Let’s talk about POO
No one likes to talk about poo. POO is TABOO!
Since being diagnosed with celiac disease and becoming a mother of children with food allergies, I feel I have become somewhat of a poo analyst (hmmm… business cards?) It’s just that after you clear the stuff you are sensitive to out of your system, you are very aware of any changes in your stool. When people come to me for advice, I often ask about it (poo), because there is a lot to be learned from it (again, poo).
One thing is for sure — people don’t know what a normal stool is, and often people assume that having constipation or loose stools is normal because they have lived with it for so long.
I did some research and it turns out that there is a way to classify poo – with the Bristol Stool Chart, which categorizes stools into 7 types.
What is your stool type?
Type 1 = Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass)
Type 2 = Sausage-shaped, but lumpy
Type 3 = Like a sausage but with cracks on its surface
Type 4 = Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
Type 5 = Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (passes easily)
Type 6 = Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
Type 7 = Water, no solid pieces, entirely liquid
Healthy stools are usually considered to be those falling into categories 3 or 4, the ones that are the most comfortable to pass. Now, if you are really interested in this, and need more clarification on the stool types, and no one is looking, go check out the visual of the Bristol Stool Chart.
The relationship between stool health and food sensitivities
It is interesting to note that celiac disease can present with either constipation or diarrhea as a symptom, and sometimes a person can even alternate between both. Most people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance say that if they inadvertently get gluten, their stool will change for the worse.
With food allergies, it is common to have diarrhea as a symptom. The first time I knew my daughter had an allergy to avocado, she had diarrhea that began about 2 hours after eating it, and continued for 2 weeks! A pediatric nurse told me that the reason the diarrhea was green and smelly was because the food was going through the digestive system too quickly and the result was that bile (which is green) was being excreted. My daughter’s unusual avocado allergy was later confirmed with a skin test.
When my daughter was older, I removed dairy from her diet because eating it caused her to have large, smelly, soft, greenish stools (accompanied also by rashes). Her stools improved, but she sometimes complained of tummy aches and her stools were still not “right.” I had a suspicion that it could be soy, since she had started eating more of it (most dairy alternatives are soy-based). I have recently removed all soy from her diet and sure enough, her stools are now in the healthy range (which can also be characterized, in my opinion, by a clean wipe). No more tummy aches and improved behavior too. Her dairy and soy intolerance were confirmed by a stool test.
Why does this matter?
There are certainly times when a person’s stool may be out of the healthy range and it is not celiac disease or a food intolerance or allergy (eating a lot of certain types of fruit, for example, or a case of food poisoning). But if a person is consistently out of the healthy range, it may be an indication that something else is going on — an immune system response perhaps. In that case, there may be other damage occurring in the body and it is important to remove the offending food from the diet. Please see your doctor for testing and advice.
Whew — after writing all that, I’m pooped!
Related reading:
Symptoms of celiac disease
Allergy vs. Intolerance
Corn and my baby
Filed under: Babies & Kids, Celiac Disease, Food Allergies, Gluten Intolerance, Symptoms
you forgot to mention my own criteria: color and smell and mucus.
That how I describe the no-nos:
- neon green mucus (think bits of green apple jello that came from nowhere). this is usually the most unmistakable sign of food allergy. And an urgent call.
- anything green as in grass green, apple green
- anything mucus, as in bits of jello (could be orange, yellow). those colors would appear in a newborn breastfed baby (as early as 3 weeks old for mine) who has food allergies/intolerences.
- anything RED, DARK RED, or “black powder” should be carefully recorded and mentioned to the doctor, as this is usually a sign of bleeding.
and as for the smell, it’s difficult to describe, but I’d say that my son’s gluten poops stink something very close to a drunkard’vomit. Which make sense, as the food is not digested, so it stays “acid”. As a rule of thumb, breastfed babies poops smell close to nothing, and not breatfed babies shouldnt have stinkies you can smell two rooms away.
Sophie,
Thanks for the additional description — unfortunately, I know exactly what you are talking about!
Alison
I was surprised not to see a description of steatorrhea, which is a situation where fat floats on the surface of the water of the toilet and the whole stool is frothy and extremely smelly. Most offensive. That was the key that finally sent me to the MD and a diagnosis of celiac disease.
I don’t know why celiac is underlined in red on my screen, but I’m not sure of the correct spelling for steatorrhea or is it steatorhea? - no, that does not look right. Anyway, it is not a commonly used word and probably not in the computer’s spell check list.
Thanks for a good article and the Bristol Stool Chart. Having gone to school in Bristol, England, I found it most amusing.
My son is sensative/ intolerant of artificial colors, flavors and salicilates.
But poop was one of my BIG problems that sent me on the path to finding a solution. It is often one of the first things I ask about.
Smell– my son’s were always sweet. I was in the family room at SILs one day while she was changing my niece in a nearby room. I could smell the diaper and asked what she was reacting to– her mom was amazed– it was a recation to strawberries– something that causes mucusy, sweet smelling poops in my son.
Acidic– Depending on the food, the poop was so acidic it would burn his bum BADLY in the 30 seconds it took to lay him down for a change. Have not noticed this since he is potty trained 3 years ago– but that is also probably due to the fact that we follow a pretty strict diet.
Uncontrolable– Depending on the food and amount, he is pooping before he notices he needs to go to the bathroom.
Thanks for the chart. That just totally confirmed what the Drs. never believed– my kids poop was not normal!
Joyce,
I have found that some pediatricians don’t care about poo at all unless there is something totally out of the norm (but these days, what is COMMON is considered NORMAL, even if it’s not). But I believe the proof is in the poop!