Pasty, unformed feces. Normal stool and its changes. How to adjust a chair. Drug treatment - photo gallery

Mushy stool
Hello! We really need your advice, because we simply don’t know what to do anymore. Literally, a month and a half ago, a child (age 1 year 8 months) had a bowel movement, but there was no vomiting or fever. For a couple of days there was panos, then mushy stools, but frequent (from two to six times a day). The unformed chair remains to this day. Not always, but the stool may be foamy, there may be some mucus, and there may be a strong odor. Undigested pieces can be noticeable in poop, for example, if a child eats buckwheat porridge or boiled carrots. It is worth noting that the child had no changes in diet, nothing fatty, fried, or salty. Appetite remained unchanged and good. As treatment we were prescribed: -lactofiltrum; - maxilak baby; -bifidobacterin; -now you need to start hilak forte. Tests were taken for quiche. groups, coprogram, blood test, ultrasound was done. Everything is normal, as our doctor says. I am attaching photos of the analyses. A month and a half has already passed since the so-called failure, but things are still there... Please tell me what we should do? What could it be? Problems with your pancreas? How should we treat ourselves now? Maybe I should take some more tests or examinations?

Thank you very much for your answer!

Anonymous question 16-04-2017

Mushy stool in a child

Hello. A year ago, my daughter (at that time she was 3 years old) had unformed stool (1-3 times a day), with uneaten pieces of food, a small amount of mucus, foamy. They tested the stool for dysbacteriosis, coprogram. Nothing special. It was not found there. The doctor prescribed smecta, Kononov 10000, enterofuril. After 2 weeks, the stool returned to normal. And now, a year later, everything started again. For the 5th day now, the same picture with feces, only there is no mucus. The child does not complain about anything, is active, has a good appetite (we drink a lot during the day, sugar is normal; eats a lot of dried biscuits and dry cookies; fried, soda, smoked, do not eat chocolate). What's wrong with us?

Short-term loose stools in an adult are most often a symptom of an intestinal infection.

Chronic diarrhea lasts longer than three weeks, and the stool may be not only watery, but also unformed, mushy.

Feces, especially loose stools, can be a marker of serious problems of internal organs and systemic metabolic disorders.

The article will not give a clear answer to the question of what to do if you notice loose yellow stool in an adult, but it can suggest the main courses of action.

Acute and chronic diarrhea

Diarrhea or diarrhea is not a separate disease, so it is not necessary to treat it, but to understand the cause of the “leakage” and what to do in each individual case. Understanding the nature of diarrhea is the first step to finding its cause.

The consistency of stool is not the only characteristic of diarrhea. The frequency of bowel movements matters; diarrhea is said to occur if loose stools are more than three times a day.

The presence of feces in diarrheal masses is important. With cholera, a person loses up to 10 liters of fluid per day during defecation, but all of it is a secretion product of the intestinal mucosa and does not contain feces, so technically, stool with cholera is not diarrhea.

Acute diarrhea is characteristic of intestinal infections. Most of them in adults and children do not need to be treated, but rather waited out.

The optimal strategy for helping with diarrhea and any type of loose stool is to constantly replenish the fluids and salts that the body loses with water in the stool.

Acute diarrhea can occur due to the emotional state of the patient - loose stools as a reaction to certain events.

Gastroenterologists know about the relationship between a person’s neuropsychological state and digestion and intestinal condition, so problems that cause loose stools are often treated in tandem with psychotherapists.

Chronic diarrhea is loose or unformed stool for more than three weeks. The cause may be a low-grade intestinal infection or IBS due to a previous intestinal infection.

Stools with chronic diarrhea are often not watery, but mushy. It is a mistake to consider this mode of intestinal functioning as a cleansing of the body.

Even diarrhea that does not cause serious discomfort and is not accompanied by pain is dangerous. Dehydration and electrolyte deficiency, characteristic of acute diarrhea, also occur in chronic diarrhea, but are prolonged over time.

An incompletely formed stool means that the small intestine has not absorbed the required amount of water and electrolytes - building and repair materials for the body's cells.

With chronic loose stools, the skin, hair, and nails are the first to suffer. A person notices signs of premature aging and buys expensive multivitamin complexes and personal care products, but no significant improvements occur.

Whatever is consumed internally or applied externally, if valuable substances are not absorbed in the intestines, then their deficiency is irreparable.

If an adult has loose stools for a long time, this will certainly affect the condition of joints, bones, teeth, and the functioning of internal organs.

The process is slow and almost imperceptible, so it is difficult to immediately associate problems with the intestines and the quality of stool.

If you are not satisfied with the functioning of your intestines, then before attributing problems with your appearance and health to any other reasons, consult a gastroenterologist.

Color, smell, consistency and other characteristics of stool

Normally, that is, in a healthy person, stool has certain characteristics that suggest proper functioning of the intestines and other digestive organs.

This type of stool does not have a strong unpleasant odor. Of course, feces cannot smell like violets, but an overly strong and pungent stench of feces may be a reason to suspect something is wrong with the intestines and digestive organs.

The stool should be uniform. If there are streaks of mucus or blood in the stool, then this is a symptom and a clear reason to consult a doctor.

Pieces of undigested food and feces like water in an adult mean that the cause of digestive problems lies in the small intestine.

It is here that the main valuable substances in food and most of the water entering the intestines are absorbed.

Normally, chyme enters the large intestine when it is already completely digested - only one out of eight liters of water is absorbed here, so diarrhea due to inflammation of the large intestine is rarely too abundant and high in water, and pieces of food cannot be seen in the stool.

The fact that the food, which has turned into chyme in the stomach, has given up its valuable contents, will be indicated by feces in the form of a sausage. A more liquid stool is called unformed; in it, valuable elements pass through the body in transit and leave it with feces without being absorbed.

Stools acquire a brown color (the shade of stool can vary from light to dark) as a result of the processing of chyme by bile in the duodenum.

Stool that is too light, even white, is the result of a lack of contact with bile during digestion, which suggests obstruction of the bile ducts and other problems with the gallbladder.

Stool that is too dark in color may be due to staining of stool with activated carbon, iron supplements, and other products.

If there is no explanation for the black stool, and you feel unwell, then you should urgently consult a doctor.

Melena or black stool occurs when there is bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract.

This color of stool is explained by the reaction of blood hemoglobin, colored red, with hydrochloric acid.

Bleeding from a stomach or duodenal ulcer can be a life-threatening condition and therefore requires emergency intervention.

The last sign of healthy digestion is having regular bowel movements at the same time. However, the main difference between normal and pathological is not the set of stool characteristics.

Quite healthy people can defecate once every two to three days; the color and smell of feces may depend not so much on the disease as on the diet.

By and large, any characteristic of a chair is individual. The problem should be discussed when something in his condition bothers the patient, there are real symptoms, and the feces have changed their usual characteristics.

Functional digestive disorders and diarrhea

Diarrhea and loose stools in general are not mandatory, but a possible symptom of functional digestive disorders - functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome.

The word “functional” means the absence of organic disorders, but the functions (in this case of the stomach and intestines) are not performed properly, which is what loose stools indicate.

Functional dyspepsia is a condition that 20 years ago doctors generally called gastritis.

By the standards of modern gastroenterology, gastritis is a precancerous condition, which is characterized by changes in the gastric mucosa at the cellular level and can be completely asymptomatic, without affecting the characteristics of the stool.

The exact causes and treatment of functional dyspepsia and IBS are unknown.

For some reason, the mucous membrane of the intestines and stomach in some people becomes too sensitive, which leads to the appearance of a number of symptoms: rumbling in the intestines, the appearance of constipation or loose stools, the causes of which are not fully explained by tests and examinations, possible abdominal pain, nausea, in rare cases, vomiting.

Foamy stool in an adult is one of the symptoms of fermentative functional dyspepsia.

Feces can foam for various reasons, but in the vast majority of cases the cause is the abuse of carbohydrates, especially simple ones, which include refined foods, which the modern human diet is extremely rich in.

With prolonged consumption of sweets, flour products made from refined premium flour, kvass, and carbonated drinks, the number of bacteria that cause fermentation gradually increases in the intestines.

Foamy yellow stools (the light color of stool can vary up to white) can also serve as a marker of a deficiency of digestive enzymes in case of problems with the digestive organs, in particular the pancreas.

Symptoms of digestive disorders, including loose stools, do not allow for an accurate diagnosis; diagnosis based on tests and instrumental methods is necessary.

The need to see a doctor depends on the severity of symptoms and how you feel. If in some cases something can be done at home, then in others, for example, with blood in the stool, sometimes minutes count, and the whole future life depends on the timeliness of seeing a doctor.

Behavioral strategy for bowel disorders

Medical science believes that stress and psycho-emotional state are one of the important factors of intestinal dysfunction, as a result of which psychotherapy is recommended to patients.

High-quality psychotherapy is not a cheap pleasure, and turning to a therapist requires courage and honesty with oneself.

If any of the above is missing, then there are other ways to find inner balance - change your job or environment, start running / walking / doing yoga / meditating, and so on.

Any methods that will help get rid of stress and, as a result, improve the condition of the intestines and stool characteristics are good.

The second thing that can and should be done is to improve nutrition. Functional disorders cannot be “earned” by eating certain foods, so it is important not so much to exclude certain foods in order, for example, to eliminate yellow loose stools, but to change your approach to nutrition.

First of all, it is necessary to reduce the overall load on the digestive tract:

eat small portions;
eat frequently - one meal every three hours;
do not snack between meals;
at least temporarily exclude sweet fiber (grapes and raisins, plums and prunes, sweet varieties of apples);
eliminate or reduce the amount of simple carbohydrates, especially refined sugar. Those with a sweet tooth should replace it with healthier sweets or replenish the zinc deficiency in the body, which provokes cravings for sweets and, as a result, loose stools;
in the diet, focus on proteins, and consume the minimum required amount of fats and carbohydrates;
monitor your condition and exclude from the menu foods that cause certain symptoms, including loose, foamy stools. When the body’s functioning improves, you can try to return them little by little.

However, functional disorders are diagnoses of exclusion - when the doctor does not find infections and disorders in the functioning of organs and systems, functional dyspepsia and IBS remain.

Before you decide what to do and how to improve your stool, undergo at least a minimal examination.

A person is constantly in contact with unfriendly microorganisms that enter the body with water, food, even with inhaled air.

Usually, protective mechanisms are triggered (guardian bacteria in saliva, hydrochloric acid in the stomach, caustic bile acids, and so on), and the person does not notice microscopic attacks.

But if the body is weakened or there are too many “enemies”, for example, if hygiene standards are not followed, then the intestines become infected, and the consequences can seriously and permanently affect the ability of the digestive tract to perform its functions, a marker of which can be loose stools.

Feces, feces, or feces is a byproduct of digestion. Food mixtures with bile from the liver and digestive enzymes from the pancreas provide the possibility of enzymatic breakdown (digestion) of proteins, carbohydrates and fats of food in suspension. The suspension passes through the small intestine, where nutrients and much of the water are absorbed into the blood. Liquid waste is passed into the large intestine. In the large intestine, some more water is absorbed and feces are formed. Normal stool contains bacteria, undigested food, cellulose from undigested plant products, and bile.

More than 900 ml of fluid - saliva, gastric juice, gallbladder, pancreas and intestinal secretions - enter the gastrointestinal tract every day. About 500-1500 ml of this fluid reaches the large intestine, and only about 150 ml is excreted in the stool (feces). Water and electrolytes are absorbed in both the small and large intestines. The large intestine can only absorb about 300 ml; if the amount of water exceeds this volume, the stool becomes liquid and causes diarrhea. Figure 1 shows the volumes of fluid secreted and absorbed by individual organs of the gastrointestinal tract during the day. There is no single definition of normal stool. There is a whole spectrum of what can be considered normal, and the regularity of bowel movements varies from person to person. There are, however, several signs that the stool is no longer within your personal normal range and should be discussed with your doctor.

Many people believe that normal bowel movement is one bowel movement every day, but this is not true for everyone. There is no rule for the frequency of bowel movements, the general range is from 3 times a day to 3 times a week. Less than 3 bowel movements per week indicates constipation, and more than 3 bowel movements per day and watery stools reflect diarrhea.

Size and shape of stool

For self-orientation about the state of the gastrointestinal tract, English gastroenterologists proposed a scale table of stool (stool) forms - the Bristol scale of stool forms - is a self-diagnostic chart that helps patients characterize their bowel movements without embarrassment or embarrassment. The Bristol Stool Shape Scale is now used throughout the world as a tool for assessing the intestines and digestive system.

Based on the Bristol Stool Shape Scale, normal stool should be soft and easy to pass, although some people may have harder or softer stool than others. The stool should be brown or golden brown in color, formed, have a texture similar to peanut butter, and be similar in size and shape to a sausage. In many cases, if the stool changes slightly from what is described, there is no cause for concern, especially if it is an isolated incident. But if your stool suddenly changes and differs significantly from usual, this is a reason to visit a gastroenterologist.

Macroscopic analysis of stool can be a great help in diagnosing some diseases, but not enough to make definite conclusions about the presence or absence of some kind of digestive disease.

Some changes in the characteristics of feces are common to various diseases: colitis, tumors, benign polyps, hemorrhoids, poor nutrition, functional diseases. This means that the detection of an abnormal indicator in the feces should be considered taking into account the clinical condition of the patient and the final assessment should be made by a doctor who, if necessary, will refer to the appropriate specialists.

Indicators that should be taken into account during macroscopic analysis of stool.

Composition of stool

Feces consist of 75% water and 25% solids. The dry residue of the solid fraction varies greatly and consists of residues (fiber) of undigested cellulose. Fiber is very hygroscopic and it is they that retain water in the stool, which is why a diet low in protein produces soft, large stools, and a diet high in protein and lacking fiber (fiber) causes constipation. 30% of the dry weight of feces is due to bacteria of the intestinal microflora, 15% to inorganic substances (calcium and phosphates), 5% to fats and their derivatives. There are also small amounts of desquamated (desquamated) intestinal lining cells, mucus and digestive enzymes.

Thus, a significant part non-food stool masses and feces are formed even during fasting.

The weight of feces depends significantly on the nature of the diet, and, in particular, on the fiber content in it. With a normal diet, the normal value for the mass of feces excreted in adults is 150-300 g per 24 hours. Higher values may occur with a vegetarian diet.

Stool color

Normal stool color ranges from light brown to dark brown. This is due to the chemical conversion of bilirubin and its metabolite stercobilin into urobilinogen by intestinal bacteria and enzymes. Bile is formed in the liver and released in the intestines, where it is involved in the digestion and absorption of food fats.

Let's look at what color stool can be painted and why.

Green feces

Gives green color to feces biliverdin , a precursor of bilirubin, which comes with bile and during rapid transit through the intestine does not have time to complete its complete metabolism by intestinal microflora. For this reason, diarrhea and laxative use cause stool to be greenish in color.

We find green color in stool when there is a predominance in the diet of leafy vegetables rich in chlorophyll (green plant pigment) - spinach, arugula, parsley, green beans, etc.

Additives containing chlorophyll and antibiotics give stool its green color.

Orange feces

The color of stool is determined by food and some medications. If you have beta-carotene-rich foods in your diet that have yellow-orange hues (carrots, pumpkin, apricots, mangoes, sweet potatoes, etc.), your stool will turn orange. Supplements containing this antioxidant pigment and consumption of rifampicin-based medications have the same effect on stool color.

Gray-white feces

The predominance of rice and other light cereals, potatoes in the diet, and taking antacids (based on aluminum hydroxide) can give the stool a white tint. According to the generally accepted concept, the color of stool is determined by the presence of bilirubin and its metabolites. Fecal hypochromia may reflect a violation of the flow of bile into the intestines (bile duct stones or cancer of the head of the pancreas), diseases of the liver or biliary tract and pancreas, in which there is a decrease in bilirubin content (cirrhosis, hepatitis and liver cancer).

Pale, shiny, and greasy stool is typical for steatorrhea. Steatorrhea is excess fat in the stool caused by intestinal malabsorption. This type of stool is a symptom of celiac disease.

Yellow feces

Yellow stool is a sign of the presence of fat in the stool. Fat in the stool may be associated with a disease of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis) and a deficiency of the enzyme lipase, which breaks down fats. Fatty stool is yellowish with a strong unpleasant odor.

Red feces

Red stool is a warning to the patient that he is bleeding.

However, red foods (tomato juice and tomatoes, red fruits and beets) can give stool its characteristic color. However, red stool is an alarming symptom of some kind of intestinal bleeding. The following options are possible.

Streaks of bright red blood that surrounds the stool and does not mix with the stool indicate bleeding from the rectum in the anal area (such blood is visible on toilet paper). The causes may be: hemorrhoids or anal fissures, but a malignant tumor in the last section of the intestine cannot be ruled out.

If the color of the blood is dark red and the blood is mixed with the stool, then this is an indicator of bleeding at the level of the large intestine. This kind of bleeding is observed with polyps, cancer, diverticulitis, inflammatory and vascular diseases.

Gray and black feces

Dark gray stool may indicate the presence of metals such as iron (for example, with excessive consumption of chocolate and/or meat) or bismuth. Tarry black stool indicates the presence of partially digested blood (melena), which appears in the stool during bleeding from the upper digestive tract (esophagus, stomach, duodenum). Even minor bleeding from the small intestine and cecum of the large intestine can give the stool a blackish color.

If the stool is black, you must remember that activated carbon, licorice, blueberries and black olives, red beets, red and black grapes, red wine, etc. can turn the stool blackish and black. Unlike melena, such feces do not have a fetid, nauseating odor.

Constipation is usually associated with dark stool due to longer residence time in the colon, and diarrhea is associated with light-colored stool.

Stool smell

The smell of excrement is associated with the rotting of proteins and the metabolism of amino acids that are not absorbed in the small intestine by bacteria in the large intestine. As a result of the action of intestinal bacteria, indole, skatole, putrescine, cadaverine, etc. are formed, which give an unpleasant odor to feces.

Malabsorption occurs in celiac disease, pancreatic insufficiency, intestinal infections, inflammatory bowel diseases, liver and biliary tract diseases, etc. In some diseases, the digestion of especially sugars and starch is impaired, which reach the colon and are fermented by local flora with the formation of gases.

The smell of feces is definitely related to food and the health of our intestines. A balanced diet, eating small portions and taking care to avoid simultaneous intake of carbohydrates and proteins ("dissociated diet"), helps regulate digestion. It reduces bloating and flatulence and the stool retains its "distinctive" smell.

Mucus in stool e

Mucus in the stool is not always a pathological phenomenon. Mucus is secreted by the large intestine, and its function is to lubricate the stool, making it easier to slide through the anus. The color of the mucus is whitish or yellowish-white, and the consistency is similar to gelatin.

An increase in the presence of mucus in the stool is an indicator of pathological conditions such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and bacterial colitis. In these cases, the mucus is accompanied by diarrhea and often bleeding. Increased mucus may be found in irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, allergies or food intolerances, and changes in the intestinal bacterial flora as a result of poor eating habits.

Excess mucus is present with polyps (especially the hairy type) and with tumors of the colon. In the latter case, the mucus is bright and/or mixed with traces of blood.

"Floating" feces

This phenomenon occurs when there is a fair amount of gas and fat inside the stool, the fat makes the gas less dense and the stool sticks to the walls of the toilet. This feature of feces is characteristic of diarrhea and in general for all situations with malabsorption, fermentation and gas formation in the intestines.

Most adults are accustomed to the fact that human stool should be hard, densely formed, and brownish in color.

And when the stool becomes liquid, panic arises, what to do?

First you need to find out why loose stools appeared, and only then sound the alarm if necessary.

Loose stools or diarrhea

Loose stools are a normal state of the body, which is accompanied by the excretion of large amounts of liquid feces due to the physiological needs of the body. A person should have stool every day or twice a day, but not more often. Normally, stool has a dense consistency, but sometimes it is slightly runny, but not watery. If a person has bowel movements more often than 3-4 times a day, then we can already talk about diarrhea or diarrhea.

It is sometimes difficult to distinguish between these two concepts, but it is possible. To do this, it is necessary to take into account such criteria as:

stool frequency;
consistency;
color and smell;
side symptoms (stomach cramps, flatulence, pain during bowel movements, weakness, nausea);
the presence of inclusions in the stool (pus, blood, undigested food debris).

Depending on what indicators are missing or do not correspond to the norm, we can say that this is loose stool, but not diarrhea, or vice versa.

To distinguish loose stools from diarrhea, you can use the table below.

Criterion	Loose stool	Diarrhea (diarrhea)
Frequency of bowel movements	1-2 times a day	3-4 times a day or more often
Consistency	Pasty	Liquid
Color	Dark yellow to brown	Yellow, red (with blood), white, black, brown
Peculiarities	Uniformity	Heterogeneity, presence of foam
Presence of inclusions	Possible clear mucus	Clear or green mucus, undigested food
Smell	Characteristic	Harsh, fetid, sour

If all parameters show that this is loose stool, then the adult has no reason to worry. But if diarrhea is diagnosed, it is better to consult a doctor to avoid the undesirable consequences of this phenomenon. He will tell you what to do in this case and how to treat diarrhea.

What causes loose stools?

The reasons for the appearance of daily loose stools can be completely different. Namely:

Diarrhea differs from loose stools in that there is a lot of watery discharge, trips to the toilet occur more than five times a day, the stomach constantly hurts and weakness is felt, symptoms of intoxication are noted, namely:

nausea;
vomit;
pale skin;
darkening of urine;
temperature increase;
stool mixes with mucus, pus, or even blood.

Diarrhea is already a sign of a serious illness, or a pathological condition of the digestive tract. Diarrhea can be caused by:

Infectious diseases such as cholera, salmonellosis, shigelosis, typhoid fever. Each of these diseases will differ in the nature of the stool, its consistency, color, smell; tenesmus and characteristic symptoms of the disease may be present.
Viral hepatitis.
Gastrointestinal bleeding. They are extremely dangerous for the body and are characterized by characteristic diarrhea.
Operations on the digestive organs: pancreas, stomach, intestines, liver.
Crohn's disease.
Diverticulosis.
Nonspecific ulcerative colitis.
Bowel cancer.

If the cause of frequent loose stools is one of these diseases, then you should immediately consult a doctor to stop the disease at an early stage.

One of the main causes of constipation and diarrhea is use of various medications. To improve bowel function after taking medications, you need to do it every day. drink a simple remedy ...

Child chair

Young mothers always panic when they see something in their baby that they are not used to noticing in themselves. And in vain.

A child's chair has different characteristics than an adult's. The baby may have bowel movements up to 15 times after each meal, and this is normal.

Frequent loose stools in infants are due to the immaturity of the food system. When the baby begins to eat like adults, then his stool will be similar to theirs. It is important to say that the consistency and color of feces in babies is unstable. It may be yellow, light yellow, with white specks, but absolutely odorless. Moreover, it should not normally be smelly. If, despite frequent bowel movements, the baby remains cheerful and continues to eat well and gain weight, then there is no reason to worry. It's just loose stools, not diarrhea.

Diagnostics

If your stool becomes profuse, there are various kinds of impurities and the general condition of the body leaves much to be desired, then this is a reason to consult a doctor.

The specialist will prescribe tests and examinations that will help determine the cause of this phenomenon. A coprogram, test for eggworms, ultrasound of the abdominal organs, colonoscopy, endoscopy will help you find out what could be causing the liquid stool.

Further treatment will be aimed not only at eliminating the symptoms, but also at eliminating the cause of this failure.

Treatment

Having identified a disease that has caused the appearance of liquid or semi-liquid feces, the doctor will prescribe drug treatment with antibiotics, anthelmintic drugs, enzymes, hormones, or whatever the circumstances require. But the most important thing and the first thing the doctor will prescribe is diet. The diet for loose stools and diarrhea should be as follows:

Can	Product group	It is forbidden
Wheat bread crackers, day-old white bread, dry biscuits	Bread and flour products	Other bakery products
In low-fat, weak meat or fish broth with the addition of mucous decoctions of cereals, steamed quenelles and meatballs	Soups	Soups with cereals, vegetables, pasta, dairy, strong and fatty broths
Lean meats, skinless poultry, steamed or boiled cutlets, quenelles, meatballs. Minced meat with boiled rice. Boiled meat soufflé	Meat and poultry	Fatty meats, pieces of meat, sausages, smoked meats and other meat products
Low-fat types of fresh fish, pieced or chopped (quenelles, meatballs, cutlets), steamed or boiled in water	fish	Fatty species, salted fish, caviar, canned food
Freshly prepared calcined or unleavened mashed cottage cheese, steam soufflé	Dairy	Whole milk and other dairy products
Boiled and steam pureed	Vegetables
Puree porridge with water or low-fat broth - rice, oatmeal, buckwheat, cereal flour	Cereals	Millet, pearl barley, barley, pasta, legumes
Up to 1-2 per day, soft-boiled, steam omelet and in dishes	Eggs	Hard-boiled, raw, fried eggs
Jelly and jelly from blueberries, dogwoods, bird cherry, quince, pears. Mashed raw apples. Sugar – limited	Fruits, sweet dishes, sweets	Natural fruits and berries, honey, jam and other sweets
Tea, especially green tea. Decoctions of rose hips, dried blueberries, black currants, bird cherry, quince. If tolerated, diluted fresh juices, except grapes, plums and apricots	Beverages	Coffee and cocoa with milk, carbonated and cold drinks

In addition to diet, it is important to lead an active lifestyle and stick to a daily routine. If you follow all the doctor’s recommendations, loose stools will soon acquire a normal consistency and will no longer bother you.

Video: How to stop diarrhea?

Normal stool in an adult reflects the good functioning of the digestive system. This may sound like a joke, but in order to monitor your health, you also need to be able to understand what normal poop should be like and what changes in stool indicate. But how many of us are aware of what an adult’s stool should look like? First of all, we should be interested in:

Bowel movement frequency
Shape of stool
Stool color

How many times do you go to the toilet in general?

The norm for bowel movement is one full trip to the toilet per day, when a person feels not partial, but complete bowel movement. Sometimes there is more frequent bowel movements. Often bowel movements occur 2-3 times a day. This suggests that the person's metabolism is faster or that they have consumed food that has a natural laxative effect. More frequent bowel movements (more than 3 times a day) indicate that you are experiencing diarrhea, which we will discuss below.

There is an opinion that it is normal to have a bowel movement every couple of days, but this is a controversial issue. Emptying your bowels is the body's best way to get rid of toxins, acids and other unnecessary substances that may be building up inside, so ideally this process should happen daily.

What kind of feces are there? Stool shape (Bristol scale)

type 1 type 2 type 3 type 4 type 5 type 6 type 7

Properly formed normal feces ensure that the process of digesting food and absorbing nutrients, as well as eliminating toxins and other waste, occurs without any disruption. The Bristol Stool Shape Scale gives an idea of what a healthy person's stool should look like.

Type 1: Watery stools without particles

Type 2: Fuzzy "fluffy" stool with ragged edges

Type 3: Soft drops with clear, jagged edges (comes out easily)

Type 4: Smooth and soft sausage

Type 5: Like a sausage, but with cracks on the surface

Type 6: Sausage shape, but lumpy and lumpy

Type 7: Individual small lumps, small balls that come out with difficulty

The best option is Type 4. Ideal sausage-shaped poop comes out easily and smells more like overripe fruit than something terrible. The feces should come out easily and fall gently into the water.

If feces are poorly washed off the walls of the toilet, it contains undigested fats.
If the feces do not sink, there is either a lot of gases, or fiber, or undigested fats.
If it falls sharply and with a splash, there is a lack of dietary fiber.

Type 5 is better than Type 2 and 3. Diarrhea is difficult to control and its causes are sometimes not easy to eliminate. Diarrhea prevents the body from absorbing essential nutrients.

Pasty feces may indicate inflammatory processes in the intestines and malabsorption.
Foamy feces are fermentation processes in the intestines.
Lumpy stool may indicate insufficient water intake.

What color should stool be? Stool color

Keep in mind that some foods and food dyes may change the color of stool.

Normal stool is medium to dark brown in color.
If your stool is black, it may be the result of consuming currants or blueberries. Or blood gets into it in the upper gastrointestinal tract - in this case you need to see a doctor.
Beets make stool reddish.
A huge amount of greenery is green.
Carrots and a large amount of beta keratins make it orange.
The gray-white color of stool indicates a disorder such as bile not entering the intestines.
Green stool can occur as a result of taking antibiotics and iron supplements. If the green color of the stool is not associated with the intake of foods and medications, then the cause is poor digestion. If the digestion process occurs too quickly, bile does not have time to be processed along with food and turns the stool green.

Loose stools. What to do?

If you have soft, too frequent, loose stools for a long time, this indicates a malfunction of the gastrointestinal tract. To get rid of diarrhea, you need to understand the cause of its occurrence. Try to strengthen your stool with foods that strengthen it. These are unripe bananas, applesauce, rice, fatty meat, broth, baked goods, mashed potatoes.

An excellent home remedy for diarrhea is black peppercorns. Depending on your body weight, take 10-15 pieces and swallow with water.

When diarrhea continues for more than three days or there is blood in it, you need to consult a doctor and have a detailed stool test done.

Constipation

If your stool is too rare and hard on a regular basis, consulting a doctor is a must. In case of infrequent manifestations, you need to drink more water, eat more vegetables, and add foods to your diet that have a natural laxative effect. Plums, apricots, raw zucchini, beets, vegetable oils, and prunes help well. If you haven't had a bowel movement for a couple of days, it's better to do an enema.

How to adjust stool in an adult

1. Toilet pose!

Toilets are a relatively recent invention of mankind. Just sitting on the toilet like a chair is not the best option for doing your big things. In the picture you can see that in this position the rectum is pinched, which forces us to make efforts during defecation, which puts pressure on the rectal veins. This can lead to consequences in the form of hemorrhoids and other diseases.

From an anatomically correct point of view, a person should empty his bowels on cards. But we live in modern civilization and are not going to get rid of toilets, so you can get a little used to it to make the position more correct. You can put your feet on a small hill. The point is to raise your legs so that the position is close to the squatting position, when the legs in relation to the body are not at a right angle, but at a sharper angle.

2. Schedule

Introduce a daily morning ritual of sitting on the toilet for 15 minutes every morning. Try to completely relax during this time, you can read something. This way you will train your body to get rid of waste every day and you will be able to establish regular bowel movements.

3. Drink more fluids

The body needs water for all systems in general, in particular the large intestine needs it to form stool, which consists of 75% of it. People who get enough fluids are least likely to experience constipation and have normal bowel movements.

More movement!

Everyone knows that a sedentary lifestyle brings few health benefits, and a person needs more movement and physical activity, including in order to go to the toilet well and have normal bowel movements.

5. Of course, proper nutrition!

We try to eat natural food. You need to consume enough vegetables every day because they contain the necessary fiber that improves digestion and maintains normal bowel movements, vegetable oils, organic meat, eggs and dairy products.