Untreated constipation sometimes causes headache. Major two types of constipation are, hypotonic constipation and spastic constipation. Recently, a Japanese medical doctor, Dr. Yoshiharu Uno found that more than 60% of the difficult chronic constipation cases were actually a mixed type of the two. Dr. Yoshio Otsuka who is the son of Dr. Keisetsu Otsuka, the modern Kampo master in Japan, developed Kampo formulas that treat those three types of constipation as mentioned below.

People with hypotonic constipation have hard thick stools, abdominal distension, tend not to feel the urge to defecate, and no abdominal pain. For those people, a Kampo formula named, Da Jian Zhong Tang (Major Construct the Middle Decoction) which promotes the peristalsis in the colon, is effective. People with spastic constipation have pebble-like dry stools or pencil-like thin stools, abdominal pain, alternating constipation and lose stools, and do not feel completed after defecation. For those people, a Kampo formula named, Xiao Jian Zhong Tang (Minor Construct the Middle Decoction) which relaxes the smooth muscle in the intestine, is effective.

For the people with the mixed type, the mixture of Da Jain Zhong Tang and Xiao Jian Zhong Tang named, Zhong Jiang Zhong tang (Medium Construct the Middle Decoction) has been found to be effective.

Although some purgatives tend to develop habitualness and require higher doses to be effective after the long term use, those Kampo formulas don’t contain herbs to cause that problem. That is a great news for the people with chronic constipation.