These differences can help diagnose gastrointestinal conditions like constipation or irritable bowel syndrome.
This article goes over some of the stool characteristics that could indicate a problem in your gastrointestinal system.
Hard Stools
Hard stools are those pebbly nuggets that are hard to pass.
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Sometimes the pebbles lump together into one larger mass that passes through in a singlebowel movement.
In such cases, there may be a sharp edge to the front of this lump.
Most often loose stools are associated with the frequent bowel movements ofdiarrhea.
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Typically, stools become looser and more watery with repeated trips to the bathroom.
Floating stools may be the result of too much fat in your stool, a condition known assteatorrhea.
Other symptoms of steatorrhea include:
Steatorrhea may indicate a problem with fat malabsorption.
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This means that fats are not being broken down and digested completely in the small intestine.
This may be the result of a lack of adequate amounts of pancreatic enzymes and/or bile acids.
Small amounts of mucus on the stool are considered normal.
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Larger amounts indicate the presence of an infection or a more chronic health problem.
The blood may appear bright or dark red and may or may not include clots.
Black or tar-colored stools can also be a sign of the presence of blood, but not always.
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Blood in stoolsdoes not always mean that there is something dangerously wrong with you.
It could just be the result of ableeding hemorrhoidoranal fissure.
However, some serious health conditions, such as cancer, can cause blood in the stools.
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See your healthcare provider for immediate medical investigation of any sign that blood is present in the stool.
However, you should still bring the symptom to your healthcare provider’s attention.
If you are experiencing persistent pencil-thin stools you should probably tell your healthcare provider immediately.
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The causes of pencil-thin stools include:
Summary
Stools can vary in consistency from hard to watery.
Changes in the consistency and color of your stool don’t always indicate a health problem.
Sometimes these changes can happen because of something you ate.
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NIH National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Diarrhea.
NIH MedlinePlus.Stools - floating.
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