What are the symptoms of small bowel obstruction?
You may have sharp stomach pains that come in waves. Eventually, the pain may become constant. You may also have one or more of these symptoms:
- Abdominal pain, cramping or bloating.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Lack of appetite.
- Malaise (an overall feeling of illness).
- Diarrhea (usually a sign of a partial blockage).
- Rapid heartbeat, dark-colored pee (urine) and other signs of dehydration.
- Severe constipation (in cases of complete obstruction, you won’t be able to pass gas or poop).
Infants and children experience the same symptoms as adults. Infants can’t tell you where it hurts, but they may pull their legs up toward their bellies and cry. Other symptoms of bowel obstructions in children include:
- Fever.
- Blood in stool (rectal bleeding).
- Green or yellow-green vomit.
- Lethargy (being less active than usual).
- Swollen, firm belly.
What does a bowel obstruction feel like?
A bowel obstruction can feel different depending on which intestine is affected and what’s happening in your gut.
An obstruction typically feels like severe cramping pain in your abdomen. The pain from a small bowel obstruction is more likely to come in short intermittent waves, occurring every few minutes or so. The pain is more likely to feel concentrated in one place.
The cramping from a large bowel obstruction tends to be more continuous. The pain is more likely to feel spread out.
Regardless of the specifics, if you’re having severe cramping alongside symptoms like bloating and vomiting, seek immediate care.
Can you still poop with a bowel obstruction?
It’s possible. It depends on where the blockage is and how serious it is. For example, while pooping may be more difficult, you may still have stool with a partial bowel obstruction. Pooping and even passing gas will likely be impossible with a complete bowel obstruction.
What causes a bowel obstruction?
The most common causes of bowel obstructions include:
- Abdominal adhesions (scar tissue) from surgeries: Adhesions are bands of scar tissue that may form after surgery on your abdomen or pelvis. Earlier abdominal surgery is the leading risk factor for small bowel obstruction in the U.S.
- Hernias: Segments of your intestine may break through a weakened section of your abdominal wall. Your bowel can become obstructed if it’s trapped or tightly pinched in the place where it pokes through. Hernias are the second most common cause of small bowel obstruction in the U.S.
- Cancerous tumors: Cancerous tumors may form in your intestines or spread there from other parts of your body (metastatic cancer). These growths can cause partial or total blockages. Colon cancer is the leading cause of large bowel obstructions.
Other causes of bowel obstructions include:
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD): Inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn’s disease, can cause scar tissue to form in your intestinal walls. The scar tissue can build up and cause narrowing in your bowel (strictures).
- Diverticulitis: Diverticulitis occurs when small pockets called diverticula form in your colon and become inflamed. The swelling can cause your colon to narrow. As with IBD, scarring can occur that causes your colon to narrow.
- Intussusception: Intussusception is the main cause of bowel obstructions in children younger than 3. With this condition, one segment of the intestine collapses inside another segment (like a telescope). The collapsed segments can block the bowel and blood flow.
- Volvulus: Some infants are born with a congenital condition (present at birth) called malrotation, where their intestines don’t form properly. This condition can cause their intestines to twist (volvulus), resulting in a blockage. Adults can get twisted intestines, too, but this is rare.
- Radiation therapy to your abdomen, pelvis or rectum: Radiation enteritis is a complication of radiation therapy that occurs when the radiation causes scarring in healthy tissue. The scarring can cause strictures that obstruct your bowels.
- Ingesting a foreign object: Eating something your body can’t break down and process (like non-food items) can obstruct your intestines.
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What are the complications of a bowel obstruction?
The complications of a bowel obstruction are life-threatening without emergency care.
- Perforation and infection: The fluids, gases and digestive juices that build up behind the obstruction can create ballooning pressure that causes your intestine to tear (perforation). The contents can leak out, putting you at risk of an abdominal infection called peritonitis and a life-threatening system-wide infection called sepsis.
- Strangulation (tissue death): With strangulation, an obstruction prevents parts of your intestine from getting enough blood. Eventually, gangrene sets in as the tissue dies, putting you at risk of serious infection and even death.
