# Why does constipation seem to be a problem for old people? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2013, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798 "2013-08-09T12:38:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798/21 "2013-08-10T12:16:31Z")
It can kill you. My mother-in-law died of it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798/22 "2013-08-10T12:39:42Z")
The only thing that strikes me of the above is the diuretic I take. I don’t have heart failure, don’t avoid water, eat lots of fruit, bread that consists of a mixture of cooked cereal, whole wheat and white flour and moderate amounts of meat, cheese, and cooked veggies. And I suffer nearly constant constipation (but I never talk about it, this posting being an exception). But it goes away when I visit my children and the only difference I can see is lots of fatty, salty foods on these visits. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798/23 "2013-08-10T14:13:25Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Some of it is medications, especially diuretics and narcotic painkillers - these cause the intestines to have trouble moving feces through. > > Some of it is diet - tooth and mouth problems, including ill fitting dentures and a slower metabolism make them not as hungry and not as likely to eat crunchy fibrous fruits and vegetables when they do eat. > > Some of it is income and access to grocery stores - being on a monthly fixed income and/or having to wait for a monthly or bi-monthly ride from their senior living apartment to the store makes it more likely for them to eat shelf-stable processed foods, also lower in fiber. > > Some of it is limited mobility and/or a sedentary lifestyle - our guts rely on us walking and moving to aid in peristalsis. > > Some of it is a decrease in muscle tone that’s a normal part of aging. > > Most of these things are fixable; I’ve got a couple of elderly patients with pretty good to excellent diets who move their bodies daily. They don’t have issues with constipation. Speaking as a senior citizen (73) I think you’ve pretty much nailed it. Especially the availability of getting to a grocery store. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2013, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798/24 "2013-08-10T15:16:33Z")
> [@Jake](#): > > Speaking as a senior citizen (73) I think you’ve pretty much nailed it. Especially the availability of getting to a grocery store. 🙂 Thanks! (Except I totally forgot about self-induced dehydration. Yep, that too…) ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798/25 "2013-08-11T00:35:26Z")
I’m 67, and my digestive system is the ONLY part of me that still works right. I do eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, and not as much protein as I used to (it’s bad for my kidneys). And though I take a handful of pills each day, some of them cause dry mouth, so I’m always drinking fluids. I might become constipated something like 4-5 times a year, about the same as always. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2013, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798/26 "2013-08-11T01:40:55Z")
Another thing to consider that I thought of while an old lady was talking to me about her constipation today, is that a lot of people have a much different use of the word “constipation” than I do. Many people, especially in our older generation, believe that everyone has a bowel movement daily, or several times a day. If they don’t, they tell me they’re “constipated.” Here’s how today’s conversation started: Me: Any constipation or diarrhea? Her: Oh, yes, I’m constipated. Me: OK, when was your last bowel movement? Her: This morning. Me: Was it hard to get out? Uncomfortable? Her: No…it was fine… Me: And the one before that, do you remember? Her: Yesterday. Me: 😕 When pressed further, she reported that she believed she should be having a bowel movement after every \*meal \*(a common belief in people of Chinese American culture.) So sometimes, all the “treatment” that’s needed is a little education that not everyone has a bowel movement several times a day, or even once every day, and that if you have a pattern of moving your bowels once every two or three days, that’s within the spectrum of “normal”, and once a day is normal, and three times a day is normal, and the only normal we need worry about is what’s normal for _her_, as long as she’s not feeling any discomfort with that pattern. As Dr. [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constipation)says: > [@](#): > > The Rome II Criteria for constipation require **at least two** of the following symptoms for 12 weeks or more over the period of a year:[22] > > ``` > Straining with more than one-fourth of defecations > Hard stool with more than one-fourth of defecations > Feeling of incomplete evacuation with more than one-fourth of defecations > Sensation of anorectal obstruction with more than one-fourth of defecations > Manual maneuvers to facilitate more than one-fourth of defecations > Fewer than three bowel movements per week > Insufficient criteria for irritable bowel syndrome > > ``` (bolding mine) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-constipation-seem-to-be-a-problem-for-old-people/665798.md?page=1)