Boticaria García

Illustration: Luis Parejo

Updated Sunday, March 24, 2024-02:14

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If one learns something with clinical practice and experience, it is that everything they were taught in college about the importance of defecation falls short. Talking about feces may seem eschatological and unpleasant to you, but in reality, going to the stomach is nothing more than

a physiological act as important as breathing

and from which we can learn a lot: feces are snitches and send us warnings about our state of health. . Observing them can even save our lives.

Intestinal rhythm: How much is normal?

How many times it is normal to go to the bathroom to defecate is one of the most repeated questions, but there is no data as such,

there is no standard frequency

. Each person has their own intestinal habits, there are those who go in the morning as soon as they get out of bed and those who receive the call at nap time, even those who sit on the toilet every other day, and none of them are a problem.

Of course,

as long as you do not exceed 3 bowel movements per day or do not go below 3 bowel movements per week.

What if my intestinal rhythm changes?

There are many factors that can alter the intestinal rhythm, different situations that will make us stop going to the bathroom like clockwork, and they will not always be a warning sign. If, for example, we are experiencing

a stressful situation

, our daily routine has changed and we now work in shifts, we are taking a trip, we have made important changes to our diet, we have been prescribed a new drug... If this change in our intestinal rhythm It is associated with some of these situations, it is temporary and as the days or weeks go by the frequency of bowel movements becomes orderly, we do not have to worry.

But if this change in intestinal rhythm occurs without apparent cause and persists over time, we should consult it. Changes in intestinal rhythm for no apparent reason, whether or not accompanied by abdominal pain, are

one of the warning signs that colon cancer sends us.

Changes in stool color

Red.

If we find a bright red color in our feces or on the paper, it is very possible that it is blood. There is a possibility that a food, a dye or even a drug has dyed the stool that color, but the truth is that this is unlikely. If you see a few drops of blood, you don't need to run to the emergency room, but it is something that is important to consult. It could simply be a small wound as a result of passing hard stools, you could also have an annoying hemorrhoid, but blood in the stool is also an

alarm signal that colon cancer sends us.

Yellow.

The yellowish color in the stool can have several causes: from a small intestinal infection to

liver problems

, through a simple staining due to having incorporated turmeric into the diet or a warning sign of celiac disease if it also has an unpleasant odor and greasy appearance.

In the case of breastfed babies, however, mustard yellow color in stool is not a problem.

Pale

. Pale-colored stools, without being white but almost, are usually alerting us to a major health problem. If this is your case, do not delay visiting a specialist. We could be talking about pancreatitis, serious liver disorders, alterations in the gallbladder...

Black.

Rice washed down with squid ink can be the cause behind the expulsion of those blackish-looking feces. But if your diet has not been able to alter the color and they also have a tarry appearance with a very unpleasant smell, consult a specialist without much delay. They are normally associated with intestinal bleeding in the upper digestive tract, not in the final section of the intestine.

What if the stool smells especially bad?

The diet we eat, along with the type and concentration of bacteria we have in our large intestine, will determine the smell of our feces. We assume that this smell will never be pleasant, but it may happen that you went to the bathroom and this time the smell was especially foul.

If this happens punctually it is not of major importance, but if days go by and that unbearable smell persists and your partner has already placed several air fresheners in the bathroom, you should consult with a specialist.

The causes are multiple and your case will have to be studied, since we may be facing a problem of

malabsorption

, Crohn's disease, celiac disease...

Changes in stool consistency

Normal stools, which indicate that we have good health and good nutrition and hydration, are brown in color with a soft and smooth texture, easy to expel, and their shape is elongated.

If instead they are small and hard, like balls that are difficult to expel, we must

improve both our diet and our hydration.

It is something that we can easily solve by incorporating fruits and vegetables, and drinking more water.