrhythmia.
History
Ileus (intestinal obstruction) comes from gr. ‘eleios’, the place where a snake has curled itself up, which was and is a pictorial representation of the patient writhing in pain. This is how Hippocrates described the disease about 400 years before Christ.
Around 350 B.C. Praxagoras, a physician in the tradition of Hippocrates, even described an ileus operation.
