how long can you go without a bowel movement

What Is Constipation?

Medically Reviewed by Minesh Khatri, MD on Nov 15, 2022

Being constipated means your bowel movements are tough or happen less often than normal. Almost everyone goes through it at some signal.

Although it's not usually serious, you'll experience much amend when your body is back on track.

The normal length of fourth dimension between bowel movements varies widely from person to person. Some people have them three times a day. Others have them simply a few times a calendar week.

Going longer than 3 or more days without 1, though, is unremarkably too long. Later three days, your stool gets harder and more difficult to laissez passer.

What Are the Symptoms?

You lot may have:

Few bowel movements
Problem having a bowel movement (straining to go)
Difficult or modest stools
A sense that everything didn't come out
Belly bloating

You also may feel similar you demand help to empty your bowels, such every bit pressing on your belly or using a finger to remove stool from your bottom.

Why Does Information technology Happen?

Some causes of constipation include:

Changes to what you eat or your activities
Not enough water or fiber in your diet
Eating a lot of dairy products
Not being active
Resisting the urge to poop
Stress
Overuse of laxatives
Some medications (especially strong pain drugs such as narcotics, antidepressants, and iron pills)
Antacid medicines that have calcium or aluminum
Eating disorders
Irritable bowel syndrome
Pregnancy
Problems with the nerves and muscles in your digestive system
Colon cancer
Neurological atmospheric condition such as Parkinson'southward illness or multiple sclerosis
An underactive thyroid (called hypothyroidism)
Excess calcium in your blood (hypercalcemia) due to overactive parathyroid glands, medications, cancer (lung, breast, multiple myeloma), or other causes

What Should I Exercise If I Am Constipated?

Take these steps:

Drink two to four extra glasses of water a day, unless your doctor told you to limit fluids for another reason.
Try warm liquids, peculiarly in the morning time.
Add together fruits and vegetables to your diet.
Eat prunes and bran cereal.
Exercise most days of the week. When you move your torso, the muscles in your intestines are more active, too.
Don't ignore the urge to poop.

Woman holding a plate of fruit salad

You can try taking a laxative, too. There are several types of laxatives, and you can buy many of them over the counter. Each of them works in a different way to ease constipation. Ask your doctor or pharmacist which kind might work for y'all and how long you should have information technology.

When Should I Call My Doctor?

Call your dr. right away if you have sudden constipation with abdomen pain or cramping and y'all aren't able to poop or pass gas at all.

As well, brand the call if:

Constipation is a new trouble for y'all and lifestyle changes haven't helped.
You take blood in your stool.
Y'all're losing weight even though you're not trying to.
Y'all have astringent pain with bowel movements.
Your constipation has lasted more than 2 weeks.
The size, shape, and consistency of your stool has inverse dramatically.

Your doctor may recommend some tests to find the cause of your constipation:

Blood tests to bank check on hormone levels
Tests that check the muscles in your anus
Tests that testify how waste matter moves through and out of your colon
Colonoscopy to look for blockages in your colon

Can I Forbid Constipation?

In many cases, you can. These things tin help:

Swallow a well-counterbalanced diet with plenty of fiber. Practiced sources are fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole-grain bread and cereal (especially bran). Run across how prebiotic supplements can help ease digestion.

Drinkable 1 ane/2 to 2 quarts of water and other fluids a day (unless your md has you on a fluid-restricted diet). Fiber and water work together to keep you regular.

Cut dorsum on milk. Dairy products can constipate some people.

Exercise regularly. Do something agile for at to the lowest degree 30 minutes a mean solar day, well-nigh days of the week.

Go to the bath as soon as you feel the urge.

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