Change in bowel habit

Category: Digestive & Abdomen · All digestive symptoms

What it can feel like

A change in bowel habit means your stools have become persistently looser, more frequent, more constipated, or different in pattern from your normal, lasting more than a few weeks. Bowel habits vary through life, but a lasting change — especially later in life — is a symptom clinicians always ask about carefully.

Possible causes

A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.

Common causes

A change in bowel habit can be associated with diet changes, stress, infections that have settled slowly, new medicines, and irritable bowel patterns, which classically fluctuate over months or years.

Other possible causes

A persistent change can be associated with inflammation of the bowel, coeliac disease, thyroid problems, diverticular disease, and bowel polyps or cancer — which is why a change lasting beyond about six weeks is investigated.

Red flags — when to seek help promptly

Bowel change with blood in the stool or black stools
Bowel change with unexplained weight loss or loss of appetite
Bowel change with a lump in the abdomen or persistent pain
New persistent bowel change over the age of 50
Diarrhoea that regularly wakes you from sleep

What a clinician may do

A clinician will define the change precisely, examine your abdomen and often the rectum, and arrange blood tests and a stool test for hidden blood (FIT) and inflammation. A positive FIT or alarm features lead to colonoscopy referral.

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Frequently asked questions

How long should I wait before reporting a change?

Occasional off days are normal. A change that is clearly present most days for more than about four to six weeks — or sooner at any age if there is blood, weight loss or pain — should be reported. Over 50, do not watch and wait beyond a few weeks.

What is a FIT test?

FIT is a home stool test that detects tiny, invisible amounts of blood. A positive result raises the priority for a camera examination of the bowel. A negative result with ongoing symptoms still deserves follow-up, because no single test excludes everything.

Related symptoms — Digestive & Abdomen

Abdominal pain Black stools Bloating Blood in the stool Constipation Diarrhoea

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Please note: This page is educational information about a symptom. A symptom alone cannot diagnose any condition, and the causes listed here are possibilities, not a diagnosis. If you are worried about a symptom — especially one that is new, severe, getting worse or not going away — please see your own clinician, who can examine you and arrange tests. In an emergency, call your local emergency number.