Constipation refers to irregular bowel movement and difficulty to pass stool. The stool is often hard and dry. Constipation can happen for various reasons, such as when stool passes through the colon too slowly. The slower the food moves through the digestive tract, the more water the colon will absorb and the harder the feces will become. People with a high intake of dietary fiber are less likely to experience constipation. The normal period between bowel movements varies widely from person to person. Some people have three times a day. Others have them just a few times a week. Not passing stool for longer than 3 or more days without one, though, is usually too long. After 3 days, your poop gets harder and more difficult to pass.

Though occasional constipation is very common, some people experience chronic constipation that can actually interfere with their capability to go about their daily tasks. Chronic constipation may also cause people to force excessively in order to have a bowel movement and to expel waste product from body. Chronic constipation has many possible causes, various reasons are blockage in rectum and colon, problems with nerves around the colons and rectum, difficulty with the muscle involved with the elimination, some of hormonal disbalance can also cause constipation like hyperparathyroidism, hypothyroidism, diabetes, pregnancy, antacid medication which have calcium or aluminium content, physical inactivity, consuming lot of dairy products and fast food, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injury, colon cancer.

SYMPTOMS: -

o    Passing less than three stools in a week

o    Irregular bowel movement

o    Having lumpy or hard stools

o    Too much of flatulence

o    Feeling of not completely empty the stool from your rectum


COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH CONSTIPATION: -

o    Hemorrhoids: - Strain during irregular and hard bowel movement might cause swelling in the veins in and around your anus.

o    Anal fissure: - Anal fissure is actually painful experience. The pain even might last for days. A large or hard stool can cause tiny tears in the anus.

o    Fecal impaction: - Chronic constipation may cause build-up of hard stool that might stuck in your intestines and rectum.

o    Rectal prolapse: - Strain from hard and irregular bowel movement might cause a small amount of the rectum to stretch and protrude from the anus.

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