Constipation

Constipation is a condition in which stool becomes hard, dry, and difficult to pass, and bowel movements don’t happen very often. Other symptoms may include painful bowel movements, and feeling bloated, uncomfortable, and sluggish.

What is Constipation?

Constipation is a condition characterized by inability to pass stools that become hard and more difficult to pass.

Constipation Diagnosis

Causes of Constipation

Constipation Treatments

Constipation Prevention

Constipation Symptoms

Constipation in Babies

Constipation in Children

Constipation in the Elderly

Drugs that Cause Constipation

Slow Transit Constipation

Latest Constipation News and Research

Preventing colorectal cancer through lifestyle choices

The evidence is clear - screening for colorectal cancer may save one's life. Today, more and more people are choosing colorectal cancer screening. As a result, there is a steady decline in the number of older people getting and dying from colorectal cancer. Lower rates of smoking among Americans have also contributed to the decline in the past several years.

19 Feb 2025

Deny and delay? California seeks penalties for insurers that repeatedly get it wrong

When Colleen Henderson's 3-year-old daughter complained of pain while using the bathroom, doctors brushed it off as a urinary tract infection or constipation, common maladies in the potty-training years.

18 Feb 2025

IgG-guided diet outperforms sham diet in clinical trial

Michigan Medicine and Cleveland Clinic researchers have found that patients with irritable bowel syndrome were more likely to experience less abdominal pain if they followed a diet guided by the results of a blood test, compared to those who followed a sham elimination diet.

13 Feb 2025

Eating behavior associated with pelvic floor disorder symptoms in middle-aged women

According to a recent study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, eating behavior is associated with symptoms of pelvic floor disorders in middle-aged women.

13 Feb 2025

New drug class may help alleviate IBS symptoms by targeting the central nervous system

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive disorder that affects the intestine, causing symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, and changes in bowel habits, including diarrhea, constipation, or both.

5 Feb 2025

An Arm and a Leg: The ‘Shkreli Awards’ — for dysfunction and profiteering in health care

Every year, a health care think tank called the Lown Institute ranks the 10 worst examples of "profiteering and dysfunction" in health care and "honors" the winners.

27 Jan 2025

Gut-targeted antidepressants: A novel approach to battling depression and anxiety

Most of us have experienced the effects of moods and emotions on our gastrointestinal tract, from "butterflies" in the stomach caused by nervousness to a loss of appetite when we're feeling blue.

11 Dec 2024

Gut transit time and pH shape microbiome individuality and dietary responses

Scientists reveal gut transit time and pH as key drivers of microbiome and metabolic individuality, paving the way for personalized dietary strategies.

1 Dec 2024

New oral peptide therapy offers hope for chronic abdominal pain

A research team at the University of Vienna, led by medicinal chemist Markus Muttenthaler, has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain.

22 Nov 2024

Small Solutions for Big Problems in Drug Discovery and Delivery

Ijeoma Uchegbu discusses nanomedicine's role in improving medication adherence and developing non-addictive pain relief solutions at ELRIG Drug Discovery 2024.

19 Nov 2024

Tirzepatide significantly reduces weight and diabetes risk in patients with obesity and prediabetes

Tirzepatide shows promise in reducing weight and preventing diabetes progression in people with obesity and prediabetes, with lasting benefits and manageable side effects.

14 Nov 2024

Study shows how microbial load affects gut health and disease

In sickness or in health, the billions of microorganisms that inhabit our guts are our constant companions throughout life. In the past few decades, scientists have shown how the nature of this 'microbiome' can provide valuable clues to human diseases and their treatment.

14 Nov 2024

Healthy low-carb diet and time-restricted eating improve weight loss and gut health beyond calorie restriction

Researchers discovered that a healthy low-carb diet and time-restricted eating, combined with moderate calorie restriction, offer significant weight loss and gut health benefits for overweight adults, with some effects lasting up to 28 weeks post-intervention.

13 Nov 2024

Weill Cornell Medicine professor receives major grant for pediatric pain management study

Dr. Chani Traube, the Gerald M. Loughlin, MD Professor of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medicine, has been awarded a $3.4 million grant, with the possibility of extending to a total of $17 million over five years, from the National Institutes of Health, for a large-scale clinical trial called Optimizing Pain Treatment in Children on Mechanical ventilation (OPTICOM).

1 Nov 2024

Semaglutide improves heart health and reduces weight in obese patients, but with side effects

Semaglutide significantly reduces cardiovascular events and adverse effects in overweight and obese patients. The study highlights semaglutide's superiority over other GLP-1 agonists for cardiovascular health.

14 Oct 2024

New study reveals declining nutrient intake among U.S. women of reproductive age

Researchers compare trends in nutrient consumption from dietary sources and supplements in pregnant and non-pregnant women in the United States.

14 Oct 2024

Brain scans reveal link between SSRI use and cognitive function

Researchers have found that SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors) antidepressants have the potential to improve certain cognitive functions, such as verbal memory. They measured brain function in patients before and after taking the SSRI escitalopram and correlated this to a drop in the level of one of the serotonin receptors in the brain and to cognitive improvements during treatment.

22 Sep 2024

Multiple myeloma drug shows efficacy in treating rare bleeding disorder

A drug approved for treating the blood cancer multiple myeloma may offer a safe and effective way to reduce the risk of severe nosebleeds from a rare but devastating bleeding disorder.

19 Sep 2024

Clinical trial finds pomalidomide effective for treating rare bleeding disorder

A clinical trial supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was stopped early after researchers found sufficient evidence that a drug used to treat bone marrow cancer and Kaposi sarcoma is safe and effective in treating hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), a rare bleeding disorder that affects 1 in 5,000 people worldwide.

18 Sep 2024

IBS symptoms improve with sugar and starch reduction

Bodil Ohlsson is a professor at Lund University and consultant at Skåne University Hospital. Her choice to investigate the role of sugars and starches in IBS is linked to a geneticist's discovery: a genetic variation that hinders the breakdown of sugars and starches in the gut is overrepresented among IBS patients.

17 Sep 2024