Common constipation can be described as having hard stool, which is difficult and painful to pass.  It can have a negative affect upon your skin health, so we have included information about it here.

You have this condition when you have infrequent bowel movements that are typically three times or fewer per week, if you have difficulty during defecation, and you have the sensation of incomplete bowel evacuation. 

Severe cases ("fecal impaction") may have symptoms of bowel obstruction (vomiting with a very tender abdomen) and "paradoxical diarrhea," where soft stool from the small intestine bypasses the impacted matter in the colon.

Constipation Diagnosis

The diagnosis is essentially made from the patient's description of the symptoms. Bowel movements that are difficult to pass, very firm, or made up of small pellets (such as those excreted by rabbits) qualify as constipation, even if they occur every day. Other symptoms related to constipation can include bloating, distension, abdominal pain, or a sense of incomplete emptying.

One of the causes is a lack of  or a low intake of dietary fiber or inadequate amounts of fluids. Constipation as a result of a lack of regular mobility should be considered in the elderly.

It may arise as a side effect of medications, including antidepressants, which can slow the movement of food through the intestines.

Some Main Causes For Constipation:

• Hardening of the feces
• Insufficient intake of dietary fiber
• Dehydration from any cause or inadequate fluid intake
• Medication, e.g. diuretics and those containing iron, calcium, aluminum
• Paralysis or little mobility, where peristaltic action is diminished or absent, so that feces are not moved along
• Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid gland)
• Hypokalemia
• Injured anal sphincter (patulous anus)
• Medications, such as loperamide, opioids (e.g. codeine & morphine) and certain tricyclic antidepressants
• Severe illness due to other causes
• Acute (a rare inherited condition)
• Lead poisoning
• Lactose Intolerance
• Dyschezia (usually the result of suppressing defecation)
• Diverticula
• Tumors, either of the bowel or surrounding tissues 
• Psychosomatic constipation, based on anxiety or unfamiliarity with surroundings.
• Functional constipation
• Constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, characterized by a combination of constipation and abdominal discomfort and/or pain
• Smoking cessation (nicotine has a laxative effect)
• Abdominal surgery, other types of surgery, childbirth
• Severe dehydration
• Switching from breast milk to bottle feeds, or to solid meals
• Potty training anxiety
• Hirschsprung's disease - a condition from birth where the child has a nerve cell defect that affects communication between the brain and bowels 
• Babies can also get constipation when switching from breast milk to the bottle.