Constipation Problem and its Causes

Bowel management is an important part of body system process. When you experience bowel related problems, you feel restlessness and discomfort. Often, these symptoms can reflect constipation problems. Constipation can mean having hard stools, difficulty in emptying your bowel, and feeling of incomplete bowel movement. When you have fewer than 3 stools per week, you have constipation. The constipation causes are many. constipation problem can relate to low-fiber diet, age-health problems, medical issues, and stress, certain medication. Slow movement of stools in colon can also cause constipation. Normally, constipation problem can increase with age.

There are so many myths behind constipation. It is not always necessary to have a bowel movement daily. It depends on your body, your intake of food, and your digestive capacity. It is common to have one bowel movement per day, but that does not mean you are constipated, if you don’t. Each body is different and most people have regular bowel movement. Some have it daily while others only three times a week. However, anything less than that is surely a constipation problem.

You need to distinguish between acute constipation and chronic constipation. Acute constipation is a recent onset and needs medical assessment to diagnose the underlying health issue. However, chronic constipation is a long time happening problem and can be rectified with simple remedies and food alterations. Usually, constipation is not a serious issue, unless it is accompanied with rectal bleeding, nausea, abdominal pain or cramps.

What causes Constipation?

There are so many reasons that cause constipation to the body. Here are the few constipation causes.

1. Usually medications are the primary yet often over-looked reason for constipation. Have a look into any medications you took recently, before treating constipation. Iron supplements can also cause constipation. Simple Home remedies are often effective to get relieved from medication-caused constipation. Having high-fiber diet will help. You need not discontinue the medication, but can ask for a possible substitute from the medical professional.
2. Irregular bowel habit can also lead to constipation in the long run. It is necessary to practice potty training for kids at the appropriate age to get the regular bowel habit. If not, the voluntary urge to defecate can be suppressed, leading to disappearance of the urge in later days. This can result in constipation.
3. Diet is also a cause for constipation. Having low-fiber diet will lead to hard stools. You need to keep an eye on your diet to know what causes constipation.
4. Hormonal changes or disorders can also affect bowel movement. For instance, people having hypothyroidism are prone to get constipation problem. For women, menstrual cycle and pregnancy can affect the estrogen and progesterone levels, causing constipation problems.
5. Sometimes diseases can also cause constipation. Diabetes, colon diseases, Pelvic floor dysfunction, intestinal pseudo-obstruction, cancer can affect the colon and bowel movement. Nervous diseases like spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson’s disease can also cause constipation.

So, knowing the causes of constipation can help to figure out the underlying problem. Moreover, dietary and lifestyle changes will benefit a lot for constipation problem. There are also simple home remedies to try at home to alleviate the constipated bowel movement. Check out out upcoming post for the home remedies for constipation.