The baby has thin poop. What should a normal stool look like and what do its changes indicate?

If a person produces thin stool, the main cause of the problem is most likely problems with the digestive system. But in some cases, pathology can be a consequence of serious illnesses.

It is impossible to determine on your own what contributed to the development of the disease. To do this, you need to visit a specialist who will conduct a diagnosis and take stool for analysis, after which the reason for the deviation will be announced.

Pathogenesis

If an adult produces ribbon-like feces, it is simply impossible not to notice such changes. Everyone knows what a normal stool looks like, and if the stool has changed shape, this is a serious reason to think about your health.

You shouldn’t sound the alarm right away; in the first days you need to monitor your body and try to listen to it.

You should immediately visit a doctor if the following symptoms occur:

the appearance of mucus in feces;
presence of blood clots;
frequent urge to defecate.

If your overall health has worsened and problems with the gastrointestinal tract have appeared, thin stool may be a sign of the onset of dangerous pathologies that require immediate professional treatment.

Doctors say that at the initial stage it is possible to cure almost all diseases, even polyps and hemorrhoids. But if you leave illnesses to their own devices, they will begin to progress and more complex and lengthy therapy will be required.

It is important to understand that both diseases are considered precursors to colon cancer, which is often fatal. To avoid serious troubles, it is necessary to quickly find out why ribbon-shaped feces occur and what is the cause of the disease in a particular case.

Main reasons for deviation

As practice shows, it is not so rare for feces to appear in a thin ribbon. Such a disturbance in the functioning of the intestines is observed:

Long and thin feces can be caused by eating too much fast food and not drinking enough water. The first thing doctors advise to do in case of such a disorder is to review the diet and introduce more healthy foods, especially fruits and vegetables.

Possible diseases

Why is the stool long and comes out like a thin sausage? Such intestinal dysfunction may indicate the development of certain pathologies.

Hemorrhoids

This inflammatory process not only causes severe discomfort and pain to a person, but can also cause the development of dangerous pathologies. The disease provokes disruption of blood flow in the veins, as a result of which the capillaries stretch and a hemorrhoid is formed.

International medicine classifies 3 forms of hemorrhoids: internal, external and mixed, which differ in symptoms and require different treatments.

Reasons for development:

Hemorrhoids should not be left untreated; the disease can lead to the development of tumors of a malignant nature.

Neoplasms in the intestines

The appearance of ribbon-like feces can occur during the formation of polyps and other growths. The intestinal wall begins to change, causing pain. The size and shape of stool may also change.

Doctors warn that thin line stool could be the result of bowel cancer. The increasing formation begins to put pressure on the intestines, causing deformation of feces. If a malignant tumor has formed, defecation is accompanied by the release of blood and thick mucus, and the patient begins to suffer from constipation.

Colon cancer also entails weight loss, lethargy and apathy, and problems with the immune system. If such signs occur, you should immediately visit a doctor.

To make an accurate diagnosis, you will have to undergo examinations such as:

anoscopy, in which a special device is inserted into the anus, giving the physician the opportunity to visually assess the condition of the intestines;
finger examination;
sigmoidoscopy;
general blood analysis;
biochemistry.

If the patient is diagnosed with a large growth, the only option is surgery; conservative therapy in such cases is ineffective.

Colitis

With this disease, pain occurs in the lower abdomen (usually on the left side).

Depending on how severely the intestines are affected, the pain can be cutting, stabbing and burning. Constant flatulence, diarrhea and constipation, admixtures of blood and mucus in the stool appear, and bowel movements are accompanied by painful sensations.

Colitis has the following symptoms:

Banded feces in women

In young ladies, the occurrence of pathology is usually associated with bearing a child.

During pregnancy, pressure is placed on the pelvic organs, and the rectum becomes less elastic. Due to intestinal obstruction, feces may be released in long strips and resemble a thin ribbon.

Such disorders can also be a consequence of the formation of hemorrhoidal cones and excessive accumulation of mucus in the intestines.

Another cause of illness in pregnant women is poor nutrition. If the diet lacks vegetables, fruits, dairy products and fiber, and hard foods predominate, intestinal activity may be impaired.

You should urgently visit a doctor if the stool is accompanied by the release of blood clots and constant pain. A dangerous sign is an increase in body temperature.

Causes of pathology in men

Many representatives of the stronger sex begin to suffer from prostatitis closer to 40 years of age. This inflammatory process also has a bad effect on the functioning of the intestines, as a result of which the walls of the organ begin to narrow, reducing the passage for excretion of feces.

In addition to prostatitis, the following causes of this phenomenon in men can be identified:

frequent stress and anxiety;
intestinal diseases;
development of pathological processes due to genetic predisposition;
inflammation in the intestines;
external or internal hemorrhoids;
untreated infectious diseases.

To establish the exact cause of the disease, you need to visit a doctor and undergo the necessary diagnostics.

Prevention and treatment

It is much easier to prevent the development of a disease than to eliminate it later. In order for the gastrointestinal tract and intestines to function properly, doctors advise adhering to the following recommendations:

If you follow these simple requirements, the risk of thin stool will be minimized. And in order for the intestines to work like clockwork, you need to spend as much time as possible in the fresh air and include at least minimal physical activity in your life.

Pathology in which thin stool is released, is associated with problems in the functioning of the digestive system or has more serious preconditions.

Diagnosis of banded stools should be carried out by a doctor, but if this is not possible, it is worth finding out what are the reasons for such deviations during bowel movements.

The disease has an internal or external nature. If there is blood on scraps of toilet paper or in stool or underwear, this indicates the appearance of internal hemorrhoids.

With the external form of the disease spherical growths visible in the anal area.

The reason for the development of the disease in both cases lies in improper blood circulation in the rectum, which leads to its stagnation at the intersection of capillaries and veins. The more blood cells in the nodular plexuses, the more impressive the lump looks.

At the early stage of the disease, it causes almost no concern, but later the discomfort becomes unbearable.

Pineal growths provoke pain and itching begins. When bowel movements become painful, the process may accompanied by bleeding. The fecal masses become thinner when passing between the cones and have a ribbon-like appearance at the exit.

Sometimes the sitting posture becomes unbearable for the patient. With the internal form of the disease, the venous vessels of the anus swell, and with external hemorrhoids, the veins swell closer to the sphincter.

What does ribbon stool mean in women?

Most often, among the fair sex, the appearance of thin feces during bowel movements is associated with pregnancy. In women during this period, compression of the pelvic organs occurs due to active cell growth reproductive organ.

At the same time, the intestinal walls become less elastic. May cause hemorrhoids or constipation. Then, due to intestinal obstruction, feces will be released in thin strips, in the shape of a narrow ribbon.

This happens due to the formation of obstacles in the form of hemorrhoidal cones and the accumulation of copious amounts of mucus on the intestinal walls.

When passing between them, feces will be forced through a narrow space, which will determine its similar shape.

Sometimes thin stools are observed with poor nutrition– poor in plant fiber, with a lack of first courses and a predominance of hard foods. If this is the only reason, you need to add more fresh vegetables, vegetable oil, and fermented milk products to your diet.

If, during bowel movements, blood is observed, pain appears, the general condition is characterized by chronic fatigue, depression, increased body temperature, then there is a possibility of developing an intestinal tumor in the body.

Causes of illness during bowel movements in men

The stronger sex is susceptible prostatitis. The inflammatory process, which affects the functioning of the rectum, leads to the fact that the passage between its walls narrows, and there is not enough of it for feces.

They narrow as they pass through the inflamed intestinal walls. This is the most common reason. Among the others we can highlight:

Exposure to stressful situations. Any traumatic experience has an impact - both from distant childhood and from recent times.
Problems with the movement of feces through the intestinal space.
Mutation processes at the gene level due to hereditary predisposition to illness.
Irritable bowel syndrome or an aggravated inflammatory process in all its parts.
Hemorrhoids internal or external.
Previous infectious diseases that were localized in the intestines. This applies to dysentery, cholera, and acute bacterial infection.

What preventive measures can be taken?

It is more convenient and easier to prevent any disease than to subsequently spend a lot of effort fighting it. To protect yourself from diseases that cause the appearance of banded stools, it is recommended:

diversify your diet fresh vegetables and fruits;
Be sure to eat soups and broths, eat less dry food;
do not overeat or starve for a long time;
stop having snacks on the go;
control the intake of medications and try to prevent their overdose and side effects;
respond in a timely manner to the process of intoxication of the body in case of poisoning with mushrooms, medicines or food;
give up a sedentary lifestyle and exercise, do exercises periodically;
observe personal hygiene;
undergo a preventive examination at the clinic at least once a year.

If you follow these tips, you can reduce the risk of thin stool and the diseases that cause it.

If the stool comes out pencil thin?

The most common and dangerous cause of this pathology is considered to be a cancerous tumor in the intestine. The disease is accompanied by false urge to defecate, pain in the anus and constipation. Then there is an admixture of blood, mucous secretions or pus in the stool.

When rectal cancer occurs fecal retention in some parts of the intestine on the way to exit. Its walls narrow due to the appearance of pathological growths on them, foci with cancerous cells.

Worst of all, when the disease passes without the manifestation of characteristic symptoms, then it is diagnosed at later stages, which can reduce the patient’s chances of recovery.

When the tumor has still reached a large size, it is difficult to determine the presence of pathology in the intestines, but an experienced doctor can do this. If you have the slightest suspicion of cancer, you should immediately contact the clinic; always remember this.

Among the non-specific, that is, not characteristic only of this disease, signs of development bowel cancer highlight a state of weakness, weight loss for no apparent reason, lack of interest in food, exacerbation of taste buds.

Clearly expressed symptoms include abdominal pain radiating to the sacrum and perineum, prolonged constipation, and a feeling of insufficient fecal output during bowel movements. Moreover, the shape of the chair is similar to a pencil due to its thinness.

Timely identification of the causes of thin stool will relieve you of discomfort and speed up recovery.

Feces are a product of our metabolism. It also serves as a basis for doctors in diagnosing many diseases. Conversely, some changes in feces may be a reason for examination. Thus, ribbon stool may indicate the occurrence of certain pathologies.

Causes of thin stool in an adult

The appearance of ribbon stool is often observed in pregnant women. Why this happens can be explained very simply. Due to the fact that during pregnancy the fetus grows rapidly, the uterus expands greatly and puts pressure on the rectum. Thereby reducing its clearance. Therefore, feces come out of the rectum in the form of a ribbon.

In men, sometimes stool looks like a pencil with prostatitis. This is an inflammation of the prostate gland, which also results in a narrowing of the lumen of the small intestine.

Thin stool for hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids are inflammation of the hemorrhoidal veins in the lower part of the rectum. As a result of this inflammation, the blood flow in the veins is disrupted, they stretch and nodules form. Depending on their location, there are three forms of hemorrhoids: internal, external and combined.

Causes:

sedentary lifestyle,
frequent constipation and diarrhea,
pregnancy,
alcohol abuse,
unhealthy diet
heredity.

In the early stages, hemorrhoids do not cause any sensations, but only as the disease develops do symptoms increase.

Manifestations of hemorrhoids: the pain that occurs during the act of defecation is very pronounced, cutting and burning in nature. Due to the formed nodules that narrow the lumen of the small intestine, excrement cannot exit the body normally. They are compressed and have difficulty passing through the intestinal tract, causing constipation and ribbon-like stool. It may be mixed with mucus, sometimes with scarlet blood located in stripes. In this case, the blood does not mix with the excrement, but remains on its surface.

With constipation, stool is often not soft, it can be either long, sausage-shaped, or intermittent.
After emptying the rectum, the patient experiences very itching in the anal area. Anal fissures may occur due to prolonged constipation. If the form of hemorrhoids is external, then lumps are visible within the anus. In the internal form, blood is observed on linen, feces or toilet paper. Also, when the disease is long-term, during defecation the internal node may fall out of the rectum.

Hemorrhoids require mandatory treatment, as they can serve as the beginning of the formation of malignant processes in the intestines.

Digital examination of the rectum by a proctologist and sigmoidoscopy will help diagnose the disease. These methods make it possible to identify the presence of nodules and examine the intestinal mucosa.

Rectal neoplasms

Constipation and ribbon-like stool can also occur when polyps or other neoplasms grow on the intestinal mucosa. The most dangerous condition is the development of malignant processes.

With rectal cancer, ribbon-like feces are observed; the larger the tumor grows, the thinner the feces become. Dark blood appears, which mixes with feces, prolonged constipation. Mucus secretion occurs before bowel movements begin. You can also note the general symptoms that occur with any malignant formation - weight loss, fatigue, lethargy, anemia, decreased immunity.

Polyps are benign growths on the intestinal mucosa. They also cause the appearance of ribbon-like feces, since they also narrow the intestinal lumen. Polyps themselves are not dangerous, but they can become malignant, which is something to be wary of. This is the process of transforming a benign tumor into a malignant one.

If an adult is suspected of developing an oncological process in the rectum, the following research methods are used:

finger examination,
anoscopy – insertion of an anoscope into the anus to examine the surface of the anal canal,
sigmoidoscopy,
stool occult blood test,
general blood analysis,
blood chemistry.

Treatment consists of stopping the growth of the tumor using radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Doctors often resort to surgery.

Irritable bowel syndrome

Irritable bowel syndrome is a disorder in the functioning of the human intestine without compromising its integrity.

Symptoms that occur with IBS are divided into the following groups:

intestinal,
associated with other digestive organs,
unrelated to the digestive tract.

Intestinal – characterized by pain in the lower abdomen on the left side. The nature of the pain is different: cutting, burning, dagger-like, constant, aching. Abdominal bloating, diarrhea, constipation, ribbon-shaped or pea-shaped feces with mucus, without admixture of blood and pus, are observed.

Symptoms from other organs of the gastrointestinal tract - nausea, vomiting, sour belching, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth. Other complaints are sleep disturbances, anxiety, pre-depression.

The causes of irritable bowel syndrome vary. Among them are:

heredity,
experienced stressful situations,
passive lifestyle,
unhealthy diet
previous infectious intestinal diseases,
poisoning,

Diagnosis of IBS:

general blood analysis,
blood chemistry,
general urine analysis,
coprogram
Ultrasound of the abdominal organs,
colonoscopy,
FGDS.

When treating the syndrome, a diet and medications are used that are aimed at combating the symptoms. They resort to psychotherapy sessions when depression is the cause of the development of IBS.

Preventing the appearance of ribbon-shaped stool

To ensure that you do not have thin stool, you first need to monitor your diet. The diet must be balanced; liquid food should not be neglected. You need to eat often, in small portions. You should limit the consumption of harmful foods, do not eat dry food, and drink enough fluids.

Also an important preventive measure is avoiding stressful situations. If possible, you should be less nervous. Stress and anxiety are the causes of various pathological processes.

You should play sports and lead an active lifestyle. Quitting bad habits such as smoking and drinking alcohol will also reduce the risk of disease.

What to do if the shape of bowel movements changes?

Do not panic when ribbon-like stool appears. After all, the cause of this may not necessarily be cancer or other dangerous diseases. Sometimes it's just a result of poor diet or stress. But in order to protect yourself, if such changes appear in the stool, you still need to consult a specialist. If the cause of the change in the shape of stool is a disease, then the sooner it is diagnosed, the easier it will be to treat.

The most natural process in human life is daily self-emptying of the intestines. In the absence of any pathologies, this process does not cause any discomfort. To ensure that your stool is daily and painless, it is enough to eat right. Malfunctions in the intestinal tract occur for a number of reasons. For example, the presence of chronic diseases, previous surgical interventions, pregnancy, breastfeeding, dietary errors. In cases where deviations in the quantity and quality of feces are present without the reasons described above, this should be alarming. Further in the article, we will go into detail about what a normal stool should be like in an adult, when the color of stool or impurities in it may indicate health problems, be symptoms or signs of the development of various kinds of diseases.

Standard, normal stool in an adult

Each person's body is individual. What is considered a pathology for one is considered normal for another. Normal bowel movement in an adult depends not only on his eating habits, but also on metabolic processes in the body. Therefore, the color of stool and the consistency of stool in an adult may differ significantly from the type and quality of food consumed, the presence of diseases or other characteristics of the person’s health.

Most people have a bowel movement every day in the morning. For them this process is the norm. However, if this process is disrupted, these people begin to panic. Such people should remember that self-emptying their bowels once every 2 days or 2 times a day is also considered normal. Feces should be fairly thick in consistency and should not contain any impurities, such as mucous, blood, or foamy discharge. Even when an adult’s daily stool has changed slightly and the intestines are cleaned once every two to three days, there is no need to sound the alarm. The problem of irregular or frequent bowel movements may be due to a poor diet. In such cases, you first need to normalize your diet, and only if this measure does not bring relief should you consult a doctor.

Frequent bowel movements, frequent urge to go to the toilet, causes of diarrhea

Along with infrequent bowel movements (once every two to three days), a person may be worried about bowel movements, which are repeated up to five times a day. If the stool is quite dense in texture and does not cause any problems, then a possible reason for frequent bowel movements may be the consumption of foods that help speed up digestion. You need to worry only in cases where the stool becomes liquid during frequent bowel movements and contains foam, mucous or bloody discharge. At the same time, the stomach is quite painful and the body temperature is higher than usual. To prevent complications of health, urgent measures should be taken.

Liquid stool, loose stool in an adult

Cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract, accompanied by liquid stool, does not always indicate problems with the digestive tract. If the bowel movements are liquid, like diarrhea, not strong and do not cause pain in the abdominal area, then they may be of a natural nature. A factor influencing the liquefaction of stool and the onset of diarrhea may be the food eaten before. Eating kefirs, yoghurts, milk, certain vegetable products and fruits in large quantities contributes to the appearance of liquid stool masses. Also, such loose stools in an adult can be preceded by alcohol consumed in large portions, namely beer and wine. With the help of strong bowel movements, the body tries to free itself from alcohol poisoning.

Foamy stool in an adult

If you experience loose stools or diarrhea with foamy contents, do not panic. You should know that fermentation processes are caused by an excess of carbohydrates in the human body, which have accumulated over a long time. In this regard, it is recommended to exclude from your menu sweet fruits, certain types of vegetables, soda, and alcohol that causes gas formation. Liquid porridges should be included in the daily menu for foamy and frequent stools in adults. They help strengthen the contents of the stomach and improve its functioning.

Stool with mucus in an adult, causes of stool with mucus

In adults, stool may contain small amounts of mucus due to eating foods that promote mucus formation. Therefore, stool mixed with mucous discharge is not surprising if a person’s daily diet consists of mucous porridges, fermented milk products, fruits, and berries. In this case, additional discomfort in the form of bloating, diarrhea, and pain in the abdominal area is also possible.

Quite often, liquid stools containing mucus appear during long-term use of antibacterial therapy. Also, liquid stool with foam is characteristic of gastrointestinal microflora disorders, chronic inflammatory processes in the stomach, ulcerative colitis, cracks in the intestines, the presence of E. coli and other infections.

Bloody stool, causes of bloody stool, causes

Many people in vain do not pay attention to stool with isolated blood spots. Changes in the color of stool and the presence of blood impurities are evidence of quite serious pathologies. If the blood in the stool is bright scarlet and is located on top of the stool, then the reason most likely lies in the fact that there are anal fissures.

Black stool indicates bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The black color of stool is explained by the fact that in the process of moving through the intestines, the blood has already coagulated. A sign of the opening of an ulcer is considered to be a small amount of feces with a fairly large amount of blood discharge. If you notice dangerous symptoms such as bloody stool, you should immediately consult a doctor.

How to understand that the color of the stool indicates disease?

Other shades of feces also indicate the presence of pathologies. Light gray or white stool indicates the presence of Crohn's disease, rotavirus infection, malignant or benign neoplasms, kidney stones, and dysbiosis. The color of stool depends on changes in diet and the stage of chronic diseases.

Black stool in an adult

Black coloring of stool is possible in cases where the day before a person consumed foods that contribute to the color of stool, as well as in the presence of internal bleeding of the upper intestine. After or while taking certain medications, your stool may also turn black. For example, medications for anemia, activated carbon and a number of other medications that contribute to the appearance of black stool.

Green stool and its causes

The green tint of stool indicates that there are fermentation processes in the body, the causes of which can be either overeating foods containing large amounts of carbohydrates, or the development of bacterial infections. Quite often, green feces are associated with large admixtures of mucous secretions. Along with the unusual green color of the stool, mild pain, flatulence, and bloating appear.

Yellow stool, causes of yellow stool

A bright yellow tint to stool means that there are pathologies with the gallbladder in the human body. If, with this color of stool, there is also a bitter taste on the lips and in the mouth, then there is no doubt that there are problems with the bile ducts. Disorders of the pancreas, due to which a large amount of bile secretion simply does not have time to be broken down, are the cause of the yellow color of stool. Also, yellow stool in an adult may indicate diseases of the digestive tract and the presence of kidney stones. With urolithiasis, yellow stools will be observed for quite a long time.

Causes of gray stool in adults

Grayish stool with a very pungent, nasty odor indicates a clear sign of malabsorption. When a person abuses fatty foods, his pancreas does not have time to cope with it, which leads to colorless feces.

White feces, causes of white stool

A light shade of feces in an adult may indicate hepatitis or pancreatitis. White stool in an adult generally indicates obvious pathologies of the bile ducts, or the impossibility of the outflow of bile secretions. In such situations, certain difficulties may be hidden in the appearance of stones or the presence of neoplasms in the form of tumors. White stool in an adult is also possible as a result of dysbacteriosis, which causes constant discomfort.

Throughout the life of an adult, stool can undergo significant changes. In this regard, what is considered normal at fifteen to twenty years old, after the age of forty may be the first “beacon” to the appearance of pathology. Therefore, experts recommend being more careful about your health, monitoring the slightest changes in your body, and if you suspect any disease, do not self-medicate, but be sure to consult a doctor.

How many times a day should a person walk?

There is no specific norm for how many times a day and in what quantities an adult should defecate. However, a certain standard is the amount from three times a day to once for three days. On average, a person walks approximately once every 24 hours and produces 28.35 g of feces per 5,443 kg of body weight. Based on this norm, the bowel movements of a man or woman weighing 72.6 kg are equivalent to 454 g of feces daily.

Frequent stools (more than four times a day) that are loose and watery are called diarrhea. This definition is appropriate when it is not a symptom of any more serious illness (the exception is circumstances in which fluid leaves the body only with diarrhea). There are three types of diarrhea: acute, persistent and chronic. The first category occurs after infection and quickly resolves. Prolonged diarrhea may not go away for more than two weeks, but chronic diarrhea lasts for months. The causes of diarrhea are usually infections, medications (particularly antibiotics), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and nutritional problems (failure to digest certain foods, which may be due to physiological characteristics).

Different people have different bowel movements. As noted earlier, the norm is to have three bowel movements a day to one bowel movement in three days. There are many factors that have a certain effect on intestinal motility (gastrointestinal movements), which you should not worry about. The motility of the gastrointestinal tract is affected by: changes in diet, medications, moving and traveling, sleep, sports, hormonal surges, tension and stress, diseases, operations, childbirth and much more. It is also necessary to monitor how the processes of emptying the rectum and bladder occur. A clear signal of the existence of problems with the human body is excessively strong efforts during bowel movements and urination.

What should be the daily amount of feces?

With a varied diet, the daily norm for defecation is considered to be the amount of feces in the range of 150-400 g. If plant foods predominate in a person’s diet, then the abundance of stool increases. In the case of dominance of food of animal origin, the frequency of bowel movements is much less.

Too much and active elimination of waste from the body for three days or more (polyfecality) may be a harbinger of ailments of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, gallbladder and its tracts, pancreas, or the loss of one or many nutrients entering the digestive tract due to their insufficiency absorption in the small intestine (malabsorption). Constipation can sometimes result from a decrease in the amount of stool and the frequency of bowel movements. This occurs due to prolonged retention of body waste in the colon and excessive absorption of fluid, due to which the volume of bowel movements decreases. This may also be due to the predominance of food that is digested too quickly.

What should be the density of stool?

The normal composition of stool is 70% water and 30% food, which has been processed by the body, dead bacteria, and exfoliated particles of the gastrointestinal tract. The product of defecation most often has a cylindrical shape, and its structure resembles a soft round sausage. However, a high content of plant components in the diet contributes to the thickening of stool. A favorable indicator is the absence of bloody clots, mucus, pus and parts of incompletely digested food.

Deviation from the standard is mushy feces. This occurs with increased contraction of the walls of the small intestine, as well as with increased secretion of intestinal juice. Too thick bowel movements occur with difficulty in emptying, inflammatory infections and convulsive contractions of the colon mucosa. Ointment-like waste occurs when there are complications in the functioning of the pancreas, a rapid decrease in the flow of bile into the intestines. More rare bowel movements occur when food is difficult to process in the small intestine, improper absorption and extremely rapid passage of feces. Foamy stools occur when fermentative dyspepsia develops. With this disease, fermentation processes in the digestive tract occur more often and longer than any other. Banded stool occurs when a patient has a persistent narrowing of the lumen or a prolonged spasm of the colon, as well as with cancer of the final part of the digestive tract. Loose and frequent bowel movements are called diarrhea. Pasty, excessively runny stool occurs when consuming large quantities of liquids. Foamy stools are a sign that the food or drink you consumed was high in yeast. Thin stool can signal ailments of the colon, namely neoplasms or polyposis.

What should the stool smell like?

The standard is considered to be a not very pleasant, but not too irritating odor. This is influenced by the food that enters the body. The cause of a strong odor may be meat, while a sour odor may be due to foods of dairy origin. Also, the smell directly depends on the manifestation of fermentation and decay processes in the organs. Acid is felt in fermentative dyspepsia. It is caused by frequent consumption of carbohydrates (baked goods, sugar) and carbonated liquids in large volumes. Pronounced stench occurs in case of problems in the functioning of the pancreas (its inflammation), decreased flow of bile into the intestines (cholecystitis), hypersecretion of ions and any liquid into the intestinal lumen. This also occurs due to an excessive amount of bacteria. Some of them produce hydrogen sulfide, which has a characteristic rotten odor. Feces smell rotten due to problems in the process of digesting food, putrefactive dyspepsia, which is associated with frequent consumption of protein and its slow absorption. Also, the causes of such a smell may be granulomatous enteritis or ulcerative colitis. A weak aroma is characteristic of difficult emptying of the gastrointestinal tract or too rapid evacuation of food through it.

What shape should an adult's stool have?

Thin stools (pencil stools) indicate interference in the lower half of the digestive tract or an external pressure on the large intestine. If these symptoms occur, a colonoscopy should be done to rule out the development of cancer. Small and hard stools are clear signs of difficult bowel movements, namely constipation. This may be due to missing fiber in a person's diet. It is necessary to increase the content of dietary fiber in the diet, perform more sports exercises, eat plantain and flaxseeds to improve intestinal motility.

Stool that is too soft and sticks to the toilet means your body is not absorbing the oils as well as it should. Sometimes essential drops actually float in the toilet. With these symptoms, there are also disturbances in the functioning of the pancreas, so it is very important to immediately consult a medical specialist for diagnosis. The presence of mucous clots in stool is a common occurrence. However, if excessive mucus content is noticed in the stool, there may be some kind of inflammation in the body, granulomatous enteritis or ulcerative colitis.

Gases in the intestines, what is the norm for an adult?

Gases are produced due to the functioning of microorganisms located in the gastrointestinal tract. During defecation and in a calm state, from 0.2 to 0.5 liters of gas are removed from the body of an adult during the day. The standard is to fart about 10-12 times throughout the day (preferably less). More frequent emissions may result from the presence of the following foods in the diet: carbonated drinks, foods containing carbohydrates, fiber, yeast and lactose.

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Chair or feces- This is the contents of the lower parts of the colon, which is the end product of digestion and is excreted from the body during bowel movements.

Individual stool characteristics can tell a lot about a person's health and help in making a diagnosis.
Below are interpretations of stool quality in normal and pathological conditions.

1. Number of bowel movements.
Norm: regularly, 1-2 times a day, but at least 1 time in 24-48 hours, without prolonged strong straining, painless. After defecation, the urge disappears, a feeling of comfort and complete bowel movement occurs. External circumstances can increase or inhibit the frequency of the urge to defecate. This is a change in the usual environment, a forced position in bed, the need to use a bedpan, being in the company of other people, etc.
Changes: Lack of bowel movements for several days (constipation) or too frequent bowel movements - up to 5 times or more (diarrhea).

2. Daily amount of feces
Norm: With a mixed diet, the daily amount of feces fluctuates within a fairly wide range and averages 150-400 g. Thus, when eating predominantly plant foods, the amount of feces increases, while in an animal that is poor in “ballast” substances, it decreases.
Changes: Significant increase (more than 600 g) or decrease in the amount of feces.
Reasons for increasing the amount of feces (polyfecal):

Consuming large amounts of plant fiber.
Increased intestinal peristalsis, in which food is poorly absorbed due to its too rapid movement through the intestinal tract.
Disruption of digestive processes (digestion or absorption of food and water) in the small intestine (malabsorption, enteritis).
Decreased exocrine function of the pancreas in chronic pancreatitis (insufficient digestion of fats and proteins).
Insufficient amount of bile entering the intestines (cholecystitis, cholelithiasis).

Reasons for reducing the amount of feces:

Constipation, in which due to prolonged retention of feces in the large intestine and maximum absorption of water, the volume of feces decreases.
Reducing the amount of food eaten or predominantly digestible foods in the diet.

3. Passing feces and floating in water.
Normal: feces should be released easily, and in water it should sink gently to the bottom.
Changes:

If there is insufficient amount of dietary fiber in food (less than 30 grams per day), feces are released quickly and splash into the water of the toilet.
If the stool floats, this indicates that it has an increased amount of gases or contains too much undigested fat (malabsorption). Also, stool may float if you eat a lot of fiber.
If the stool is difficult to wash off with cold water from the walls of the toilet, it means it contains a large amount of undigested fat, which happens with pancreatitis.

4. Stool color
Normal: With a mixed diet, the stool is brown. Breastfed babies have golden-yellow or yellow stools.
Change in stool color:

Dark brown - with a meat diet, constipation, impaired digestion in the stomach, colitis, putrefactive dyspepsia.
Light brown - with a dairy-vegetable diet, increased intestinal motility.
Light yellow - indicates too rapid passage of feces through the intestines, which do not have time to change color (diarrhea) or impaired bile secretion (cholecystitis).
Reddish - when eating beets, when bleeding from the lower intestines, for example. for hemorrhoids, anal fissures, ulcerative colitis.
Orange – when consuming the vitamin beta-carotene, as well as foods high in beta-carotene (carrots, pumpkin, etc.).
Green - with a large amount of spinach, lettuce, sorrel in food, with dysbacteriosis, increased intestinal motility.
Tarry or black - when eating currants, blueberries, as well as bismuth preparations (Vikalin, Vikair, De-Nol); with bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract (peptic ulcer, cirrhosis, colon cancer), with ingestion of blood during nosebleeds or pulmonary bleeding.
Greenish-black - when taking iron supplements.
Grayish-white stool means that bile is not entering the intestines (bile duct blockage, acute pancreatitis, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver).

5. Consistency (density) of feces.
Normal: shaped and soft. Normally, stool consists of 70% water, 30% from the remains of processed food, dead bacteria and desquamated intestinal cells.
Pathology: mushy, dense, liquid, semi-liquid, putty-like.
Change in stool consistency.

Very dense feces (sheep) - for constipation, spasms and stenosis of the colon.
Mushy feces - with increased intestinal motility, increased secretion in the intestines during inflammation.
Ointment-like - for diseases of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis), a sharp decrease in the flow of bile into the intestines (cholelithiasis, cholecystitis).
Clay or putty-like feces are gray in color - with a significant amount of undigested fat, which is observed when there is difficulty in the outflow of bile from the liver and gallbladder (hepatitis, blockage of the bile duct).
Liquid – in case of impaired digestion of food in the small intestine, impaired absorption and accelerated passage of feces.
Foamy - with fermentative dyspepsia, when fermentation processes in the intestines prevail over all others.
Loose stools like pea puree - with typhoid fever.
Liquid, colorless stools like rice water - with cholera.
When the stool has a liquid consistency and frequent bowel movements, one speaks of diarrhea.
Liquid-mushy or watery stools can occur with high water consumption.
Yeasty stool - indicates the presence of yeast and may have the following characteristics: curdled, foamy stools like rising sourdough, may have strings like melted cheese, or have a yeasty odor.

6. Shape of feces.
Standard: cylindrical, sausage-shaped. The stool should come out continuously, like toothpaste, and be about the length of a banana.
Changes: ribbon-shaped or in the form of dense balls (sheep feces) is observed with insufficient daily water intake, as well as spasms or narrowing of the large intestine.

7. The smell of feces.
Normal: fecal, unpleasant, but not harsh. It is due to the presence of substances in it that are formed as a result of bacterial breakdown of proteins and volatile fatty acids. Depends on the composition of the food and the severity of the processes of fermentation and decay. Meat foods give off a pungent odor, while dairy foods give off a sour odor.
If digestion is poor, undigested food simply rots in the intestines or becomes food for pathogenic bacteria. Some bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide, which has a characteristic rotten odor.
Changes in stool odor.

Sour – for fermentative dyspepsia, which occurs with excessive consumption of carbohydrates (sugar, flour products, fruits, peas, etc.) and fermented drinks, such as kvass.
Fetid - with impaired pancreatic function (pancreatitis), decreased flow of bile into the intestines (cholecystitis), hypersecretion of the large intestine. Very foul-smelling stool may be due to bacterial overgrowth
Putrefactive – in case of indigestion in the stomach, putrefactive dyspepsia associated with excessive consumption of protein products that are slowly digested in the intestines, colitis, constipation.
The smell of rancid oil is due to bacterial decomposition of fats in the intestines.
Faint odor - with constipation or accelerated evacuation from the small intestine.

8. Intestinal gases.
Normal: Gases are a natural by-product of the digestion and fermentation of food as it moves through the gastrointestinal tract. During and outside of bowel movements, 0.2-0.5 liters of gas are removed from the intestines of an adult per day.
The formation of gas in the intestines occurs as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms inhabiting the intestines. They decompose various nutrients, releasing methane, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. The more undigested food enters the colon, the more active the bacteria are and the more gases are produced.
An increase in the amount of gases is normal.

when eating large amounts of carbohydrates (sugar, baked goods);
when eating foods that contain a lot of fiber (cabbage, apples, legumes, etc.);
when consuming foods that stimulate fermentation processes (brown bread, kvass, beer);
when consuming dairy products if you are lactose intolerant;
when swallowing large amounts of air while eating and drinking;
when drinking large amounts of carbonated drinks

An increase in the amount of gases in pathology.

Enzyme deficiency of the pancreas, in which food digestion is impaired (chronic pancreatitis).
Intestinal dysbiosis.
Irritable bowel syndrome.
Gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.
Chronic liver diseases: cholecystitis, hepatitis, cirrhosis.
Chronic intestinal diseases – enteritis, colitis
Malabsorption.
Celiac disease.

Difficulty in passing gases.

intestinal obstruction;
intestinal atony with peritonitis;
some acute inflammatory processes in the intestines.

9. Stool acidity.
Normal: with a mixed diet, acidity is 6.8–7.6 pH and is due to the vital activity of the colon microflora.
Changes in stool acidity:

sharply acidic (pH less than 5.5) – with fermentative dyspepsia.
acidic (pH 5.5 - 6.7) - if the absorption of fatty acids in the small intestine is impaired.
alkaline (pH 8.0 - 8.5) - with rotting of undigested food proteins and activation of putrefactive microflora with the formation of ammonia and other alkaline substances in the colon, with impaired pancreatic secretion, colitis.
sharply alkaline (pH more than 8.5) - for putrefactive dyspepsia.

Normally, feces should not contain blood, mucus, pus, or undigested food residues.