Constipation
Constipation can be defines as a condition when an individual has fewer than three bowel movements a week is. However, how often one has a bowel movement varies widely from one person to another person. It had been found in studies that there are some people have bowel movements multiple times a day while the others have them only one to two times in a whole week. Whatever might be one’s bowel movement pattern is, it’s unique and normal to the individual – as long as they do not stray too much from their regular pattern.
Regardless of the bowel pattern, one fact should be kept in mind: the longer is the gap between the two bowel movements the more difficult it becomes for the stool to pass out of the body. Other salient features that is typical to constipation include:
- The stools are generally dry and hard.
- The bowel movement is quite painful with difficulty in passing the stool.
- There exists a feeling that the large intestine have not fully emptied after the bowels.