Constipation – self-care

While occasional constipation is normal, frequent constipation can be a sign of an underlying health condition. Contact your doctor if you have concerns about the frequency or severity of your constipation.

How to Make Yourself Poop

If you’ve ever been constipated, you know how uncomfortable and frustrating it can be when you need to have a bowel movement but are unable to “poop.” Fortunately, there are actions you can take to get relief.

While occasional constipation is normal, frequent constipation can be a sign of an underlying health condition. Contact your doctor if you have concerns about the frequency or severity of your constipation.

Below are tips on how to poop when constipated. Some can be effective in hours, whereas others take days to work. So, whether you need to know how to poop fast or can be a little more patient, this information is helpful.

Try These Tricks for Quick Bowel Movement Stimulation

If it’s been longer than usual since you’ve had a bowel movement, you may wonder, “What simple trick empties your bowels rapidly?” or “How do you stimulate a bowel movement quickly?” The good news is that there are steps you can take to “get things moving” and find relief.

Consider trying some or all of the following when you find yourself thinking, “What can I do to help me poop fast?”

• Drink coffee. Regarding drinks that make you poop, coffee is probably the first that comes to mind. You should drink it warm (rather than iced coffee, for example) to maximize the benefit. Of course, coffee contains caffeine, so you should consume it in moderation.
• Squat when you poop. Some people benefit from using a squatting position for constipation relief. Setting the soles of your feet on a small footstool in front of the toilet essentially puts you into that position, which is often more effective for pooping.
• Use a fiber supplement. You can find fiber supplements in stores or online. They typically contain psyllium, calcium polycarbophil, or methylcellulose fiber. Fiber adds volume to your stool, making it easier for your body to move it through your digestive tract and out of your body.
• Take a stimulant laxative. There are different types of laxatives. This form makes your intestines contract, which forces contents further down your digestive tract. That action can take 6 to 12 hours to make you poop. Doctors advise patients to use stimulant laxatives only when other treatments haven’t worked.
• Take an osmotic laxative. These laxatives help move fluids through the colon, which can relieve constipation. They’re effective for many people but generally take 2 to 3 days to work.
• Take a lubricant laxative. Substances like mineral oil coat the intestinal walls and your stool mass. This helps your stools retain water, making it easier to pass them.
• Try a stool softener. Stool softeners pull water from the intestines into your stool. Again, your body can move stools more easily if they are soft and bulky.
• Use a suppository. Available without a prescription in the pharmacy, suppositories soften stools and help you pass them. You insert a suppository into your rectum.
• Massage your colon. Gentle colonic massage can assist your body in moving stools through the colon. You can find videos of this technique online.
• Exercise. Exercising increases blood flow to your abdomen, stimulating your digestive tract, and encouraging the movement of stools.
• Give yourself an enema. Enemas, which you can find in the pharmacy, introduce fluid into your rectum, softening your stool and helping you poop.
• Eat a high-fiber diet. What foods help you poop right away? High on the list are those with lots of fiber. Consuming high-fiber foods can assist in resolving a current bout of constipation and reduce the likelihood of future episodes. These foods include oats, brown rice, beans, whole grain bread and pasta, fibrous fruits like bananas and apples, nuts, and fibrous vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and leafy greens.
• Stay hydrated. As noted in several of the treatment options above, your body can move soft stools with adequate water content more effectively. Staying hydrated by drinking approximately eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily can help prevent constipation. And if you’re currently constipated, consuming a large glass of water can encourage a bowel movement.
• Use natural remedies. Some people poop more frequently and easily when taking natural remedies like probiotics. They’re generally safe but aren’t advised for some people, such as those who are immunocompromised. Contact your doctor if you have questions about whether natural remedies are right for you.

When to Seek Help for Constipation

What is most commonly just an uncomfortable and frustrating condition becomes more serious if it lasts longer than seven days. If you’ve been constipated for a week or more and the treatments above haven’t been helpful, you should contact your doctor.

It’s also crucial to get medical advice if any of the following accompany your constipation:

• Cramping
• Colon spasms
• Fatigue
• Dizziness

Should you go to the ER if you haven’t pooped in a week? If anything about your situation concerns you, visiting the ER is an option. However, if possible, it’s better to talk with our primary care doctor first. They may be able to help you with an office visit.

Talk with Your Baptist Health Primary Care Physician About Constipation

If you experience regular constipation and frequently find yourself doing online searches for “How can I relieve constipation quickly?” or “What helps you go poop naturally?” you should talk with your primary care doctor. They can help you determine what’s causing the condition and advise you on how to make pooping simpler and less stressful.

If you don’t yet have a Baptist Health doctor, you can find one using our online provider directory.

Next Steps and Useful Resources

• What’s The Link Between Caffeine and Cardiovascular Health?
• Dehydration Dangers
• Why are Probiotics Important?
• Top 5 Probiotic-Rich Foods

Constipation – self-care

Constipation is when you do not pass stool as often as you normally do. Your stool may become hard and dry, and it can be difficult to pass.

Signs, Symptoms, and Causes

You might feel bloated and have pain, or you might have to strain when you try to go.

Some medicines, and even some vitamins, can make you constipated. You can get constipated if you do not get enough fiber, drink enough water, or get enough exercise. You can also get constipated if you put off going to the bathroom even though you have the urge to go.

Try to get to know your normal bowel movement pattern, so that you can prevent constipation and keep it from getting worse.

How to Relieve Constipation

Exercise regularly. Drink more water and eat more fiber. Try to walk, swim, or do something active at least 3 or 4 times a week.

If you feel the urge to go to the bathroom, go. Do not wait or hold it in.

You can also train your bowels to be more regular. It may help to go to the bathroom every day at the same time. For many people, this is after breakfast or dinner.

Eating When you Have Constipation

Try these things to relieve your constipation:

• Do not skip meals.
• Avoid processed or fast foods, such as white breads, pastries, doughnuts, sausage, fast-food burgers, potato chips, and French fries.

Many foods are good natural laxatives that will help you move your bowels. High-fiber foods help move waste through your body. Add foods with fiber to your diet slowly, because eating more fiber can cause bloating and gas.

Drink 8 to 10 cups (2 to 2.5 L) of liquids, particularly water, every day.

Ask your health care provider how much fiber to take each day. Males, females, and different age groups all have different daily fiber needs.

Most fruits will help ease constipation. Berries, peaches, apricots, plums, raisins, rhubarb, and prunes are just some of the fruits that may help. Do not peel fruits that have edible skins, because a lot of the fiber is in the skin.

Choose breads, crackers, pasta, pancakes, and waffles made with whole grains, or make your own. Use brown rice or wild rice instead of white rice. Eat high-fiber cereals.

Vegetables can also add fiber to your diet. Some high-fiber vegetables are asparagus, broccoli, corn, squash, and potatoes (with the skin still on). Salads made with lettuce, spinach, and cabbage will also help.

Legumes (navy beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, soybeans, and lentils), peanuts, walnuts, and almonds will also add fiber to your diet.

Other foods you can eat are:

• Fish, chicken, turkey, or other lean meats. These do not have fiber, but they will not make constipation worse.
• Snacks such as raisin cookies, fig bars, and popcorn.

You can also sprinkle 1 or 2 teaspoons (5 to 10 mL) of bran flakes, ground flax seeds, wheat bran, or psyllium on foods such as yogurt, cereal, and soup. Or, add them to your smoothie.

Laxatives, Stool Softeners, and Other Products

You can buy stool softeners at any pharmacy. They will help you pass stool more easily.

Your provider may prescribe a laxative to relieve your constipation. It may be a pill or liquid. Do not take it if you have severe stomach pain, nausea, or vomiting. Do not take it for more than 1 week without consulting your provider. It should start to work in 2 to 5 days.

• Only take a laxative as often as your provider recommends. Most laxatives are taken with meals or at bedtime.
• You can mix powder laxatives with milk or fruit juice to make them taste better.
• Always drink plenty of water (8 to 10 cups, or 2 to 2.5 L a day) when you are using laxatives.
• Store your laxative medicine safely in a medicine cabinet, where children cannot get to it.
• Do not take any other laxatives or medicines before talking with your provider. This includes mineral oil.

Some people get a rash, nausea, or a sore throat while taking laxatives. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and children under age 6 years should not take laxatives without the advice of a provider.

Bulk-forming laxatives such as Metamucil or Citrucel can help pull water into your intestines and make your stools more bulky.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Contact your provider if you:

• Have not had a bowel movement in 3 days
• Are bloated or have pain in your stomach
• Have nausea or throw up
• Have blood in your stool

References

Camilleri M. Disorders of gastrointestinal motility. In: Goldman L, Schafer AI, eds. Goldman-Cecil Medicine. 26th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 127.

Koyle MA, Lorenzo AJ. Management of defecation disorders. In: Partin AW, Dmochowski RR, Kavoussi LR, Peters CA, eds. Campbell-Walsh Urology. 12th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 36.

Iturrino JC, Lembo AJ. Constipation. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 19.