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Can vaping help you quit smoking? Print This Page Click to Print. Free Healthbeat Signup Get the latest in health news delivered to your inbox! Don't exceed the recommended dose of senna or take it for more than a week unless advised to by your doctor. Medicines and their possible side effects can affect individual people in different ways.
The following are some of the side effects that are known to be associated with senna. Just because a side effect is stated here doesn't mean that all people using senna will experience that or any side effect. Senna increases the activity of the muscle in the gut it can cause abdominal cramps, spasms of diarrhoea.
Senna may cause discolouration of the urine — red-orange or dark yellow colour urine. This is harmless and nothing to worry about. You should read the patient information leaflet that is supplied with your medication for more information about side effects associated with senna.
You can find a copy of this here. If you think you have experienced side effects from senna, you can report them using the yellow card scheme. Senna shouldn't affect other medicines if it's taken as directed. However, if you're buying it without a prescription and you're already taking any other medicines it's always best to get advice from your pharmacist first, to make sure senna is appropriate to take alongside your other medicines.
If you get a severe skin rash, stop taking senna and call your doctor straight away. In rare cases, it's possible to have a serious allergic reaction anaphylaxis to senna. These are not all the side effects of senna. For a full list see the leaflet inside your medicines packet. Constipation is common at the end of pregnancy and just after having a baby. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, it's better to ease constipation without taking a medicine.
Your doctor or midwife will first advise that you eat more fibre and drink plenty of liquids. You'll also be encouraged to do gentle exercise.
If dietary and lifestyle changes do not work, you may be recommended a laxative. Laxatives are usually safe for pregnant women to take because most of them are not absorbed by the digestive system. This means that your baby will not feel the effects of the laxative. However senna is partly absorbed by your gut.
Your doctor or midwife will usually only recommend senna if other laxatives have not worked. Lactulose and Fybogel are safer laxatives to take during pregnancy and while breastfeeding. For more information about how senna can affect you and your baby during pregnancy, read this leaflet on treating constipation on the Best Use of Medicines in Pregnancy BUMPs website.
There are some medicines that do not mix well with senna and can change the way it works. Apart from liquorice root preparations, there are no known problems with taking other herbal remedies and supplements with senna. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you're taking any other medicines, including herbal medicines, vitamins or supplements. Senna is known as a stimulant laxative — it stimulates the muscles that line your gut, helping them to move poo along your bowel. Take senna for a few days only and certainly no longer than a week.
If you take senna for longer, your body can start to rely on it, rather than your bowels doing the work on their own. If you are still constipated after taking senna for 3 days, talk to your doctor.
Ideally, you should only use senna occasionally and for a few days at a time. Using senna for longer can lead to diarrhoea. Stop taking it if you get diarrhoea. It can also cause an electrolyte imbalance, where levels of substances like sodium, potassium and magnesium in your body get too high or too low. A severe electrolyte imbalance can cause serious health problems such as muscle spasm and twitching, and even convulsions. Using senna for many weeks, even months, could also stop your bowel working properly on its own.
Occasionally, you may need to take 2 different types of laxatives at the same time to get your bowels moving again. Only take 2 laxatives together on the advice of your doctor or pharmacist as there is an increased risk of side effects. There are other types of laxatives. They work in a different way to senna but are equally good at treating constipation. Some take longer to work than senna.
There's no clear evidence to suggest that taking senna will reduce fertility in either men or women. However, speak to a pharmacist or your doctor before taking it if you're trying to get pregnant.
Senna does not affect any type of contraception including the combined pill and emergency contraception unless you have severe diarrhoea for more than 24 hours. If you have severe diarrhoea your contraceptive pills may not protect you from pregnancy.
Look on the pill packet to find out what to do. Read more about what to do if you're on the pill and you're vomiting or have diarrhoea. It might be a good idea to stop eating pastries, puddings, sweets, cheese and cake for a while as these foods can make constipation worse.
It's quite common to have constipation after surgery. Using a laxative may help relieve the discomfort. If you have constipation after an operation, it's better to use lactulose because it's gentler on your stomach muscles than senna. It's often possible to relieve constipation without having to use laxatives. Before trying senna — or to stop constipation coming back — it may help to:. Page last reviewed: 24 January Next review due: 24 January
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