Shoojit Sircar made an entire film on it, and, well, everyone agrees that a good morning poop gets us going smoothly throughout the day. For some, it’s a cup of coffee that helps them take a dump, for others it is a glass of water, and for the more luckier ones, emptying their bowels is never really a problem.    

While withholding stool for a while, for some reason or the other, is quite common, can you imagine not pooping for a whole week? Or a month? May be years?

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While constipation is a common problem and sometimes we delay our bowel movement intentionally, it’s okay if you’re cleaning your system at least 3-4 times a week. But not pooping for a long time is not at all healthy leading to a bloated stomach, constant cramps and uneasiness. If your body doesn’t discard its waste material, it becomes toxic. In a case reported in UK, a 16-year-old girl died of heart attack after she didn’t go to the toilet for eight weeks. 

Withholding stool for around two months led to a massive enlargement of her bowel, which compressed her chest cavity, displacing other organs, eventually leading to death. 

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This is not the only known incident of death from not pooping. History is witness to one bizarre incident where a man died for not pooping for 13 long years. He was suffering from the Hirschsprung’s Disease, which causes intestinal blockage that deters the passage of feces. He passed away at the age of 29 and his colon, known as the mega colon, is on display in the Mutter Museum, a medical museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which contains a collection of medical oddities. 

When this man died, his colon measured 25 feet long and 8 feet in circumference, and contained three buckets full of fecal matter.

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He had a stomach bloating out of proportion and used his medical condition to make a living, in a circus in Philadelphia, where he entertained people as the Balloon Man or Human Windbag. He was five and a half feet tall, and died of severe constipation.

At the time of his death, his colon contained more than 40 pounds of feces.

anthony-demarco.blogspot.in

Hirschsprung’s disease is a condition that affects the large intestine (colon) and obstructs in the passage of stool. It’s a congenital disease which is present when a baby is born and is a result of the missing nerve cells in the muscles of part or all of the newborn’s colon. Though, the disease can be diagnosed right after birth, many times, it may pass into adulthood.

In a newborn baby who hasn’t passed its first stool within 24 hours of being born, the symptoms of this disease are green or brown vomit, explosive stool after doctor inserts a finger into the rectum, swollen abdomen, lots of gas and bloody diarrhea.

mentalfloss.com

There’s also a Mega Colon plush toy available for sale online, in case you want to keep reminding yourself to eat and poop healthy!

P.S: Don’t hold it in. It’s toxic!