Symptoms of Constipation

General information about symptoms of Constipation: The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible symptoms of Constipation. This symptom information has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of symptoms of Constipation. Furthermore, symptoms of Constipation may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of symptoms and whether they are indeed symptoms of Constipation.

List of symptoms of Constipation: The list of symptoms mentioned in various sources for Constipation includes:

Difficult bowel movement
Dry bowel movement
Painful bowel movement
Dry feces
Small feces
Hard feces
Absent bowel movement
Infrequent bowel movement
Fecal straining
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Weight loss
Feeling uncomfortable
Feeling sluggish
Diarrhea - a blockage only allows liquid to pass
Abdominal swelling
Abdominal bloating
Child constipation symptoms - some of the symptoms of children with constipation include:
- Stomachache
- Fecal incontinence - similar to diarrhea
- Soiling underclothes
- Refusal to go to the bathroom
- Loss of appetite - such as in children holding back a bowel motion
- Not eating much - despite being hungry
- Hard stool
- Holding back a bowel movement - there are various signs in children:
  - Squatting
  - Crossing legs
  - Clenching buttocks
  - Rocking
  - Red face

Symptoms of Constipation: Constipation (con-stuh-PAY-shun) means that a person has three bowel movements or fewer in a week. The stool is hard and dry. Sometimes it is painful to pass. You may feel "draggy" and full.

Some people think they should have a bowel movement every day. That is not really true. There is no "right" number of bowel movements. Each person's body finds its own normal number of bowel movements. It depends on the food you eat, how much you exercise, and other things.¹

Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. It is defined as having fewer bowel movements than usual, with a long or hard passing of stools. ²

Some doctors suggest asking these questions to decide if you are really constipated.

Do you often have fewer than three bowel movements each week?
Do you often have a hard time passing stools?
Is there pain?
Are there other problems such as bleeding?

If the answers are yes, you probably do have a problem. Otherwise, you probably do not.²

More symptoms of Constipation: In addition to the above information, to get a full picture of the possible symptoms of this condition and its related conditions, it may be necessary to examine symptoms that may be caused by complications of Constipation, underlying causes of Constipation, associated conditions for Constipation, risk factors for Constipation, or other related conditions.

Medical articles on symptoms: These general reference articles may be of interest:

Footnotes:
1. excerpt from Why Am I Constipated: NIDDK
2. excerpt from Constipation - Age Page - Health Information: NIA

Last revision: Nov 10, 2003

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