Is it normal to have bowel movements once in three days?

Question

Hi doctor,

I am a 42-year-old female. My problem is I do not go to the toilet every day. I might go after three days, and my stool is sometimes hard, and when I go, I get irritated. I have used certain creams, but that was not helpful. Is it normal to go to the toilet once in three days? And what can I do kindly advise?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Your query has different parts. I will address them one by one.

1) No, it is not normal to go to the toilet every couple of days. You should ideally be having one bowel movement every day.

2) There are multiple causes of constipation. The most common are dietary factors. So you need to increase fiber in your diet. For that, you need to take a half bowl of vegetable salad and two tablespoons of Ispaghula husk (with water) every day. Take at least eight glasses of water every day. Walk for half an hour in any part of the day. The medicinal solution should be avoided until you incorporate these dietary changes.

3) If by irritation, you are referring to pain/itching/burning at your anus. This is a symptom of hemorrhoids. To ease this issue, there are multiple ways. I suggest using Lidocaine gel and 10 tablets of Diltiazem 60 mg (brand name whichever is available in your country).

Crush all tablets to powder and mix them in the Lidocaine gel on a small plate/dish. The paste you will make this way, you need to apply it at and in your anus. Do all of this process after getting free from your washroom to keep the gel there for a longer time. It will hopefully relieve your issues sooner than later.

I hope I answered this comprehensively.

Good luck and get well soon.