Warning Signs and Symptoms

You may have constipation if you:

• Go to the toilet less than 3 times a week
• Pass hard, dry, or lumpy stool
• Feel pain or difficulty when pushing out stool
• Feel that your stomach is full even after pooping
• Feel like you didn’t finish passing stool
• Need to use your finger to help remove stool

For chronic constipation, doctors may look for symptoms that last for at least 12 weeks in the past year, such as:

✅ Hard stools
✅ Painful defecation
✅ Incomplete feeling after pooping
✅ Going fewer than 3 times a week

 

Who Can Get Constipated?

Constipation can affect anyone—children, adults, pregnant women, and older people.

It can happen more often if you:

• Eat a diet low in fiber (like mostly white rice, meat, or white bread)
• Don’t drink enough water
• Sit or lie down too much
• Ignore the urge to poo
• Are pregnant or elderly
• Take certain medicines (painkillers, iron tablets, antidepressants)
• Have conditions like Parkinson's disease or thyroid problems
• Are stressed or emotionally upset

 

How to Prevent Constipation

You can often prevent constipation with these easy changes:

✅ Eat fiber-rich foods:

• Local foods like pawpaw (papaya), mango, guava, oranges, okra, beans, spinach, millet, sorghum, and brown rice

✅ Drink plenty of clean water:

• Aim for at least 6–8 cups a day, more if the weather is hot.

✅ Move your body:

• Walk, farm, fetch water, or do housework regularly.

✅ Don’t delay when you need to poo:

• Go as soon as you feel the urge.

✅ Avoid alcohol:

• It can make you lose body fluids and cause hard stools.

✅ Give yourself enough time in the toilet:

• Don’t rush.

✅ Speak to a health worker:

• Especially if you need help choosing a safe laxative.

 

Self-Care Tips

You can try:

• Walking for 30 minutes, at least 3 times a week
• Eating vegetables every day
• Drinking warm water with lemon in the morning
• Using natural laxatives (like pawpaw or boiled greens)

 

When to See a Health Worker

⚠️ Go to the clinic or hospital if:

• You have had constipation for more than 3 weeks
• You have serious pain, vomiting, or a swollen belly
• You see blood in your stool or on tissue paper
• Your stool is black or looks unusual
• You are losing weight without trying
• You are tired, sweaty, or feverish for weeks
• You are over 50 and this is your first time being constipated
• Your medicine seems to cause the problem
• You feel bloated often
• You tried treatment but it didn’t help

 

Medical Tests and Diagnosis

Doctors may:

• Ask about your bowel habits and symptoms
• Do blood tests to check for thyroid or calcium levels
• Suggest tests like colonoscopy, barium enema, or x-rays
• Use tools like the Rome II criteria to diagnose chronic constipation

 

Treatment Options

Most times, constipation can be treated at home. But if needed, a health worker may give:

• Laxatives (temporary use only)
• Stool softeners
• Other medicines, depending on your condition

Do not take over-the-counter medicine without medical advice.

 

Areas of Improvement for Sub-Saharan Africa

🚩 More clean water access
🚩 Education about healthy bowel habits
🚩 Promote high-fibre local diets
🚩 Train health workers in rural areas
🚩 Normalize talking about toilet health