Any number from 3 to around 15 times a week ought to be ok for a natural bowel movement, less then that and we can speak about constipation.



Constipation signs:

1) If you have hard stool less then three times a week.

2) Often strain during bowel movements.

3) Are bloated or feeling discomfort.

There is no scientific evidence that body absorbs more toxins if you have irregular or infrequent stool, but one thing is sure, as your stool ''waits'' inside, more and more water is absorbed by your body and stool becomes harder and harder.

Constipation can be divided between the recent (acute) or long-term (chronic). Long term constipation requires fast medical check-up and diagnosis because it can be caused by dangerous medical problems.

Origin of constipation

One of the most frequent cause of constipation and hemorrhoids is not paying regard to your bowel movements. Occasionally it is ok to postpone bowel movement, when there is no toilet around or place is not permitting, but most of the times we postpone it

because of pure laziness.

During digestion, waste is pushed through your intestines by muscle contractions and during that, most of water and salt is absorbed back. If your water intake is inadequate, water absorbed by digestion will stiffen your stool causing intestinal slowdown.

Slow-paced transit of digesting food through colon is the most common source for constipation. Alternate causes may be

medications (iron supplements, antidepressants, pain medications), diet (shortage of fiber), bad bowel movement habits, over

use of laxatives, colon diseases, hormonal disorders or pelvic floor dysfunction.

How is constipation diagnosed and evaluated?

As constipation is the leading cause of hemorrhoids, lots of tests for constipation and hemorrhoids are alike, and patient history is extremely significant. Exactly which exam or tests will be performed by physician will depend on your condition.

History of patient can expose medications and diseases that may be the origin for constipation, also keeping a food log for a

one or two weeks can show a lot to your physician, for example a diet low in fiber.

If one of these basic methods are not sufficient to point to constipation source, your doctor can also perform one of the consequent methods similar for diagnosing cause of constipation and hemorrhoids: colonic motility studies, abdominal x-ray or

blood tests.

One other argument why you ought to deal with constipation as soon as you can is that it can lead to a condition called fecal

impaction, when stool hardens so much that it can not be passed by natural bowel movements but have to be removed manually.

You should also refrain from using laxatives regularly, or you could develop lazy bowel syndrome, when that happens you have

become so addicted to laxatives that your bowels don't function normally.