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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staffNot having a bowel movement every day doesn't necessarily mean you're constipated. You likely have constipation, however, if you experience two of the following signs or symptoms:
- Pass fewer than three stools a week
- Experience hard stools
- Strain excessively during bowel movements
- Experience a sense of rectal blockage
- Have a feeling of incomplete evacuation after having a bowel movement
- Need to use manual maneuvers to have a bowel movement, such as finger evacuation or manipulation of your lower abdomen
When to see a doctor
Although constipation may be bothersome, it's usually not serious. Most people who have constipation don't seek a doctor's care. However, chronic constipation may lead to complications or be a symptom of a serious underlying disorder.
See your doctor if you experience an unexplained onset of constipation or change in bowel habits, or if symptoms are severe and last longer than three weeks. Also seek medical care if you experience any of the following signs or symptoms, which might indicate a more serious health problem:
- Bowel movements occurring more than three days apart, despite corrective changes in diet or exercise
- Intense abdominal pain
- Blood in your stool
- Constipation that alternates with diarrhea
- Rectal pain
- Thin, pencil-like stools
- Unexplained weight loss
- Constipation. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/constipation/. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Wald A, et al. Treatment of chronic constipation in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Wald A, et al. Etiology and evaluation of chronic constipation in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Pohl D, et al. Pharmacologic treatment of constipation: What is new? Current Opinion in Pharmacology. 2008;8:724.
- Constipation. American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. http://www.fascrs.org/patients/conditions/constipation. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Constipation. American Gastroenterological Association. http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=687. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Bharucha A. Constipation. Best Practice and Research Clinical Gastroenterology. 2007;21:709.
- Patel S, et al. Constipation. In: Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2006. http://ww.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/113047217-6/780888909/1389/98.html?printing=true. Accessed Nov. 10, 2008.
- Culbert T, et al. Integrative approaches to childhood constipation and encopresis. Pediatric Clinics of North America. 2007;54:927.
