Symptoms of Constipation

List of symptoms of Constipation:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Constipation includes the 32 symptoms listed below:

• Difficult bowel movement
• Dry bowel movement
• Painful bowel movement
• Dry feces
• Small feces
• Hard feces
• Absent bowel movement
• Infrequent bowel movement
• Fecal straining
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Weight loss
• Feeling uncomfortable
• Feeling sluggish
• Diarrhea - a blockage only allows liquid to pass
• Abdominal swelling
• Abdominal bloating
• Child constipation symptoms - some of the symptoms of children with constipation include:
  • Stomachache
  • Fecal incontinence - similar to diarrhea
  • Soiling underclothes
  • Refusal to go to the bathroom
  • Loss of appetite - such as in children holding back a bowel motion
  • Not eating much - despite being hungry
  • Hard stool
  • Holding back a bowel movement - there are various signs in children:
    • Squatting
    • Crossing legs
    • Clenching buttocks
    • Rocking
    • Red face

Note that Constipation symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Constipation signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Constipation

Do I have Constipation?

• Constipation: Introduction
• Constipation: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Alternative diagnoses and misdiagnosis for Constipation
• Failure to Diagnose Constipation
• Hidden Causes of Constipation
• How serious is it?
• Treatments for Constipation
• More about Constipation

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical tests related to Constipation:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests

Wrongly Diagnosed with Constipation?

The list of other diseases or medical conditions that may be on the differential diagnosis list of alternative diagnoses for Constipation includes:

• Normal bowel movements - not everyone has a movement every day.
• Obstipation
• Fecal impaction

• Acute Appendicitis
• Fecal incontinence

See the full list of 6 alternative diagnoses for Constipation

More about symptoms of Constipation:

More information about symptoms of Constipation and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Constipation
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Constipation
• Underlying causes of Constipation
• Associated conditions for Constipation
• Risk factors for Constipation

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Abdominal bloating - see all causes of Abdominal swelling
• Abdominal pain - see all causes of Abdominal pain
• Abdominal swelling - see all causes of Abdominal swelling
• Absent bowel movement - see all causes of Bowel movements
• Child constipation symptoms - see all causes of Constipation
• Clenching buttocks - see all causes of Buttock symptoms
• Crossing legs - see all causes of Leg symptoms
• Diarrhea - see all causes of Diarrhea
• Difficult bowel movement - see all causes of Bowel movements
• Dry bowel movement - see all causes of Hard stool
• Dry feces - see all causes of Hard stool
• Fecal incontinence - see all causes of Fecal incontinence
• Fecal straining - see all causes of Fecal straining
• Feeling sluggish - see all causes of Lethargy
• Hard feces - see all causes of Hard stool
• Hard stool - see all causes of Hard stool
• Holding back a bowel movement - see all causes of Bowel movements
• Infrequent bowel movement - see all causes of Bowel infrequency
• Loss of appetite - see all causes of Poor appetite
• Nausea - see all causes of Nausea
• Not eating much - see all causes of Undereating
• Painful bowel movement - see all causes of Bowel movements
• Red face - see all causes of Red face
• Rocking - see all causes of Behavioral symptoms
• Small feces - see all causes of Hard stool
• Soiling underclothes - see all causes of Bowel incontinence
• Stomachache - see all causes of Stomachache
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Weight loss - see all causes of Weight loss

Medical Books Online about Constipation

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Constipation are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Constipation.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Related videos for Constipation

Patient Surveys for Constipation

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Constipation
  Take Survey  View Results

Symptoms of Constipation: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Constipation.

Chronic constipation: Signs and symptoms
(Handbook of Diseases)

The patient typically strains to produce dry, hard stool accompanied by mild abdominal discomfort. Straining can aggravate other rectal conditions such as hemorrhoids.

READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Constipation:

Why Am I Constipated: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Constipation (con-stuh-PAY-shun) means that a person has three bowel movements or fewer in a week. The stool is hard and dry. Sometimes it is painful to pass. You may feel "draggy" and full.

Some people think they should have a bowel movement every day. That is not really true. There is no "right" number of bowel movements. Each person's body finds its own normal number of bowel movements. It depends on the food you eat, how much you exercise, and other things. (Source: excerpt from Why Am I Constipated: NIDDK)

Constipation - Age Page - Health Information: NIA (Excerpt)

Constipation is a symptom, not a disease. It is defined as having fewer bowel movements than usual, with a long or hard passing of stools. (Source: excerpt from Constipation - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)

Constipation - Age Page - Health Information: NIA (Excerpt)

Some doctors suggest asking these questions to decide if you are really constipated.

• Do you often have fewer than three bowel movements each week?
• Do you often have a hard time passing stools?
• Is there pain?
• Are there other problems such as bleeding?

If the answers are yes, you probably do have a problem. Otherwise, you probably do not. (Source: excerpt from Constipation - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)

Constipation as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Constipation, it is also important to consider Constipation as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Constipation may cause:

• Abdominal mass
• Abdominal pain
• Megacolon
• Urine indicans raised
• Urobilinogen levels raised (urine)

Constipation as a symptom:

For a more detailed analysis of Constipation as a symptom, including causes, drug side effect causes, and drug interaction causes, please see our Symptom Center information for Constipation.

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Constipation
• Research Alternative Diagnoses for Constipation
• How serious is Constipation?
• More about Constipation
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Constipation:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Constipation. This signs and symptoms information for Constipation has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Constipation signs or Constipation symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Constipation may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Constipation symptoms.