Stool production: what is normal and what influences it?

So, what is normal?

Normal stool (faeces) output is 150-200g a day – the large intestine receives about 600ml of chyme (partly digested food) from the small intestine in a day and reduces this to 150-200g of stool.

Did you know? Bowel frequency in a healthy person may vary from between three times a day to three times a week.

Your task

Stool transit time

What influences stool transit time?

Did you know? The longer the faeces remain in the colon the more water will be absorbed.

A slow bowel transit will result in dry, small, hard constipated type 1 stool (on the Bristol Stool Chart), which is often difficult to evacuate.

Constipation is a large bowel (colon) problem (again, we will be discussing this in more detail later this week).

A fast bowel transit will result in loose/watery stool, types 5/6 on Bristol Stool Chart. These stool types are often difficult to ‘hold on to’ and could result in ‘intestinal hurry’, diarrhoea or faecal incontinence.

Your reflection

Think about how you would answer the following questions, which are commonly asked by people experiencing bowel problems:

What is a normal stool?

Think about colour, smell, consistency, frequency, amount, effort/ease of evacuation, comfort after evacuation.

What affects transit time?

Think about emotions, exercise, sleep, diet/fluids – type/amount/eating pattern, personality.

What affects bowel function?

Think about holidays, shift work, stress, anxiety, illness, change in routine, poor or lack of toilet facilities, failure to respond to call to stool.

Don’t forget to capture your thinking in your learning log or portfolio.

Reference

_{Heaton KW, Radvan J, Cripps H, Mountford RA, Braddon FE, Hughes AO. Defecation frequency and timing, and stool form in the general population: a prospective study. Gut. 1992;33(6):818-824. [Cited 31 July 2018] Available from: https://gut.bmj.com/content/33/6/818}