Constipation (patient fact sheet)

Please note that this guidance is currently undergoing review by Safer Care Victoria to ensure  the content is up to date. In the meantime, we recommend that you also refer to more contemporaneous evidence where possible.

Download our fact sheet to provide your patients with easy to follow guidance on constipation.

This fact sheet has the #withconsumers tick from the Consumers Health Forum of Australia

Constipation means having a hard, dry bowel motion (poo) that is difficult to pass. It may cause straining, pain and discomfort. There may be slight bleeding from a small tear in the anus (outside of the back passage).

Constipation is common, affecting one in five people.

Everyone has different toilet habits. Some people use their bowels a couple of times a day to once every three days or so. As we get older most of us can expect to go less frequently.

You are not constipated unless your bowel habits change.