#healthy eating #digestion #constipation+1

Constipation: What Can You Do and When to See a Doctor?

October 28, 2025

2 min read

Feeling bloated, heavy, and constipated, and visiting a toilet doesn't make you feel any better—sound familiar? These are typical symptoms of constipation. You are not alone. Up to 25 percent of the population in developed countries suffer from constipation.

Key takeaways

Feeling bloated, heavy, and constipated, and visiting a toilet doesn't make you feel any better—sound familiar?
How does it show up?
Why does it happen?

Who this is for

People exploring Gastrointestinal tract through healthy eating, digestion.

Why it matters

This piece helps you get oriented quickly, then move into a collection or series if you want to keep going.

Article author

Dr. Stephen

Сoloproctologist

How does it show up?

Constipation is a physical condition when you empty your bowels less than three times a week. The irregular bowel movement is accompanied by a feeling of incomplete evacuation, obstructed defecation, hard stool, or more or less pronounced meteorism.

Why does it happen?

Constipation can sometimes be a symptom of serious disorders. Here, we will discuss commonplace situations. Most often, constipation is caused by:

Eating low-fiber foods
Consuming large quantities of milk or cheese
Insufficient amount of water and dehydration
Insufficient physical activity
Changes in your routines due to travel or changed time schedule
Excessive or wrong use of laxatives
Stress
Low-carb diets

Delayed bowel movements can also happen after the intake of certain medicines during pregnancy.

What can you do to avoid it?

Live a healthy lifestyle and try to exercise daily. Physical activity improves bowel movements. Don't forget to drink more water and eat high-fiber foods. Add prunes, apples, pears, kiwi, dried figs, spinach, sauerkraut, bran, olive and linseed oil, whole grain bread, and yogurt to your diet.

You need to have 14 grams of fiber per 1,000 calories in your daily diet. Take probiotics in dietary supplements. You should also skip alcohol, smoking, caffeinated drinks, fast food, fried and spicy foods, red meats, milk, cheese, and dairy products for some time.

When should you seek emergency medical attention?

Anyone can become constipated. You should seek urgent medical assistance if you have any of the following:

Vomiting
Blood in the stool
Weight loss
Intense and regular pain when defecating
Constipation for more than 2 weeks

Medical examination and tests

The patient should be frank about the symptoms, describe them in detail, and not skip medical examinations so that the doctor can prescribe treatment as soon as possible. The doctor will examine the patient and will send him or her for tests.

Most often, the tests include:

Clinical and biochemical blood tests
General urine analysis
Stool test (general analysis of feces)
Bacterial examination of feces
Analysis of feces for occult blood

In some cases, the patient may also be sent for gastroscopy, sigmoidoscopy (endoscopic examination of the inner surface of the rectum and distal part of the sigmoid colon), and colonoscopy (examination of the large intestine).

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