 Hello everyone, myself Dr. Mangesh Burkar, I am practicing as a gastroenterologist and hepatologist at Manipal Hospital Karadi Pune. On occasion of Constipation Awareness Month, today I am going to speak about chronic constipation. So what is constipation? If anyone is having hard stools or needs to strain excessively while passing stools or passes stools once in more than 3 days, then he is suffering from constipation. Now what are the reasons for constipation? Some medical conditions like diabetes, hypothyroidism can cause constipation, few drugs like some antihypertensive drugs, antibiotics, heavy metals like iron can cause constipation. Aging less water, low fiber intake and aging also contributes to constipation. Question arises to common public is that when you should consult a gastroenterologist, when you are suffering from constipation for a longer period of time, when you develop constipation suddenly if you have associated weight loss and if you have blood appearing in stools then you should definitely consult a gastroenterologist as these can be the signs of a severe underlying disorder. Now how to diagnose or what are the tests which can be done for constipation? Few blood tests which can diagnose the underlying medical conditions associated with constipation. Then there is a specific test called as sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy which is usually done in chronic constipation. In this test we examine the entire length of large intestine and some part of small intestine and it is a simple diagnostic OPD procedure. Many people are scared of this procedure, it is usually a very simple procedure. In many western countries this test is done as a screening test in people above 45 to 50 years of age to diagnose conditions like polyps or masses at a earlier stage so that we can treat them at a earlier stage. Now how to treat constipation? First of all we need to follow certain lifestyle modifications like drinking plenty of water. In winter you should drink at least 2 to 3 liters of water and in summers at least 4 to 5 liters of water. Taking higher intake of fibres in diet like having plenty of green leafy vegetables then having fruits like apples, bananas in your diet. Then you need to follow certain good defecatory habits like whenever you feel like going to pass tools you should not postpone it. You should immediately go for defecation when you feel an urge for passing tools. You should not sit in the stool on the toilet seat for a long period of time. Nowadays constipation is also detected at a higher rate in small children in whom the reasons are different they can be easily diagnosed and treated. Do feel free to contact us if you have any further queries. Thank you.