If you're mindlessly going to the toilet day in, day out, you're doing it all wrong and it could be putting your health at risk, our Medical Director Dr Tang has warned.
Featured in The Mirror Online to highlight the things you should be looking out for.
Dr Chun Tang, medical director and GP at Pall Mall Medical, told The Sun: "Excessive straining could even cause your rectum to prolapse which is where the lining of your intestines pushes outside of your body.
"Hiatal hernias are when the upper part of your stomach pushes through the opening in your diaphragm which could trap stomach acid and delay proper digestion."
Another health problem that could be caused by continuous straining is anal fissures, which the NHS describes as "a tear or open sore that develops in the lining of the large intestine, near the anus".
The health body says: "Anal fissures are most commonly caused by damage to the lining of the anus or anal canal, the last part of the large intestine.
"Most cases occur in people who have constipation when a particularly hard or large poo tears the lining of the anal canal."
If you are concerned about your bowels, you can visit Pall Mall for a ColoAlert stool test. ColoAlert® makes Bowel Cancer screening simple, fast, and precise.
Bowel cancer is the 4th biggest cancer in the UK with 42,000 new cases per year and it's the 2nd biggest cause of death in the UK with 16,300 deaths per year.
This is why it's so important to be aware of any changes to your bowels and be proactive with bowel screenings.