Here's some information when your intestine is inactive or Paralytic ileus

PARALYTIC ILEUS 

 

It is  a state in which intestine fails to transmit peristaltic waves and is due to failure in neuromuscular mechanism and Obstruction of the gut cod to paralysis of the viscus muscles. The paralysis does not need to be complete to cause ileus, but the viscus muscles must be so inactive that it prevents the passage of food and leads to a useful closure of the intestine.

 

IN POSTOPERATIVE ETIOLOGY  

Ileus commonly follows some types of surgery, especially abdominal surgery  ,Normal lyintestinal motility and absorption returns in about 16 hours ,However ,postoperative ileus may br prolonged , if there is  Hypoproteinemia ,Latent renal failure , If gastrointestinal suction is continued beyond the point at which effective bowl sounds have returned .PERITONITIS initially as a normal response to prevent dissemination .Later bacterial toxins  prevent normal activity of nerve plexuses.

It also crapper result from certain DRUGS  like Uremia ( in renal failure ,following prostatectomy ) , HYPOKALEMIA, IN REFLEX ETIOLOGY Spinal injuries or ribs injuries, ,sometime Retroperitoneal haemorrhage , inflammation anywhere within the abdomen that touches the intestines, and diseases of the viscus muscles themselves  and Application of the plaster jacket.

Irrespective of the cause, closure causes constipation ( no passage of flatus ,for upto 48 hours after laparotomy ), abdominal distention, ( more marked and drum like tympanitic ) and sickness and vomiting ( effortless ,large volume and with dirty fluid ) Respiratory distress. On listening to the abdomen with a stethoscope, some or no bowel sounds are heard (because the bowel is inactive) after laparotomy. Also titled disfunction ileus. Also simply titled ileus.with sign of Tachycardia ,there may be wound dehiscence .

Ileus may increase bond formation, because intestinal segments have more prolonged contact, allowing fibrous adhesions to form, and intestinal distention causes serosal injury and ischemia. Intestinal distention has been shown to drive adhesions in foals . Repeat celiotomy to decompress chronically distended small gut and vanish fibrinous adhesions is also a multipurpose method of treating ileus and reducting adhesions, and it has been related with a good outcome  

DIAGNOSTIC TEST FORPARALYTIC ILEUS: 

The list of diagnostic tests mentioned in various sources as used in the diagnosis of Paralytic ileus includes:

Stethoscope Examination of the abdomen : when a doctor ty o listen with a stethoscope to the abdomen there will be few or no bowel sounds ,indicating that the intestine has stopped functioning .ileus can be confirmed by X-ray of abdomen .computed tomography scans (CT  scan ) or ultrasound .it may be necessary to do more invasive test msuch as barium enema or upper GI series if the obstruction is mechanical.Blood test also are useful in diagnosing paralytic ileus .barium enema used in some obstruction cases but it can cause few problems by increasing pressure or intestinal contents if used in ileus Also in doubtful cases with mechanical obsruction involving the gastrointestinal tract .

So its use is contraindicated in these typs of cases .but in some caes it should be used first . 

TREATMENT OF PARALYTIC ILEUS 

Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment or change in treatment plans, patients may be treated with supervised bed rest in a infirmary , and bowel rest ,where nothing is taken by representative ,and patients are feed intravaneously or finished the ingest of a nasogastric

tube .A nasogastric plaything is a plaything inserted finished the nose down to the throat and into the breadbasket.A kindred plaything can be inserted in the gut .The contents are then suctioned out .In some cases ,especially where there is a machine like obstruction ,surgery may be needed . Drug therapies that encourage intestinal motility ( ability of the gut to more spontaneously ) such as morphine or pethidine , in repeated small doses .Fluid and electrolytes balance ,especially serum K and blood urea.

PROPHYLACTIC TREATMENT 

Routine nasogastric suction and withholding fluids by representative after laparotomy until normal bowel sounds returns ,and /or passage of flatus occurs .in most of the cases ileus are not preventable  ,surgery to remove a tumr or other intestinal obstruction will help prevent a repetition .