Patient Education / For nurses / Patient handout
Patient handout · Nutrition & EliminationPreventing Constipation: Your Daily Guide
Constipation means hard stools, straining, or fewer than 3 bowel movements a week. Simple daily habits keep your stools soft and regular.
Eat more fiber
- Aim for about 25 grams a day for women and 38 grams for men (21 and 30 grams after age 50).
- Choose whole grains, bran cereal, beans, fruit with the skin, vegetables, and prunes.
- Add fiber slowly over a few weeks to avoid gas and bloating.
Drink fluids
- Drink about 8 cups (2 liters) of fluid a day, unless your provider gives you a limit.
- A warm drink in the morning helps your bowels move.
Move every day
- Walk or stay active every day, as you are able.
Make a bathroom routine
- Go as soon as you feel the urge. Do not hold it.
- Sit on the toilet at the same time each day, after breakfast or another meal.
- Rest your feet on a small stool and lean forward. Do not strain.
Check your medicines
- Opioid pain pills, iron pills, and some antacids cause constipation. Do not stop them. Ask your provider for a plan.
- Take fiber powder such as psyllium (Metamucil) with a full glass of water.
- Use laxatives only as your provider or pharmacist advises.
Call your provider today if you have
- Blood in or on your stool, or black stool
- Weight loss you cannot explain
- No bowel movement in 3 days, or a lasting change in your bowel habits
- Watery stool leaking out when you feel blocked up
Call 911 or your local emergency number if you have
- Severe belly pain with vomiting, and you cannot pass gas or stool
- A hard, swollen belly with vomiting
- Heavy bleeding from your rectum, or black stool with dizziness or fainting
- Fever with severe belly pain
This handout supports, not replaces, advice from your own nurse or doctor.
For nurses and nursing students: the teaching guide behind this handout →