Dr. Esteban Kosak 
Constipation is a symptom rather than a disease, comprising less than three bowel movements a week, among other characteristics. Despite that, most people do not recognize they have constipation; it is one of the most common digestive disorders in the United States.
Constipation is a gastrointestinal tract disorder, and this tract goes from the mouth to the anus. It can result in infrequent stools, difficult bowel movements with pain, and hard and dry stools. Importantly, sudden constipation may imply a closure of the intestine, which could even require surgery.
Currently, there is no absolute definition for constipation. Most doctors will try to apply the evidence available until now to approach their patients’ constipation problems. Every person has a different bowel movement habit. Therefore, maybe for someone having every two days bowel movements is normal, while for others, it may be normal to have two bowel movements a day.
Many definitions exist and also others that are formal. For example, according to the Rome IV criteria for constipation, a patient must experience two out of six possible symptoms for the preceding three months to consider they may have constipation. One of them is fewer than three spontaneous bowel movements per week. And other is needing to strain in about one of every four defecating attempts.
Several underlying diseases, including cancer, could cause constipation. Still, it often results from genetic predisposition, low-fiber diet, inadequate fluid intake, lack of mobility, metabolic or hormone imbalance, side effects of medications, and more. It is a doctor’s job to find out which is the underlying of someone’s constipation.
Constipation is widespread in the United States. Long-term constipation affects approximately 15% of the country, with other estimates describing that 2% have persistent or recurrent constipation incidents. Although it can affect people of any age, people above sixty-five years are more at risk of suffering from constipation.
When chronic and without treatment, this condition could develop very annoying complications, including acute or chronic hemorrhoidal disease, anal fissure, and more.
The tool is a Constipation Symptoms Checker. It gathers the most important signs, symptoms, and risk factors for constipation.
Most patients with medical treatment and a good diet will have excellent outcomes. Those patients do not have any underlying disease (i.e., colon cancer or inflammatory bowel disease) as their cause for constipation. Also, many other conditions causing constipation, not responding well to diet or treatment can resolve with surgery, among other measures.
Most people do not realize they have constipation, and that is what this tool is all about. Telling someone if he or she has constipation. The tool has questions aiming to find if the patient has symptoms or risk factors of constipation. Therefore, the tool will tell anybody who uses it the likelihood of their symptoms because of constipation.
Keep in mind that this tool does not replace a doctor’s assessment or the necessary exams to diagnose a possible underlying cause for constipation. Also, the list of possible diseases that could lead to constipation is extensive, and it is not the point of this tool. It will only tell if someone has constipation or not. Using the constipation symptoms checker is free and would take a few minutes.
- Question of
Do you have sixty-five years or more?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Are you a female?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you eat fruit or vegetables every day?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you drink at least 1500 ml (one and a half-liter) of water every day?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Did you have abdominal surgery? (Click yes if you had, for example, your gallbladder or appendix removed, or another surgery that required doctors to open your belly)
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you exercise at least 30 minutes three times per week? (The minimum exercise would be a brisk pace walk)
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have been diagnosed with depression or anxiety?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, stroke, spinal cord injury, paraplegia, spina bifida, or autonomic neuropathy?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus (high blood sugar), hypercalcemia (high blood calcium), porphyria, hypothyroidism (low thyroid function), or hyperthyroidism (high thyroid function)?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have been diagnosed with anal fissures or hemorrhoids?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you take any food supplements containing iron or calcium?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Does anybody in your close family has been diagnosed with colon cancer?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Are you pregnant?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you overuse everyday coffee, tea, or alcohol?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have used laxatives for a long-time?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you regularly take opioids (e.g., codeine and morphine), antacids, antidepressants, or pseudoephedrine?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have fewer than three spontaneous bowel movements a week?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you need to strain in at least one of every four bowel movements?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have lumpy or hard stools in at least one of every bowel movement?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have a feeling that something blocks the way out of your poop in at least one of every four bowel movements?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
After a bowel movement, do you have a feeling that not all stool has passed in at least one of every four attempts?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
After a bowel movement, do you have to use your hand to remove the remaining poop in your anus in at least one of every four bowel movements?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have been having these constipation symptoms (fewer bowel movements, straining, hard stools, blocking sensations, not all stool passing after pooping, or using your hands for removing remaining poop) for at least three months?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have been having these constipation symptoms (fewer bowel movements, straining, hard stools, blocking sensations, not all stool passing after pooping, or using your hands for removing remaining poop) after your fifty years? [Only click yes if never before in your life (before fifty years) you had these symptoms]
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have diarrhea or loose stools? (Only click yes if this is without laxatives)
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have pain while defecating?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have bloody or reddish stools?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you are vomiting?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Are you able to pass gas?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have moderate to severe abdominal pain?
- Yes
- No
- Question of
Do you have a fever? (preferably use a thermometer which needs to shows more than 101,3 °F or touch your forehead and determine if the temperature is increased)
- Yes
- No
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