Sodium citrate/sodium lauryl sulfoacetate/glycerol sold under the brandname Microlax and Micolette Micro enema, among others, is a small tube of liquid gel that is used to treat

constipation Constipation is a bowel dysfunction that makes bowel movements infrequent or hard to pass. The stool is often hard and dry. Other symptoms may include abdominal pain, bloating, and feeling as if one has not completely passed the bowel movement ...

. The main

active ingredient An active ingredient is any ingredient that provides biologically active or other direct effect in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease or to affect the structure or any function of the body of humans or animals. T ...

s are sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (0.90% w/v),

sodium citrate Sodium citrate may refer to any of the sodium salts of citric acid (though most commonly the third): * Monosodium citrate * Disodium citrate * Trisodium citrate The three forms of salt are collectively known by the E number E331. Applications F ...

(9.0% w/v) and

glycerol Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

Medical uses

The main use is for treatment of

. In

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

it is used for pre-operative evacuation of the bowel. In

diagnostic testing A medical test is a medical procedure performed to detect, diagnose, or monitor diseases, disease processes, susceptibility, or to determine a course of treatment. Medical tests such as, physical and visual exams, diagnostic imaging, genetic te ...

it is used before x-ray examinations or physical examinations of the colon. It has no age limits in regards to children and can be used safely. If used in children under 3 years it is recommended that the

nozzle A nozzle is a device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow (specially to increase velocity) as it exits (or enters) an enclosed chamber or pipe. A nozzle is often a pipe or tube of varying cross sectional area, a ...

is only inserted half way. It is suggested as a laxative during postnatal period and it is compatible with

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

Contraindications

Microlax (like any other saline laxative) should not be used in cases of intestinal inflammation.

Mechanism of action

Sodium citrate saline is one of the most effective

osmotic laxative Laxatives, purgatives, or aperients are substances that loosen stools and increase bowel movements. They are used to treat and prevent constipation. Laxatives vary as to how they work and the side effects they may have. Certain stimulant, lubri ...

s (secondary in action only to

magnesium citrate Magnesium citrate is a magnesium preparation in salt form with citric acid in a 1:1 ratio (1 magnesium atom per citrate molecule). The name "magnesium citrate" is ambiguous and sometimes may refer to other salts such as trimagnesium citrate w ...

). (Accessed at Google Books) Its laxative action is the result of osmotic imbalance that extracts

bound Bound or bounds may refer to: Mathematics * Bound variable * Upper and lower bounds, observed limits of mathematical functions Physics * Bound state, a particle that has a tendency to remain localized in one or more regions of space Geography *B ...

water from stool and pulls it back into the

large bowel The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces before being ...

. The increased water content softens the stool and stimulates the bowel to contract (move its contents to the rectum). Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate improves the wetting and penetrating abilities of the solution, sorbitol enhances the water-releasing effect of sodium citrate and

helps to lubricate the stool. The combined action helps to soften hard stools and relieve constipation without straining in a very short period of time ~ 15 min. The ingredients are not absorbed, distributed or metabolised by the human body; all of the composition is excreted in

faeces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

History

1960 - Microlax micro-enema was invented in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

by Paul Gunnar Embring from

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...

and Per Ove Mattsson from

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

for

Pharmacia Pharmacia was a pharmaceutical and biotechnological company in Sweden that merged with the American pharmaceutical company Upjohn in 1995. History Pharmacia company was founded in 1911 in Stockholm, Sweden by pharmacist Gustav Felix Grönfeldt ...

company. The original purpose of the invention was for clearing the colon and

rectum The rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the Gastrointestinal tract, gut in others. The adult human rectum is about long, and begins at the rectosigmoid junction (the end of the s ...

for X-ray investigation "without any risk of the fluid balance of the body being disturbed". The first use of "Microlax" in commerce was registered on June 16, 1960. In 1962, Microlax registered as the US trademark on February 20, 1962. In May 1963 first medical article on Microlax published in

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

medical journal A medical journal is a peer-reviewed scientific journal that communicates medical information to physicians, other health professionals. Journals that cover many medical specialties are sometimes called general medical journals. History The first ...

Ugeskrift for Læger ''Ugeskrift for Læger'' (English: ''Weekly Journal for Physicians'') is a Danish medical journal published every Monday. It is written in Danish, and publishes original research, news, debate, job ads, etc. The journal was established in 1839 an ...

'' (''Weekly Journal for Physicians''). In 1964, Microenema containing

, sodium laurylsulphoacetate and

sorbitol Sorbitol (), less commonly known as glucitol (), is a sugar alcohol with a sweet taste which the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, which changes the converted aldehyde group (−CHO) to a primary alcohol g ...

was tested in preparation of the

bowel The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The GI tract contains all the major organs of the digestive system, in humans and ...

for

sigmoidoscopy Sigmoidoscopy (from the Greek term for letter " s/ς" + "eidos" + "scopy": namely, to look inside an "s"/"ς"-like object) is the minimally invasive medical examination of the large intestine from the rectum through to the nearest part of the co ...

. Results were published in the ''American Journal of Proctology''. In 1965 a comparative study of Microlax and

enema An enema, also known as a clyster, is an injection of fluid into the lower bowel by way of the rectum.Cullingworth, ''A Manual of Nursing, Medical and Surgical'':155 The word enema can also refer to the liquid injected, as well as to a device ...

published in ''Ugeskrift for Læger''. In 1967 - an article, published in ''The Medical Journal of Australia'' proved the results of 1964 US study and confirmed the efficiency of using Microlax as part of preparation for

. In 1996 a study in the ''

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine The ''Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal. It is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Medicine with full editorial independence. Its continuous publication history dates back to 1809. Since July ...

'' suggestedmailing "Microlax" micro-enemas to patients who are scheduled for

References

{{Laxatives Laxatives Swedish inventions 1960 introductions Combination drugs