It is perfectly normal to suffer constipation once in a while. This condition is often your body's reaction to poor diet, lack of exercise, interaction to new medication, insufficient water intake, or stressful situations. However, there are several cases when constipation can be a symptom of another disease such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).

IBS is a disease or functional disorder that is often characterized by constipation among other symptoms like abdominal pain, cramping, bloating and discomfort. Thus, IBS and constipation symptoms go together and are nearly the same. People suffering from IBS often find themselves straining or cramping when trying to move bowels and removing little, if any, stool in the process. The stool that you move when you are suffering from IBS can at times be accompanied by mucus, which is actually the liquid that protects the tracts of your digestive system. Some people with this kind of functional disorder suffer diarrhea instead of constipation and may feel the urge to move bowels, while some alternate between constipation and diarrhea.

Large meals, caffeinated drinks, alcohol, chocolate, wheat, rye, barley, milk products, medicines, stress, and emotional situations are usually associated with worsening of the IBS problem. The causes of IBS are unknown although there are theories that suspect people with IBS to have colons that are sensitive to particular types of foods and stress.