There is probably no condition that goes untreated as often as constipation. Nor is there any condition that occurs with greater overall frequency than constipation. While the symptoms of constipation are relatively mild and tend to be limited to: difficulty passing stool, hard or dry stool, and infrequent bowel movements. In more severe cases, constipation may also include nausea, severe abdominal or lower back pain, and even bloody stool.

One of the most common causes of constipation, and one of the easiest to remedy, is your diet. Specifically, if you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, you stand a greater chance of experiencing constipation. The colon is where water is extracted from waste matter before the waste matter is eliminated from your body. If too much water is extracted, the waste matter may become very hard and difficult to pass, causing constipation. Fiber helps to remedy this problem by retaining water and adding bulk. This means that your waste matter will move more quickly and easily through your colon.

Constipation Symptoms

Uncommonness, irregularity in removal of hard fecal matter. The most ordinary symptoms of constipation are infrequency, irregularity or obscurity in elimination of the hard fecal matter. The other signs include a coated tongue, foul breath, loss of appetite, headache, giddiness, dark circles under the eyes, depression, nausea, pimples on the face, ulcer in the mouth, constant fullness in the abdomen, diarrhea alternating with constipation, varicose veins, pain in the lumbar region, acidity, heart burn, and insomnia

Diet for Constipation

Eat fruits and vegetables rich in fiber and also include non-dehydrated fluids in your diet. You should drink 6 to 8 glasses of purified water each day to encourage a healthy bowel. Adding lots of water is always beneficial for constipation sufferers.

The main risk with laxatives is that once you begin taking it once a day to force your body to defecate, your body can become dependent on the laxatives and your system will be more likely to get off-balance. So, you should check with your physician before beginning a regular regimen of laxatives – and you should also take into account, not only the frequency of your bowel movement, but also the factors listed above.

Constipation is very common during pregnancy and in the days after delivering a baby. Some women have very painful bowel movements when they have had an episiotomy (torn rectal tissue that has been repaired). These women consciously, or unconsciously, hold on to their stool. Other women who have had a caesarean section delivery can have her bowel movement temporary paralyzed. This is known as an ileus. A natural remedy is to alternate between hot and cold food and beverages. A simple option is to drink a cold fluid or to eat ice chips and then drink a warm fluid, such as tea. Many pregnant women prefer decaffeinated tea in this case. Alternating between hot and cold helps to stimulate and tone the bowel. Another good feature of this exercise is that this helps to pass gas.