From Home Diagnosis To Needing Medical Help, What Are The Symptoms Of Constipation?

By Author: Andrew Behling
Total Articles: 25
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Symptoms of constipation can be summarized easily. It is when a person passes small amounts of hard, dry stool, often fewer than three times a week. Bowel movements are often difficult and painful. Other symptoms of constipation include being bloated, uncomfortable and sluggish. The person may also have a feeling that something is still there even after an evacuation. Infrequent or absent bowel movements over an extended period of time are also constipation symptoms.

Symptoms of constipation are often mislabeled. People experience bowel movements on their own schedule. Adults can go as often as 2 or 3 times per day or as few as 3 times per week. These symptoms of constipation depend on diet and circumstances in their daily lives. Constipation is often self-diagnosed if a person is having trouble with a hard stool or feeling bloated. Some stools will end up harder than others. And there will be times when a person may strain during expulsion. The medical diagnosis of constipation takes this to a higher level. When a person does not go for days on end and then the results are hard and dry, it is likely to be constipation.

Symptoms ...
... of constipation can actually be complications caused by it. Hemorrhoids are a common one. These happen when the muscles around the anal opening become strained. Anal fissures can be one of the severe constipation symptoms. This is when a tear happens in the muscles around the rectum. Both of these are normally treated with warm baths, ice packs and special creams to heal the area. Prolonged constipation can lead to fecal impaction. These severe constipation symptoms happen when fecal matter becomes packed into the intestinal tract and rectum so hard that regular bowel movements will not dislodge it. It is often treated with mineral oil and manual manipulation.

What symptoms of constipation should trigger an alarm?

- If you have a sudden and unexplained onset of symptoms of constipation or the problem lasts longer than three weeks, you need to get medical help.

- Chronic constipation can mask underlying problems.

- Change your diet and start exercising. If the bowel movements are still days apart with hard and dry stools or other constipation symptoms, this means that there is trouble.

- If you experience intense abdominal pain or blood in the stool, then a doctor's visit is needed.

- If symptoms of constipation alternates with diarrhea or you have an unexplained weight loss, seek medical help.

All of these are signs of a more severe problem that a doctor will need to help you sort out.

As a top contributor to BestProbioticProducts.org; Andrew Behling is a leading authority on nutrition, digestive health and probiotics . Discover more about digestive health issues and how probiotics can help by visiting Andrew's Top 10 Probiotic Product Reviews Page at BestProbioticProducts.org.