The Effectiveness of Warm Water Therapy for Constipation

Abstract

Constipation can be caused by the lack of water intake. Continues constipation that is not
treated can cause various health problems in the digestive system. The purpose of the study is
to find out the effectiveness of drinking warm water in the morning before breakfast in treating
constipation. 25 participants volunteered to participate in this study. The subjects have a
history of recurrent constipation in the last 3 months, had no defecated in the past 3 days at the
time of the study, and had no urge to defecate. The subjects did not consume laxatives nor
herbs to facilitate defecation. The subjects were given 500 cc of warm water before breakfast
every day for three consecutive days. The effectiveness of therapy is measured by percentage
of the subjects that can defecate on the first day, second day and the third day. The result of the
study shows that the therapy was 68% effective (p = 0,000) on the first day, 88% effective (p
= 0,000) at the second day, and 84% effective (p = 0,000) on the third day of therapy. During
the three days of intervention, 60% subjects (p = 0,000) can defecate every day and 96%
subjects (p = 0,000) can defecate at least once in three days of the study. Based on this study
warm water therapy can be used as an alternative way to overcome constipation. Further studies
are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the warm water with longer treatment period. A larger
sample selection and treatment based on etiology are needed to be considered in future studies.