Constipation

What’s considered chronic constipation?

If you experience severe symptoms, two or more symptoms for more than a couple of weeks or have unexplained and persistent change in your bowel habits, request an appointment with our clinicians. Constipation is considered chronic when you have two or more of these symptoms:

• Two or fewer stools passed per week
• Having lumpy or hard stools
• Excessive straining to have a bowel movement
• Feeling incomplete evacuation after a bowel movement
• Sensations of rectal blockage

Medical attention is also required if you experience any of the following symptoms related to constipation:

• Abdominal pain
• Blood in the stool
• Constipation that alternates with diarrhea
• Pain in the rectal area
• Thin stools
• Unexplained weight loss

Complications of chronic constipation can include hemorrhoids, tears in the anal skin, stool that cannot be expelled (impaction) and intestine that protrudes from the anus (prolapse).

What are the causes and risk factors?

Constipation most commonly occurs when waste or stool moves too slowly through the digestive tract or cannot be eliminated effectively from the rectum. This can cause the stool to become hard or dry. Some of the risk factors for constipation include being an older adult woman, being dehydrated, eating a low-fiber diet, getting too little physical activity, certain medications or having a mental health condition such as depression or an eating disorder.

Outside of the risk factors, chronic constipation has causes such as:

• Blockages from the colon or rectum
• Anal fissure
• Colon or rectal cancer
• Narrowing (stricture) of the colon
• Other abdominal cancer that presses on the colon
• Rectum bulge through the back wall of the vagina (rectocele)
• Neurological conditions, hormonal imbalances and difficulties with the muscles of the rectum

What are some ways to prevent constipation?

The following tips can help you avoid developing chronic constipation:

• Include plenty of high-fiber foods in your diet, including beans, vegetables, fruits, whole-grain cereals and bran
• Eat fewer foods with low amounts of fiber such as processed food and dairy and meat products
• Drink plenty of nonalcoholic fluids
• Stay as active as possible and try to get regular exercise
• Try to manage stress
• Do not ignore the urge to pass stool
• Try to create a regular schedule for bowel movements, especially after a meal
• Make sure children who begin to eat solid foods get plenty of fiber in their diets