Being constipated is one of the most uncomfortable factors and seems to ruin your normal daily life. When it comes to digestive problems, one of the most common ones is constipation. There are several factors or symptoms of constipation. But before delving into the symptoms and other factors related to it, it is important to know about constipation in brief.
Constipation cannot be defined as a disease rather it is known to be a symptom. Symptoms of constipation vary from person to person. During the process of constipation, it is quite normal for stools to pass out in very small sizes which can be really hard and dry. In some cases, you might also feel the pain of passing out stool. As per statistical data, symptoms of constipation is quite normal and happens in 1 out of 5 people.
Table of Contents
Signs and Symptoms of Constipation are –
- Passage of hard stools
- Having the feeling that the bowel movements are completely not clear
- Gastroenteritis
- Frequent Indigestion
- Loss of Appetite
- Bleeding might occur due to high straining
- Pain in the belly
- Sensations like there are some sort of blockage in the rectum which is preventing to release stool
- Need the help to release bowel movement including the use of hands, pressing your abdomen or using fingers to help in the removal of stool.
- Lethargic
- In contrary to the commonness, the waste is not getting absorbed by the body. This results in having the above common symptoms of constipation which might be too harsh on your overall health. Acute constipation has the tendency to lead to complications like haemorrhoids, anal fissures that are tearing of skin near the anus as well as rectal prolapse.
Back Pain and Constipation
- Another common symptom which should not be overruled is having backache and constipation at the same time.
- There might be certain conditions where back pain occurs due to constipation. Or maybe you are becoming constipated due to the intake of pain-killing drugs.
- Symptoms of constipation and back pain might give rise to another health issue. A backache might also develop from fecal impaction. This is another form of acute or chronic constipation.
- Fecal impaction is another of the common symptoms of constipation where you might be facing the problem from a long time. This mainly occurs due to the intake of excessive laxatives.
- You won’t be able to pass stool normally as your body gets accustomed in the intake of the laxatives. People suffering from fecal impaction have the hard stool that gets pressed of the nerves of the lower back, causing the backache.
Complications caused due to Constipation
As the symptoms of constipation vary from person to person, the complication might be quite severe for the overall health. It can be acute, might last for a short period or even can be long-lasting.
The main basic complications are –
- Passing of hard stool might result in the stretching of the anus. This might result in tearing of the skin. Known as anal fissures, this can be highly painful.
- There might be symptoms of swollen veins in the rectum or around the anus. This might result in rectal bleeding which is quite painful. This condition is known to be as Hemorrhoids.
- Another complications caused due to symptoms of constipation is the rectal prolapse. This is one of such conditions where part of the rectum is sticking out of the anus.
When should you visit your doctor –
If you are experiencing the above symptoms and things are not getting to normalcy.
If your constipation is lasting longer than 7 days. Further, it is accompanied by vomiting, weight loss, blood in the stool, painful abdomen, pencil-sized stool. It is the high time that you should visit a doctor.
What are the most common causes of constipation?
Constipation occurs where the food that is getting digested is spending too much of time getting stuck in the colon. The result can be too high or even severe. Some of the common factors for the causes of constipation are –
- Travelling or change of place
- Frequent use of Laxatives
- Intake of different types of medications
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Intake of low fibre diet
- Before delving into the main causes, it is important for you to know about the sign and symptoms of constipation.
Final Words –
The doctor will be asking you several questions regarding your daily routine, the timing of your constipation as well as certain symptoms or features of the stool. They will inquire you regarding your diet along with the medical problems if you have any. Â It is highly important that you should not hide anything from the doctor.
The next thing that they will do is conduct a physical examination on you. The examination mainly focuses on the abdomen, pelvis and rectum. The rectal examination occurs where the doctor will put in the gloved finger inside the rectum. They will check if there are anything stuck or any abnormalities along with if blood is passing out or not.
If the condition becomes quite serious, there might be a prescription for a blood test, stool samples, barium enema to know the cause of constipation. It is important that you follow a proper routine and do not fall for yourself into severe health problems.
