Video
Body Check – Stools Transcript
Dr Christian: Despite not being very pleasant, your poo is important, as not only does it remove waste from the body, it can tell you a lot about your general state of health.
The best way to spot a potential problem is to check yourself and there are some key things to look out for.
When it comes to shape, a sausage like form is normal but if your stools appear in separate hard lumps this can be a sign of constipation.
Width will also vary from person to person but look out for a prolonged change to narrower stools as it may be a sign of obstruction in the colon and it should be discussed with your doctor.
Soft forms or liquid, resulting in diarrhoea, can be a sign of infection like food poisoning – but can also occur after alcohol or spicy food. Thyroid problems can cause diarrhoea too.
If it doesn’t stop in a few days it could be IBS – irritable bowel syndrome – or Crohn’s disease.
How often you go isn’t generally a cause for concern – people differ, ranging from three times a week to three times a day. But if your regularity changes or if you swap between constipation and diarrhoea for no apparent reason these are possible signs of bowel cancer, and it’s really worth discussing with your doctor.
Stools get their normal brownish colour from bile. However, you may find you have various colour changes, which are more than likely to be influenced by something you’ve eaten. But it can sometimes indicate something more serious.
Red colouring can come from food, but blood can also cause it and although this isn’t nice to see, it is something doctors come across quite often, usually as a result of haemorrhoids or a small tear; if it persists make sure to get it checked out.
If the stools appear black, this can be digested blood, which could mean bleeding ulcers or tumours and is something really important to look out for and get examined.
Finally, white stools are definitely worth being evaluated by your doctor because they may indicate a serious problem in the liver, such as hepatitis.
For this body check and others featured on the site we want to hear about your findings. So please come back to share your results and discuss them with other site users.
And if you have any concerns or ongoing problems it’s best to contact your GP.
Body Check: Stools
Despite not being very pleasant, your poo is important as not only does it remove waste from your body, it can also tell you a lot about your state of health. In this video, Dr Christian tells you what changes to look out for in your poo.
Keep an eye out for changes in shape and width, as a prolonged change could be a sign of an underlying condition. What you’ve eaten can also have an effect on your poo, causing changes in form and consistency. Colour changes can also come from food, but red, black, or white stools could also indicate more serious conditions like digested blood or liver disease, so do get it checked out.
How often you go isn’t a cause for concern, but if your regularity changes or you constantly swap between constipation and diarrhoea, it could be a possible sign of bowel cancer and it would be advisable to discuss with a GP.
We want to hear about your findings, so please click the link below and add your results to our national survey.
+++UPDATE+++
From the 29th April – 5th May 2009 we conducted a National Health Survey to find out what the state of the nation’s stools was.
Over 15,000 of you responded and once again it was women that were more willing to share their findings, with 76% of respondents being female.
In total, 47% of people who took part reported Type 3 or Type 4 stools – which are normal, and sausage like in appearance – not too hard or soft. However, 22% of people reported Type 1 or Type 2 stools, which are much looser than is ideally the case. If this persists then it can be a sign of an infection, or more serious bowel conditions, such as IBS and Crohn’s.
Around 17% of respondents said that they had hard, pellety stools, and these can be a sign of constipation, so it might be worth looking at your diet if this persists for long periods of time.
Constipation can result in small amount of blood entering the stool (as can hemorrhoids or small tears to the anus) which will probably account for the 356 or so respondents that reported red blood in their poo. If this persists, it would be worth getting checked out by your GP.
A more serious concern was that around 7% of our respondents reported that they had black stools, and as this can be a sign of digested blood, it should always be checked out by your doctor, as it can be a sign of intestinal problems, and in rare cases serious conditions such as Bowel Cancer.
Yellowish stools have also caused concern for around 5% of you and the most common cause of this is a lack of bile caused by your poo moving too quickly through the digestive tract. Again if this is a persistent problem, then it should be checked by your doctor.
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i take iron pills just latey, now my stools are black,my blood is down to 6, my doctor think i am bleeding from somewhere, waiting to go to hosptal to be looked at , as my stools are black should i still take the iron or are they making it worse thankyou
I have just had a poo which came out in little white U shapes with blood on one end. I can't think of anything I have eaten thst could have caused it. I'm a little worried.
I have regular poo's at least 3 times a week I loose a lot of blood it is a vibrant red quite often comes out after main poo comes out, I have put up with this this for about 3 years I am 28 years old , I have not seen a go or ever told eneyone. Do you have any suggestions Many thanks Mike
I have regular poo's at least 3 times a week I loose a lot of blood it is a vibrant red quite often comes out after main poo comes out, I have put up with this this for about 3 years I am 28 years old , I have not seen a go or ever told eneyone. Do you have any suggestions Many thanks Mike
Hi i am a male of 45 for the last 2months i have been having trouble having a poo, sometimes i go 4 to 5 days without a poo and when i go i have to force it out. when i do go it is quite hard first then it is runny is this normal or ok.
hi, i have been having light stools and the other day it was white, it comes and goes, i have had a scan on my gallbladder, and it was ok what could it be doc ?
Hello. my name is natasha. my doc has suggested me Stool test. Today i got the report but confuse with the report is it normal? colour: brown consistency : Soft mucus NIL Parasite: None seen Blood: NIL Red cell : Nil/HPF W.B.C: NIL/HPF PARASITES: None seen blastocystis HO: few OVA/CYSTA:None seen
After opening my bowels I looked down the loo before flushing and could see what looked like blood seeping from the stool. It wasn't mixed in the water as if it had dripped in but was on the bottom of the pan.There was no sign of blood in the stool or when I wiped. It has happened every time since.I only go to the loo once a day and need help with fruit or prune or orange juice.My GP is sending me for a colonoscopy.I was shocked but pleased it is getting checked out. Has anyone else noticed this whilst peering down the loo.?
I have white poo at least once a week. Then i wont go for a couple of days and then the heavens open any ideas?
I have the exact same problem and it's really troubling me
Hi, I've noticed the past few months i have had a lot of white slimy stuff on my poo, always more noticable when the stolls are harder. I hadn't mentioned it to the gp but i am suffering a lot more than usual with stomach ache and pains and bloatingn than usual with my ibs. I had planned to mention it when i next went in. More concerning to me is i've just noticed after my 6 yr old daughter went to the loo that her poo had a lot of this white stuff on too. I'm really worried now and wonder what it is?
mine is the same ive also had stomach pain as well and constipation
