Do You Look At Your Poop?

Once I came across the quote on the Internet by Oprah Winfrey: Everybody looks at their poop.

Interesting, but how does Oprah know that? Is it an innate human tendency to look at our eliminated waste? What kind of treasures do we expect to find in there? And, is it a good habit?

I came across this research article from London, UK. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12702911/).

In this research, these gastroenterologists decided to find out if most people look at their doo doo regularly.

What do you think?

It turns out that only minority does. About 27% of the folks looked at every poop and wipe and 6% never examined their turds or the used toilet paper. Interestingly, there was a clear association between the frequency of scatological inspections and whether they successfully reported bloody stools. Blood in the stools could be an early sign of colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of cancer related deaths in the US. Therefore, theoretically it is possible that not viewing one’s feces could lead to delayed diagnosis of colorectal cancer. However, this last part requires additional research.

As a gastroenterologist, I see multiple people, many times a day, who describe their shit in the most imaginative ways possible. What a great perk of my job- Imagining Poop Emoticons!

For example; a lady in my office recently came in for change in bowel habits. She said I am embarrassed to talk about my altered poop but I need to explain it to you. I am cringing inside and reluctantly, I said, sure go ahead.  Your private business is definitely my real business. I am all ears.

She started with her story: My poop 2 weeks ago was unformed, small cream puff like, then it changed to a long elongated form just like a pork chop with white meat at a side. Do you understand? Was that mucus?

I giggled and said I don’t eat red meat but I do understand what you mean.

In this post I am going to address various shades of the poop and their meanings!

• I will start with the normal: BROWN. Varying shades of brown color are the most common and is considered the norm in poop shade pictionary. It is brown because of dead blood cells and bile pigment called stercobilin. One of my mentors who taught me colonoscopy used to perform the procedure sitting on a stool. He would often proclaim: “A good gastroenterologist must have a brown stool”.

• Green poop: It is not usually a sign of disease. Hints of green in the poop are actually quite normal.  It mostly means that the person was just being a vegetarian vampire.

• White/clay colored or pale stools: Light colored stools are not normal. It may mean that the person is lacking bile pigment in the stool. Bile is a digestive juice, secreted from liver and gallbladder, which helps with digestion. It reaches the large bowel, and bacterial action changes it to give the brown color to the poop.  Thus, lighter stools may suggest blockade in pipes preventing the bile to reach the intestines.

• Red: This one is relatively straightforward. Mostly it means bleeding in the lower intestinal tract. But certain foods such as red gelatin, beets, cranberries can also cause the feces to turn red.

• Black: Black feces that look like tar could be a sign of bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. This is because acid from the upper tract discolors the blood causing it to appear black. It usually also has a distinct odor to it as well. Certain medications can also make stool appear dark or black such as Pepto-Bismol, iron supplements, and licorice.

Thus, be like Oprah and don’t forget to look at your turds; Since scat reviews at times can provide useful information about your health.  I hope everything comes out okay!

Do you look at your feces? Why and why not? It is a part of you after all! Please comment below.

Video Stream

Thank you very much for reading. Keep smiling!

Disclaimer: This blog/video is not intended to provide diagnosis, treatment, or medical advice. Content provided in this video is for educational purposes only. Please consult with a physician regarding any health-related diagnosis or treatment.