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Stool Softener
Stool softener is a type of medication that leads to the
softening of stool, which is known to others as poop,
crap, and feces. Stool softeners are used to treat
constipation, which can be caused by many factors
such as pain medication use, restricted movement, low
water intake, not eating enough dietary fiber, eating
excessive amounts of dairy, stress, pregnancy,
depression, irritable bowel syndrome (a disorder of the
large intestine).
Bisacodyl is a stool softener.
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Stool softeners work by lowering the amount of surface tension of the stool. This allows
fluids from the intestines, water, and fat to enter the stool and soften it, making it easier
to pass. See the entry for bisacodyl, for an example of a stool softener.
Stool softener comes from the Anglo Saxon word "stol" meaning "seat" and the Old
English word “softe” meaning “gentle.” Put the words together and you get “gentle seat.”
The reason for this is that the word "stool" was used to describe the seat one sat on to
go to the bathroom. So when people would go to the bathroom, the expression was that
they were "going to stool."
By the end of the 16th century, the word stool was used to mean the same thing as
"feces." This is why stool softener is also known as fecal softener.
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