What Movicol Is For
Movicol is what people take for constipation that has settled in and needs more than fibre, a sachet stirred into water once to three times a day, working by drawing water into the stool rather than by stimulating the bowel. Thirty sachets to the box, and each one carries 13.125 g of macrogol 3350 with three salts alongside it.
Macrogol is a large molecule the body leaves alone. It travels the length of the bowel holding water with it, and that water is what softens a hard stool and gets it moving. Because nothing is being prodded, Movicol carries no five-day limit and no dependence risk, which is why it is the one we reach for when constipation has lasted weeks rather than days.
Why There Are Salts in the Sachet
Alongside the macrogol each sachet carries sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and potassium chloride, in small and deliberate amounts. They are the reason this product can be used for long periods.
A molecule that holds water in the bowel will take some of your own salts along with it if it is given nothing to work with. The salts in the sachet balance that, so your sodium and potassium stay where they belong while the water does its job. It is a quietly clever bit of design and it is the difference between a laxative you can take for months and one that has to stop after a few days.
How to Take It, and How Much
Dissolve one sachet in about 125 ml of water, stir until clear, and drink it. It is flavour-free, so it goes into juice or squash just as well if plain water is unappealing, and it can be taken with or without food.
For ordinary constipation, one to three sachets a day depending on how stubborn it is. For long-standing constipation, one or two a day as a steady routine. Start with one and work up rather than beginning at three, and give it a day or two before you judge it. Our pharmacist will set the number with you, which is worth doing, because the right answer is the smallest number of sachets that keeps you comfortable.
The Higher Amount Is Our Doctor’s Decision
There is a second regimen, used when stool has become hard and impacted, which goes up to eight sachets in a day taken over a few hours. Please do not attempt that from a shelf.
Eight sachets means a large volume of fluid and a great deal of movement in a short time, and it is set up and watched by a prescriber. If you have not opened your bowels for several days, or only small amounts of liquid stool are passing around a blockage, come and see our doctor today. That is a specific situation with a specific treatment, and our doctor can arrange it properly in one visit.
Who It Suits, and Who Should Ask First
It is sugar-free, lactose-free, gluten-free and suitable for vegans, which makes it one of the easier products on this shelf to fit around a diet. The sugar-free part matters for anyone with diabetes, and it is the reason we often suggest it there.
The sodium in the sachets is the thing to raise with us. If you are on a salt-restricted diet, or you have heart failure or kidney disease, please speak to our pharmacist before you start, because three sachets a day is three times that sodium and your clinic will have a view. Movicol is also contraindicated with a bowel blockage or perforation, so constipation with pain, nausea and vomiting needs seeing today rather than treating from a box.
Children, and What to Use Instead
This pack is for adults and children over twelve. Children under twelve need a product made for them at the right strength, so please ask us rather than giving a share of an adult sachet.
For a younger child, Lactulac lactulose liquid is taken by the spoon and suits infancy, and our doctor is at the pharmacy if a child has been constipated for a while, because in children that is worth looking at properly. For a gentler first step at any age, Fybogel adds bulk and can be taken alongside this one.
What to Expect in the First Few Days
Some wind, a rumbling stomach and a few trips to the lavatory are the usual experience, and they settle as things clear. Loose stool means the number of sachets is too high rather than that the product is wrong, so step back down and tell us.
Keep drinking water through the day. The sachet brings its own water, so extra is a comfort rather than a requirement, but it helps. Stop and come and see us if you get cramping pain, if you feel faint, or if nothing happens after two or three days at the amount our pharmacist set.
Is Movicol Right for You?
Please talk to our pharmacist or our doctor before you start if any of these apply to you.
- A suspected bowel blockage or perforation, or constipation with pain, nausea and vomiting. Contraindicated. Please be seen today rather than taking anything.
- Heart failure, kidney disease, or a salt-restricted diet. Each sachet carries sodium, so please speak to our pharmacist first and mention it at your next clinic visit.
- A child under twelve. Ask us for a product made for them at the right strength.
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Please ask our doctor before you start.
- No bowel movement for several days, or only liquid stool passing. See our doctor today. That needs the supervised regimen rather than one sachet.
- Blood in the stool, weight you did not mean to lose, or a bowel habit that has changed and stayed changed. See our doctor before any laxative, particularly after fifty or with bowel cancer in the family.
Where to Buy Movicol in Kenya
Order online and we deliver countrywide, or collect from our pharmacy at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. We send orders to Nairobi and every neighbourhood around it — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Rosslyn, Kitisuru, Lower Kabete, Lavington, Kileleshwa, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Buruburu, Donholm, Embakasi, Ngong Road, Kasarani, Roysambu, Zimmerman, Githurai, Ruaka, Banana Hill, Two Rivers, Village Market and Pride Lands — and across Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru and Ngong.
Beyond the capital we deliver to Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Athi River, Kitengela, Kajiado, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Bomet, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Siaya, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Vihiga, Webuye, Kitale, Nandi Hills, Iten, Kapenguria, Embu, Meru, Chuka, Kerugoya, Murang’a, Othaya, Nyahururu, Nanyuki, Maralal, Isiolo, Marsabit, Moyale, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Mwingi, Makueni, Emali, Kibwezi, Voi, Taveta, Wundanyi, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi, Lamu and Hola. At one to three sachets a day a pack runs for a known length of time, so tell us the pack size you want and we will work out how many months that covers before you order.
Across Africa, ask us before you order. We have sent orders to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and as far as Malawi, and we will quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mozambique, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of the continent. Tell us the destination and we will confirm any import paperwork before the parcel leaves us.
Living abroad? Order from wherever you are and we deliver to your family here in Kenya. Kenyans in the UK, the United States, Canada, South Africa and the Gulf order from us regularly for parents and relatives at home. A laxative like this one taken steadily month after month does far more than a single pack, so tell us who it is for and how many months you want covered and we will set up the repeat.
Why Buy Your Movicol from HealthAlone Kenya?
HealthAlone is a pharmacist-led health ecosystem licensed by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and our stock is original, sealed and correctly stored. Kahawa Sukari is a real counter with real pharmacists behind it.
Our pharmacists will set the number of sachets with you, check the sodium against your prescription if you have heart or kidney trouble, and say plainly when the supervised regimen and our doctor are what the situation needs. Our doctor is here too if you would rather have the whole question looked at properly.
It is one more step in our vision: building Africa’s most trusted health ecosystem, accessible to everyone, everywhere.
Movicol Powder Sachets: Your Questions Answered
What is in Movicol?
Macrogol 3350 at 13.125 g in each sachet, with sodium chloride, sodium bicarbonate and potassium chloride alongside it. Thirty sachets to the box.
How does Movicol work?
The macrogol is a large molecule the body leaves alone. It carries water the length of the bowel, and that water softens the stool and gets it moving. Nothing is being stimulated.
How do I take it?
Dissolve one sachet in about 125 ml of water, stir until clear and drink it. It is flavour-free, so juice or squash works too, and it can be taken with or without food.
How many sachets a day?
One to three for ordinary constipation, or one to two a day as a steady routine for long-standing constipation. Start with one and work up, and let our pharmacist set the number with you.
How long does it take to work?
Usually within a day or two. Give it that long before judging it, and resist jumping to three sachets on the first morning.
Can I take it every day, long term?
Yes. There is no five-day limit and no dependence risk, which is the main advantage it has over the stimulant tablets on this shelf.
Is it addictive?
No. Macrogol works by holding water rather than by prompting the bowel to contract, so the bowel does not become reliant on it to work.
Why are there salts in it?
To replace what the water would otherwise take with it. The salts keep your own sodium and potassium where they belong, and they are the reason this one is suitable for long-term use.
I am on a low-salt diet, or I have heart or kidney disease. Can I take it?
Please speak to our pharmacist first. Each sachet carries sodium, and three sachets a day is three times that, so your clinic will have a view.
Is it suitable for diabetics?
It is sugar-free, lactose-free, gluten-free and suitable for vegans, which is why we often suggest it where there is diabetes. Mention it to us anyway so we can check it against the rest of your medicines.
Can children take it?
This pack is for adults and children over twelve. Younger children need a product made for them at the right strength, so please ask us rather than splitting a sachet.
I have read about taking eight sachets in a day. Should I?
Only under our doctor’s direction. That regimen is for hard impacted stool, it involves a large volume of fluid over a few hours, and it is set up and watched by a prescriber. If you have not opened your bowels for several days, come and be seen today.
When should I see a doctor rather than buy a laxative?
Blood in your stool, weight you did not mean to lose, a bowel habit that has changed and stayed changed, new constipation after fifty, or bowel cancer in the family. Also constipation with pain, nausea and vomiting, which needs seeing today.
Where can I buy Movicol Powder Sachets 30 in Kenya, and what does it cost?
From HealthAlone, online for delivery countrywide or over the counter at Kahawa Sukari Shopping Center, Nairobi. The current price is shown above. We deliver across Nairobi — the CBD, Westlands, Parklands, Gigiri, Muthaiga, Runda, Kitisuru, Lavington, Kilimani, Karen, Langata, South B, South C, Eastleigh, Kasarani, Roysambu, Githurai, Ruaka and Banana Hill — and to Kiambu, Thika, Juja, Ruiru, Kikuyu, Limuru, Ngong, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Kitengela, Naivasha, Narok, Kericho, Kisii, Migori, Homa Bay, Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega, Kitale, Embu, Meru, Nanyuki, Nyahururu, Isiolo, Marsabit, Wajir, Mandera, Garissa, Lodwar, Kitui, Makueni, Voi, Taveta, Mariakani, Diani, Ukunda, Kilifi, Watamu, Malindi and Lamu. Outside Kenya we have delivered to Uganda, Tanzania, Somaliland and Malawi, and we quote for Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and the rest of Africa on request. At one to two sachets a day a box of thirty runs two to four weeks, so tell us how long you want covered.
