occasionally long term constipation develops into fecal impaction which is a blocked colon from a mass of stool that can t be moved by colon contractions fecal impaction can cause pain and vomiting and a person with fecal impaction may require emergency treatment or hospitalization fecal impaction is a fairly common complication of long term constipation in the elderly and bedridden occurring in about 30 % of all nursing home residents