Is Docusate Sodium an Effective Constipation Treatment?

There are a variety of synthetic laxatives on the market for constipation treatment. Docusate Sodium is one such laxative that has been around for a long-time and is widely sold in retail stores – but is it an effective treatment for constipation?

What is Docusate Sodium

Docusate Sodium, or dioctyl sodium sulphosuccinate is a common laxative that is marketed under a variety of names like   Colace ®, and Dulcolax ® stool softener. It is a synthetic detergent that decreases surface tension in the colon, allowing for water and fat to come into the feces. It is also used as a pesticide and a dispersing agent for oil that is used to clean-up oil spills.

The Evidence: Docusate Sodium and Constipation Treatment

The evidence generally shows that Docusate Sodim is not an effective constipation treatment. A study in the Journal of Chronic Diseases looked at the effectiveness of Docusate Sodium in treating elderly patients in a hospital. They found that over the course of more than 2 years that it did not increase the frequency or quality of stools. In another study in Gastroenterology healthy subjects took 100mg of Docusate Sodium 3 times a day for 8 days and no increases in stool weight, stool frequency, or total transit time of stool through the system were found.

Perhaps the most telling study was in the Journal Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics where subjects took either 100mg of Docusate Sodium twice per day or about five grams of the soluble fiber psyllium twice per day. The study was double blind so that neither the researchers nor participants knew who was taking the Docusate Sodium versus the psyllium (each included a placebo so that the person didn’t know which one was the active ingredient). The results? The psyllium group showed a significant increase in stool water content compared to the Docusate Sodium group. This wasn’t expected by the researchers, but indicates that soluble fibers (like psyllium and glucomannan) might actually work faster than stool softeners like Docusate Sodium. Additionally, the soluble fiber group continued to have softer stools the longer they took the fiber – an indication that soluble fiber continues to improve as a constipation treatment over time. The Docusate Sodium was also found to be an inferior constipation treatment related to bowel movement frequency, feeling of complete evacuation, and overall comfort.

Conclusions

In conclusion, if you or a loved one is struggling with constipation, Docusate Sodium should not be the constipation treatment of choice. It has consistently been proven ineffective in clinical trials and other more natural constipation remedies have outperformed it for comfort and effectiveness.