Constipation is when you do not pass stool as often as you normally do. Your stool may become hard and dry, and it can be difficult to pass.
Signs, Symptoms, and Causes
You might feel bloated and have pain, or you might have to strain when you try to go.
Some medicines, and even some vitamins, can make you constipated. You can get constipated if you do not get enough fiber, drink enough water, or get enough exercise. You can also get constipated if you put off going to the bathroom even though you have the urge to go.
Try to get to know your normal bowel movement pattern, so that you can prevent constipation and keep it from getting worse.
How to Relieve Constipation
Exercise regularly. Drink more water and eat more fiber. Try to walk, swim, or do something active at least 3 or 4 times a week.
If you feel the urge to go to the bathroom, go. Do not wait or hold it in.
You can also train your bowels to be more regular. It may help to go to the bathroom every day at the same time. For many people, this is after breakfast or dinner.
Eating When you Have Constipation
Try these things to relieve your constipation:
- Do not skip meals.
- Avoid processed or fast foods, such as white breads, pastries, doughnuts, sausage, fast-food burgers, potato chips, and French fries.
Many foods are good natural laxatives that will help you move your bowels. High-fiber foods help move waste through your body. Add foods with fiber to your diet slowly, because eating more fiber can cause bloating and gas.
Drink 8 to 10 cups (2 to 2.5 L) of liquids, particularly water, every day.
Ask your health care provider how much fiber to take each day. Males, females, and different age groups all have different daily fiber needs.
Most fruits will help ease constipation. Berries, peaches, apricots, plums, raisins, rhubarb, and prunes are just some of the fruits that may help. Do not peel fruits that have edible skins, because a lot of the fiber is in the skin.
Choose breads, crackers, pasta, pancakes, and waffles made with whole grains, or make your own. Use brown rice or wild rice instead of white rice. Eat high-fiber cereals.
Vegetables can also add fiber to your diet. Some high-fiber vegetables are asparagus, broccoli, corn, squash, and potatoes (with the skin still on). Salads made with lettuce, spinach, and cabbage will also help.
Legumes (navy beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and lentils), peanuts, walnuts, and almonds will also add fiber to your diet.
Other foods you can eat are:
- Fish, chicken, turkey, or other lean meats. These do not have fiber, but they will not make constipation worse.
- Snacks such as raisin cookies, fig bars, and popcorn.
You can also sprinkle 1 or 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 mL) of bran flakes, ground flax seeds, wheat bran, or psyllium on foods such as yogurt, cereal, and soup. Or, add them to your smoothie.
Laxatives, Stool Softeners, and Other Products
You can buy stool softeners at any pharmacy. They will help you pass stool more easily.
Your provider may prescribe a laxative to relieve your constipation. It may be a pill or liquid. Do not take it if you have severe stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting. Do not take it for more than 1 week without consulting your provider. It should start to work in 2 to 5 days.
- Only take a laxative as often as your provider recommends. Most laxatives are taken with meals or at bedtime.
- You can mix powder laxatives with milk or fruit juice to make them taste better.
- Always drink plenty of water (8 to 10 cups, or 2 to 2.5 L a day) when you are using laxatives.
- Store your laxative medicine safely in a medicine cabinet, where children cannot get to it.
- Do not take any other laxatives or medicines before talking with your provider. This includes mineral oil.
Some people get a rash, nausea, or a sore throat while taking laxatives. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under age 6 years should not take laxatives without the advice of a provider.
Bulk-forming laxatives such as Metamucil or Citrucel can help pull water into your intestines and make your stools more bulky.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Contact your provider if you:
- Have not had a bowel movement in 3 days
- Are bloated or have pain in your stomach
- Have nausea or throw up
- Have blood in your stool
Camilleri M. Disorders of gastrointestinal motility. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 127.
Koyle MA, Lorenzo AJ. Management of defecation disorders. In: Partin AW, Dmochowski RR, Kavoussi LR, Peters CA, eds.Campbell-Walsh Urology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 36.
Iturrino JC, Lembo AJ. Constipation. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds.Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 19.
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Updated by: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, UW Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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FAQs
High-fiber foods help move waste through your body. Add foods with fiber to your diet slowly, because eating more fiber can cause bloating and gas. Drink 8 to 10 cups (2 to 2.5 L) of liquids, particularly water, every day. Ask your health care provider how much fiber to take each day.
What simple trick empties your bowels? ›
Lemon juice – a cleansing way to encourage bowel movements is to try taking a glass of water mixed with the juice of half a lemon before bed and when you wake up. You may want to drink with a straw as you could find your teeth becoming sensitive after a regular course of lemon water.
How do I disimpact my bowels myself? ›
Insert a lubricated, gloved finger into your rectum. Sweep their finger around or through the stool to break it up into smaller pieces. Remove pieces of stool to clear the blockage.
How can I stimulate my bowels to relieve constipation? ›
Being unable to pass stool can be uncomfortable and frustrating. Some diet and lifestyle changes can ease constipation and help keep bowel movements regular. Walking, exercising, drinking fluids, and eating some high fiber foods, such as fruit and whole grain bread, can help.
What is the 7 second poop trick? ›
Crouching on a chair
Sitting a certain way for seven seconds is not proven to help constipation. However, changing your body posture while on the toilet can make things easier. Place your feet on a stool to place your knees higher than your hips.
What is the banana trick to empty bowels? ›
How to Quickly Flush Your Bowels With Bananas. To cause a bowel movement, eat your entire amount of daily calories in bananas for one day. Eat ripe, yellow bananas, and try not to add anything else to them. If you can't do that, try eating a few bananas for breakfast and a banana after dinner.
What is the thumb trick for pooping? ›
Complete with a *pop* sound effect, Ambria explained, "When you're constipated, and your poop is there but you can't quite push it out—it's like turtling—just put your thumb in your vagin*. You can feel the poop and you can just pop it out."
Can I force hard stool out? ›
Forcing it out
You might feel the urge to strain and force the stool out. However, straining to empty your rectum can cause other conditions like hemorrhoids and anal fissures. These can cause bleeding and rectal pain.
How to manually stimulate bowel movement? ›
You can use digital stimulation to trigger a bowel movement:
- Insert a lubricated finger into the anus. ...
- After you have done the stimulation, sit in a normal position for a bowel movement. ...
- Try to get as much privacy as you can. ...
- If you do not have a bowel movement within 20 minutes, repeat the process.
How do you relieve constipation in 30 minutes? Try drinking warm liquids like herbal tea or water, which can stimulate bowel movements. Gentle abdominal massage or light exercise like walking may also help.
What is a good instant laxative? For foods that act as natural laxatives, try prunes or prune juice. Saline laxatives, which soften your stools and help the intestines contract, are fast-acting.
How to pass a hard stool? ›
To make hard stools easier to pass, sit on the toilet with your back straight and your elbows on your knees. Your legs should be apart and your knees should be higher than your hips (a footstool can help). Take a deep breath and push your stomach muscles forward.
What not to do when constipated? ›
Constipation Mistakes
- Add fiber too fast. Eating fiber from fruits, vegetables, and other foods is really important. ...
- Drink alcohol. Booze zaps your body of fluids, which can make your stools hard -- and harder to pass.
- Double down on dairy. ...
- Skip your workout. ...
- Rely on laxatives.
Use a warm heating pad: Placing a warm heating pad on your abdomen can help soothe discomfort and relax your muscles. Massage your stomach: Rubbing your stomach in a circular motion can help relieve constipation pain.
What are the signs of a blocked bowel? ›
Symptoms of intestinal obstruction are:
- Severe pain in your belly.
- Severe cramping sensations in your belly.
- Throwing up.
- Feelings of fullness or swelling in your belly.
- Loud sounds from your belly.
- Feeling gassy, but being unable to pass gas.
- Constipation (being unable to pass stool)
Try These Tricks for Quick Bowel Movement Stimulation
- Drink coffee. Regarding drinks that make you poop, coffee is probably the first that comes to mind. ...
- Squat when you poop. ...
- Use a fiber supplement. ...
- Take a stimulant laxative. ...
- Take an osmotic laxative. ...
- Take a lubricant laxative. ...
- Try a stool softener. ...
- Use a suppository.
All you need to do is press your fists together so the sides of your pointer fingers and thumbs touch, and then firmly rub them back and forth for a couple minutes. The motion stimulates the large intestine and colon using acupressure, Tadavarthy explained in the video.
How do you manually empty your bowels? ›
- Have the person lie on the left side if not using a toilet or chair seat.
- Apply lubricant to the finger you'll insert into the rectum (make sure both hands are washed and gloved).
- Insert a finger into the rectum, until you feel stool.
- Gently remove any fecal matter, repeating the process until there's no more stool.
Perform stimulation with your finger every day until you start to have a regular pattern of bowel movements. You can also stimulate bowel movements by using a suppository (glycerin or bisacodyl) or a small enema. Some people find it helpful to drink warm prune juice or fruit nectar.
