Use & Abuse

Issues related to use and abuse of laxatives

the overwhelming majority of people do not need laxatives, yet they are self-prescribed by a large portion of the general population
prescription of laxatives should be secondary to fiber-rich diet, adequate fluid intake, physical activity, with milder laxatives (such as bulk-forming laxatives) being the first choice
use lowest effective dosage, as infrequently as possible, and discontinue as soon as possible
patients can become totally reliant on a daily dose (cathartic colon), although recent research suggests that this is quite rare