For many people, bowel movement is part of their daily routine. But there are also a large number of individuals who find it difficult to defecate on a daily basis due to constipation. And for them, it’s also extremely difficult to live their lives normally, especially since constipation leaves a person with a heavy and uneasy feeling all the time.

Although it isn’t a disease in itself, constipation could well be a symptom of possible disease in the digestive system. Usually though, constipation doesn’t pose any serious threat and is often the result of poor dietary habits.

How to tell if you are constipated?

As mentioned earlier, bowel movement is something that forms a part of the routine for many people. When a person is constipated, they find it difficult to pass stool as often as they’d like to or rather as often as they are used to.

Constipation is mainly characterized by stools that are shrunken, hard and dry which inhibits their smooth passage out of the body. Sometimes you may even feel like you are ready to go, but no matter how you try; you are simply unable to eliminate the waste matter. In extreme cases, constipation can even be painful due to bloating, staining and cuts in the anus.

However, if you are constipated, it doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with you. Most people regardless of age, gender, race etc suffer from constipation at least once in their lifetime.

How does a person get constipated?

There are a handful of causes that can be attributed to the occurrence of constipation. One of these is when the colon doesn’t function normally. For instance, when the colon absorbs too much water, it makes the stool dry and as a result difficult to pass. Another example of the colon not functioning as it should, would be where the colon contracts too slowly mainly due to lack of physical activity which again inhibits the motion of waste matter out of the body.

Apart from this, the most common causes of constipation include the lack of fiber and fluids in the diet as well as constipation brought about as a side effect of certain medications, old age and overuse of laxatives. Other factors which bring cause constipation include physical and emotional stress which may cause the digestive process to slow down or come to a halt.

How to prevent and/or treat constipation successfully?

By far, two of the best remedies for preventing as well as treating constipation are to include the amount of fiber and water or fluids in one’s diet. It’s the over-intake of low fiber foods such as eggs, meat and cheese that leads to constipation and as such these should be ingested in sensible quantities. Insoluble Fiber, found naturally in fruits and vegetables, along with water should form the bulk of your diet as it helps to cleanse your digestive system.

Other tips to avoid constipation include leading an active life with moderate exercise as part of your routine as well as something as simple as chewing your food slowly and properly before swallowing. For more serious cases, though, especially where constipation is recurring, laxatives are prescribed to help break down the bulk stools. Having said this, these should only be taken in consultation with a qualified physician.

In conclusion, getting rid of constipation isn’t all that difficult and all you need to do to beat this irritating anomaly is to simply lead a healthy lifestyle!