"How are you? " is the decrease of "how are you doing at the bowel movement? ". Bowel movements are indeed indicative of your inner state. Who knew? Color, smell, shape, consistency, all of these tell you what is going on in your digestive tract. This information, far from being trivial, is a gold mine for those who wish to take their health in hand. Discover everything you need to know to interpret your health through your feces!
Les selles, qu'est-ce au juste ?
Stool, caca, popo,tron, fecal matter are nothing more than the fruit of what could not be digested to which bacteria, bile, dead microbiota waste and water are added. As it passes through the colon, the waste gets rehydrated and then your stool forms.
Did you know? The cells of the intestinal wall are renewed every 4 days! For comparison, those of the skin between 28 days, red blood cells 120 days, liver or lung cells 500 days.
La forme des selles
Perhaps you don't know this, but there is a scale of values that your doctor can use to classify stool. It's called the Bristol Scale and it lists 7 types of stool:
small balls of hard stool
well formed but lumpy
sausage shaped with cracks on the surface.
sausage-shaped
irregular lumps
foam, not far from diarrhea.
liquid
Ideally, this is type 4. The stool should be well-formed, soft, brown in color, odorless, and should sink to the bottom of the toilet. Their expulsion should obviously not be difficult, let alone painful.
When stools are :
Small balls (type 1): sign of constipation. You need to drink more and consume fiber.
Constipation is usually the result of a lack of hydration and fiber. Just increasing your intake of water, fresh fruits and vegetables can provide relief if, of course, there are no other underlying issues.
Large diameter: the colon is dilated, a sign of slow transit, lazy peristalsis, and/or inadequate hydration and fiber intake.
Sticky (type 6) : when stool sticks to the walls of the toilet, it indicates that there is excess fat.
Liquid (type 7): diarrhea. The body seeks to expel what disturbs it (bacteria, virus ...) or the high consumption of fiber weakens the mucous membranes that are inflamed. In particular, this symptom is found in cases of intolerance and allergy to gluten and lactose for example.
La couleur et odeur des selles
So ideally, they should be brown and odorless. If your stool has another color in an isolated and ephemeral way, it is not serious. On the other hand, if it persists, it is necessary to go for a consultation.
If your stool is:
Fat: fat is poorly digested. Typically, the stool floats and has a "greasy" appearance and is foul smelling. This indicates pancreatic dysfunction, sometimes gluten intolerance, pancreatitis and other times more serious issues. If your stool is yellow with each trip to the bathroom, it is important to go see your doctor.
White: when stools are light-colored or even white, this may be the result of a bile duct obstruction or the side effects of medications. Please consult your doctor.
Black: sign of digestive bleeding, stomach or intestinal bleeding caused by an ulcer or tumor. However, the black color of your stool may be attributed totaking iron supplement.
Traces of blood: If you see traces of blood, it may be due to an ulcer in the small intestine or colon. It may also be a symptom of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. In all cases, the presence of blood in the stool is sufficient reason to consult your doctor.
Fréquence des selles
The frequency of voiding varies depending on your diet, your hydration and your emotional state. A physically and psychologically healthy person who exercises regularly and eats healthily should have a bowel movement at least once a day up to 3. As soon as you go several days (from 3 days) without going to the toilet, we will then talk about constipation. In this case, review your diet and drink enough! Normally, everything will get back to normal quickly. If a psycho-emotional cause is responsible (anxiety of fragmentation, need for control, etc...), a therapy will be able to solve this unfortunate discomfort!