Here Is What Your Stool Says About Your Health

A medical practitioner at the Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, Arikawe Adeolu has said that the colour, shape, size, consistency and frequency of faeces give a lot of information about the present health status of an individual.

Adeolu disclosed this while in an interview with NAN in Abuja on Wednesday, stressing that the pigment present in bile is the reason the stool maintains its brown colour when they come in contact.

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“In the situation where the stool turns off-white, you are looking at some form of blockage of the bile duct”, he said.

“The blockage prevents the bile from getting to the intestine to mix with the stool to give it that brownish colour.

“The colour and ease of passage of stool can give background information into some underlying health conditions in the body.

“The colour of stool is just one factor to consider when assessing one’s health; there is a need to consider the shape, size, consistency and the frequency of the stool.”

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Defining the different colour of poop, the doctor outlined that yellowish faeces indicate a health condition known as malabsorption, while a black coloured poop, could mean that the individual is consuming some type of supplement or that such individual has some form of internal bleeding known as upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

However, Adeolu clarified that the normal colour of the stool should be brown but if otherwise, one should seek medical assistance after two days of consistency.

“Once you notice a consistent change in your colour of stool over a two day period, it is important you go to the hospital so that you can be thoroughly assessed by a health professional to find out the cause,” he added.

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