Constipation is a very common problem that affects people of all ages it means either going to the toilet less frequently than usual to empty your bowels or passing hard or painful stools lactulose solution contains a synthetic sugar that is used to treat constipation lactulose is broken down in the colon and pulls water from the rest of body into the colon this water softens stools and eases the constipation lactulose can also be used to reduce the amount of ammonia in the blood of pati