Treatments
Most treatments for constipation aim to address the causes of constipation, rather than just the symptom.  As noted above, constipation should only ever be short term.  For short-term relief, a gentle, natural laxative like Nu-Lax is appropriate.  If constipation persists, or you experience abdominal pain or cramping, or you notice bleeding in your faeces, you should contact a doctor.

Usually the best treatments for long term constipation start by ruling out any of the serious causes listed above, and may involve adjusting any medications or combinations of medications, to reduce the disruption to normal bowel routine.

Once any serious causes have been ruled out, the best places to make changes are diet and lifestyle.  Improving your diet is examined in detail in the Healthy Diet Fact File.