Strong sour smell of feces. What should a normal stool look like and what do its changes indicate?

Testing for intestinal diseases by smelling stool is increasingly being used around the world. British doctors have developed a whole system for identifying intestinal disorders based on the putrid odor of feces.

And there is nothing strange about this - pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms cause food to rot and release certain harmful toxins that contribute to the formation of an unpleasant odor in stool. A similar testing system was created based on a sensor for recognizing odors characteristic of certain ailments.

The sour smell of feces is an alarming symptom. The reason may be hidden not only in digestive disorders. The pathology is influenced by chronic intestinal diseases, the development of life-threatening infections - dysbiosis, impaired transportation of food masses, damage to the pancreas. If the human body cannot adequately ensure the correct process of absorption of vital substances in the intestines, then a chronic illness develops. Poor absorption and very foul-smelling stool may be caused by:

Food allergies;
intestinal infections;
celiac disease;
food intolerance;
Crohn's disease;
inflammation.

With the above disorders, severe diarrhea (and it stinks), nausea, and insufficient absorption of beneficial components from food are observed. Foul stool is a sign of poor absorption and increased gas formation in the intestines. Similar bowel movements with vomiting occur during acute intestinal infections, when the normal bacterial flora of the digestive system is disrupted.

Why does stool have an unpleasant, pungent odor? The consistency and smell of stool is influenced by bacteria and microorganisms present in the intestines. With various violations, bacteria are activated and begin to multiply quickly. The growth of pathogenic microflora increases. As a result, microbes poison the intestines more with their toxins and provoke increased rotting of food. Diarrhea with a sour smell indicates a chronic disorder of the digestive processes and intestinal infection. Nasty and loose stools in an adult can occur due to pancreatic insufficiency.

Important! If the diarrhea has an odor, you should consult a doctor. Smelly diarrhea is often accompanied by abdominal pain, vomiting and nausea, flatulence, and fever. All of these conditions can be extremely dangerous.

Normally, a healthy person has bowel movements no more than twice a day. Feces have a soft consistency. Evacuation occurs effortlessly and without pain. The color of the stool is brown, and in infants it is light yellow. The smell of feces is normally unpleasant, but without fermentative or putrefactive tones.

What does feces smell like?

What determines the smell of feces? The answer is obvious - from the food taken the day before. Feces without an unpleasant odor are practically never found - certain foods provoke a corresponding “aroma” of feces. When eating meat, there is a sharp-smelling poop; after eating dairy products or beer, a sour odor may occur. The stench appears when there is illness and the flow of bile into the intestines.

A sour smell occurs if a person has consumed too much sugar, peas, legumes, or fruits. Foods rich in carbohydrates cause fermentation and dyspepsia.
The stench develops with impaired pancreatic function and pancreatitis. Also, the stench occurs when there is hypersecretion of the intestines, if diarrhea occurs.
A putrid smell is a sign of impaired digestion. Appears when proteins are poorly absorbed in the digestive system.
Oily accents in the smell indicate the influence of bacteria and the decomposition of fats.

Treatment

In the process of therapy and correction of digestive disorders, it is necessary to adhere to a certain diet. Overeating, drinking alcohol, fatty meats, fried and spicy foods are extremely harmful to the body. In case of obvious violations, you should consult a doctor. For therapy, medications are prescribed to restore digestion.

If an infection is detected, treatment requires the use of an antibiotic. In case of poisoning, drugs that relieve intoxication are used. If no infection is detected, it is enough to follow a diet and take a vitamin complex.

On a note! Diarrhea in adults is treated with medications that harden the stool. Infection is indicated by strongly foul-smelling stools and frequent bowel movements. In some dangerous situations, hospital treatment may be necessary.

Prevention

To avoid various disorders in bowel movements and digestion, it is important to properly handle foods when preparing food.

Meat must be subjected to strong heat treatment. Do not cook meat and vegetables on the same cutting board. Vegetables may be contaminated with salmonella or other pathogenic flora. Bacterial infection of the intestines must not be allowed.

For various pathologies, obesity, and chronic illnesses, it is important to adjust your own diet. The menu should not contain food that causes fermentation in the intestines or irritates the walls of the stomach. These measures will significantly reduce the risk of complications.

It is necessary to observe not only the diet, but also the drinking regimen. Drinking plenty of water should be done daily. You need to drink a lot, using clean table water, and avoid soda. It is allowed to drink teas, fruit drinks, compotes. It is better to avoid freshly squeezed fresh juices.

Daily exercise and walks in the fresh air contribute to health. Motor activity stabilizes the digestive system and improves organ peristalsis. The food entering the body is absorbed much faster.

All of the above measures contribute to the fact that the digestive organs will soon begin to work like clockwork. The diet prevents the development of constipation and diarrhea, strengthens the immune system and ensures normal feces and defecation.

Feces usually have an unpleasant odor, but this is an odor that is common and unremarkable. Fetid feces have an unusually strong, putrid odor. In many cases, foul-smelling stools are due to the foods you eat and the bacteria that have colonized your large intestine. But foul-smelling stool can also indicate serious health problems. Diarrhea and flatulence (gas) may accompany foul-smelling stool. Such feces are often soft or liquid, and there is no regular bowel movement.

Causes of smelly stool

Often the cause of foul-smelling stool is changes in your diet. Another common cause is a chronic disorder of digestion, absorption, and transport in the small intestine ( malabsorption). Enteropathy (chronic disease of the small intestine) occurs when the body is unable to absorb the required amount of nutrients from the food you eat. This usually happens when there is an intestinal infection or a disease of the intestinal mucosa that prevents the absorption of food nutrients.

Common Causes of Malabsorption

Celiac disease - a reaction to gluten with damage to the lining of the small intestine and disruption of the normal absorption of nutrients
Inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or colitis
Carbohydrate intolerance – inability to digest sugars and starches
Food allergies, such as to milk protein

A common symptom of malabsorption is foul-smelling diarrhea.

If you have inflammatory bowel disease, your reaction to certain foods may include foul-smelling diarrhea or constipation and flatulence. The gases may also have an unpleasant odor.
Intestinal infections can also be accompanied by an unpleasant smell of feces. Shortly after the infection develops, abdominal cramps may occur, followed by foul-smelling, loose stools.
Some medications may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea. If you are allergic to ingredients or dietary supplements, taking some multivitamins may also cause foul-smelling stool. Unpleasant stool odor may occur after a course of antibiotics and persist until normal intestinal bacterial flora is restored.
Foul-smelling diarrhea may be a side effect of overdosing on a multivitamin or on any one vitamin or mineral. Diarrhea associated with multivitamins or medication overdose is a sign of a medical emergency. High doses of vitamin A, D, E, or K can cause life-threatening side effects.
Other conditions that can lead to foul-smelling stool include chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, and short bowel syndrome (surgical removal of part of the small intestine that interferes with the absorption of nutrients).

Signs of smelly stool

Symptoms that may be associated with foul-smelling stool include:

Liquid feces (diarrhea)
Soft stool
Frequent bowel movements
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomit
Flatulence
Bloating

Foul-smelling stool may be a sign of a serious illness. Contact your doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:

Blood in the stool
Black chair
Pale stool
Fever
Abdominal pain
Unintentional weight loss
Chills.

How is foul-smelling feces diagnosed?

Your doctor will diagnose foul-smelling stool after you answer questions about your stool, such as:

consistency
When did you first notice the unpleasant odor?
how frequent are the urges?
what has changed in your diet (well analyze what you ate before your stool became smelly), foods you have recently started eating.

Forecast

Your health prognosis depends on what is causing your foul-smelling stool. Most conditions that cause foul-smelling stool are treatable. However, diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease will require dietary changes and drug therapy throughout life.

Prevention

Necessary dietary changes can help prevent foul-smelling stools. If your bowel disease is related to a reaction to certain foods, your doctor can create a diet plan that is right for you. A well-chosen diet can help reduce abdominal pain, bloating, and smelly stools.

Avoid foodborne bacterial infections through proper food preparation. There are no dietary restrictions, it is important to cook beef, poultry, pork and eggs in such a way as to exclude bacterial contamination. Don't drink raw (unpasteurized) milk. Do not cook meat and vegetables on the same cutting board. Preparing them on the same board can result in the vegetables being contaminated with salmonella or other bacteria. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat and using the toilet.

Normally, feces should have a light brown color, the shape of a dense sausage and a mild characteristic odor. If an adult's stool becomes foul-smelling, in some cases this is due to dietary habits. Correcting the diet should help solve the problem, but if this does not happen, you need to consult a doctor and rule out pathologies of the digestive and excretory systems.

Foul-smelling stool in an adult

What foods can cause a strong odor?

The pungent, putrid odor of feces can sometimes be associated with dietary patterns and rotting processes that some foods provoke. The “champions” among them are vegetables rich in phytoncides - all varieties of onions and garlic. If a person consumes them in increased quantities, the feces may acquire a fetid odor associated with the destruction of pathogenic flora, which may be present in small quantities in the intestinal mucous membranes. An increase in odor can be observed with frequent consumption of cabbage, legumes, and foods with a lot of fat.

Onions and garlic provoke rotting processes in the body

Almost always, a foul odor appears if a person’s diet often contains foods that:

contain a large number of chemical additives (stabilizers, flavor enhancers, flavorings, preservatives);
were stored under unsuitable temperature or sanitary conditions;
contain signs of packaging damage (swollen and dented cans, leaking bags, etc.).

Note! If, simultaneously with the strong smell of feces, the patient develops other symptoms, for example, vomiting, fever or cramping pain in the lower abdomen, the most likely cause is foodborne illness (poisoning).

Signs of food poisoning

The smell of feces has changed: possible reasons

If a person eats right, but the stool has become foul-smelling, the cause may be disturbances in the functioning of the body that arise from internal pathologies or exposure to external factors.

Microflora disturbance

A condition in which the balance of beneficial and opportunistic microorganisms in the intestines is disturbed is called dysbiosis. Opportunistic pathogens are bacteria that are normally present in the human body in small quantities, but are in a latent state and do not cause harm to the body. When unfavorable conditions are created, opportunistic colonies begin to grow rapidly, which leads to intestinal infections, gastroenteritis and infectious intestinal colitis. Beneficial bacteria support normal digestion, take part in the formation of systemic and local immunity and increase the body's resistance to pathogens.

The main symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis in an adult

In almost 70% of cases, intestinal dysbiosis develops against the background of antibacterial or antimicrobial therapy, because drugs in this group destroy not only pathogenic but also beneficial bacteria. Pathology can be recognized by the following symptoms:

changes in the odor and consistency of stool;
flatulence, a feeling of bloating and distension in the intestines;
rumbling in the stomach between meals;
bad breath;
frequent false urge to defecate.

In some cases, against the background of severe dysbacteriosis, a person may develop a skin rash, acne, and pimples. The smell of feces becomes fetid due to the prevailing pathogenic flora and their waste products.

Additional signs of dysbiosis

To treat dysbiosis, a diet containing a large amount of fermented milk products (they contain lactobacilli necessary for the immune system) and plant fiber (cereals, vegetables, fruits) is prescribed. Drug treatment consists of taking bifid drugs (“Bifidumbacterin”, “Narine”, “Normobakt”, “Lactofiltrum”).

Fermented milk bioproduct Narine

food allergy

Allergies to certain foods can also cause human feces to suddenly develop a strong odor. The most popular food allergens are:

honey and bee products;
cow's milk (allergy is caused mainly by milk proteins - lactoglobulins);
Fish and seafood;
citruses;
chocolate and products with added butter or cocoa beans.

Symptoms of food allergies

Food allergies can manifest themselves in different ways. The most typical skin manifestations are itching, rashes, dryness and flaking. Symptoms from the gastrointestinal tract are also possible: dyspepsia, pain in the abdominal area, diarrhea, flatulence. In clinically severe forms of food allergy, systemic signs of allergy are added: lacrimation, runny nose, sneezing, laryngospasm.

Changes in stool due to food allergies

Allergy treatment is a long process. The initial stage is a comprehensive diagnosis, which includes immunological tests and tests to identify the allergen. Symptomatic therapy is carried out using histamine blockers (Claritin, Suprastin, Tavegil, Loratadine). Full recovery requires cleansing the intestines of waste and toxins, as well as special therapy, which consists of introducing microdoses of the allergen under the skin. This method allows you to develop stable immunity, as a result of which the body ceases to recognize the allergen as a foreign agent.

Enzyme deficiency

Enzymopathy is a pathology in which the production of digestive enzymes necessary for the absorption and breakdown of certain products is partially or completely stopped. It can be congenital or occur as a result of various disorders in the functioning of internal organs. One of the forms of fermentopathy in adults is lactase deficiency - a lack of the enzyme responsible for the absorption of milk sugar. Symptoms of lactase deficiency in patients over 18 years of age may include abdominal pain, foamy or watery stools with a strong, foul odor, and weight loss associated with poor absorption of milk protein.

Enzymopathy in adults

All signs of pathology appear mainly after consuming fermented milk products or products based on whole cow's milk. It should be noted that true lactase deficiency is rarely diagnosed - such patients are forced to adhere to a special diet throughout their lives that excludes dairy products. Temporary lactase deficiency is treated with enzyme preparations (Lactazar, Lactase).

Foul-smelling stool with fever

If the fecal matter has become liquid, it has a sharp putrid odor, and your overall health has worsened; this may be a sign of an intestinal infection. They can be bacterial (salmonellosis, dysentery) or viral (rotavirus and enterovirus infection). The symptoms are the same in almost all cases: first, the patient experiences profuse vomiting containing particles of undigested food, after which the temperature rises (up to 39°-40°), foul-smelling diarrhea occurs, and symptoms of dehydration increase. General signs of intoxication, which include lack of appetite, nausea, drowsiness and weakness, persist with intestinal infections for 3-5 days, after which improvement occurs.

Treatment of any intestinal infections and poisoning is always comprehensive. The basis is detoxification and rehydration therapy. One of the dangers of dehydration is the rapid leaching of potassium and magnesium ions, which can lead to acute heart failure, therefore an important task in the treatment of ACI is the restoration of water and electrolyte balance. For this purpose, the patient is prescribed specialized salt mixtures, for example, “Hydrovit” or “Regidron”. Enterosorbents (Polyphepan, Activated Carbon, Neosmectin) are used to remove bacteria and their toxins.

Powder for preparing Regidron solution

Further treatment is carried out using the following drugs:

antidiarrheals (“Lopedium”, “Diara”, “Loperamide”);
centrally acting drugs to stop vomiting (“Cerucal”);
antimicrobial drugs with a broad spectrum of action (“Nifuroxazide”, “Enterofuril”);
probiotics and prebiotics to populate the intestines with beneficial bacteria and restore the normal balance of microflora (Linex, Bifiform);
antiviral drugs for viral infections (Ergoferon, Arbidol);
antispasmodics to eliminate paroxysmal intestinal spasms (“Drotaverine”, “Spazmol”).

The drug Enterofuril in the form of a suspension

For the entire period of treatment, the patient is prescribed a gentle diet, excluding dairy products, chips and crackers with flavors, fatty, spicy and fried foods.

Note! With properly selected therapy, normalization of stool should occur on the fifth day of treatment.

Signs of gastrointestinal infections

Strong smell of feces due to intestinal diseases

If a person feels well, but periodically notices that the excrement has a foul odor, it is necessary to examine the intestines to rule out diseases. First, you should take a stool test for helminths (including scraping for enterobiasis) and a coprogram. These studies will make it possible to determine the chemical composition of feces, detect signs of an inflammatory process and identify possible disorders in the digestive processes (for example, during inflammatory processes, an increased amount of detritus is detected in the feces).

After receiving the results of laboratory diagnostics, the doctor will make a preliminary diagnosis and prescribe additional examination, if there are indications for this. Secondary diagnostics may include hardware and instrumental methods, for example, colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy, ultrasound or irrigoscopy. In some cases, a consultation and examination by a proctologist may be required to make an accurate diagnosis.

What does the color of stool mean?

Intestinal inflammation (colitis and enteritis)

The human intestine consists of two sections: the large and small intestine. The small intestine is located immediately after the stomach, and its inflammation is called enteritis. Inflammation of the epithelial lining of the large intestine is called colitis and occurs in every fourth patient with diseases of the digestive system. Foul-smelling feces in an adult are characteristic mainly of chronic colitis, since acute forms of the pathology occur with severe symptoms, and their clinical picture is similar to the symptoms of intestinal infections.

Chronic inflammation of the small or large intestine can occur for several reasons, including food and drug allergies, dietary errors, alcohol abuse, and smoking. Tumors in the intestines can also provoke an inflammatory process, so preventive endoscopic diagnosis is indicated for all people, regardless of their health, at least once a year.

Signs of chronic colitis or enteritis are:

painful intestinal spasms accompanied by bloating and flatulence;
bloating and pressure in the central or lower abdomen;
nausea (rarely vomiting);
unpleasant, pungent odor from excrement;
bowel disorders.

Intestinal condition with colitis

Treatment of both pathologies involves a therapeutic diet (table No. 4 according to Pevzner), physiotherapy, and massage. Drug correction may consist of symptomatic drugs (carminatives based on simethicone, antispasmodics, antidiarrheal or laxative drugs), antibiotics. Patients are also necessarily prescribed medications that accelerate the healing of damaged mucous membranes (Methyluracil tablets).

Methyluracil tablets

Important! If the inflammation occurs as a result of circulatory disorders in the intestinal vessels, the patient is additionally prescribed medications to prevent thrombosis (antiplatelet agents and anticoagulants).

Intestinal candidiasis

Fungi of the genus Candida are opportunistic microorganisms, that is, they are normally present in the human microflora, but in small quantities, which does not allow the development of a fungal infection. If the body's protective functions are weakened, Candida begins to actively multiply and secrete toxins that cause acute intoxication and poison the intestines.

Symptoms of intestinal candidiasis

It is almost impossible to detect intestinal candidiasis without laboratory diagnostics, since there are usually no specific symptoms for this disease. The main manifestations of intestinal thrush are associated with changes in bowel movements and the appearance of stool. The patient may be bothered by frequent false urges to have a bowel movement, pain of varying intensity in the lower abdomen, and stool disorders. Feces with candidiasis become foul-smelling, it may contain white particles similar to cottage cheese, as well as a small amount of grayish mucus. Other symptoms of the disease include:

lack of appetite that occurs against the background of moderate nausea (in rare cases, single vomiting is possible as signs of intoxication of the body);
itching in the anal ring during bowel movements;
rumbling in the stomach;
intestinal cramps;
flatulence;
flatulence syndrome (“explosive” release of large amounts of odorous gases).

Development of intestinal candidiasis

Treatment of candidiasis is carried out with the help of antifungal drugs (in oral dosage form). Their list is given in the table below.

Antimycotics for the treatment of intestinal thrush in adults

Immunology and biochemistry

Foul-smelling stool

What causes bad stool odor?

Causes of smelly stool

Often the cause of foul-smelling stool is changes in your diet. Another common cause is chronic disturbances of digestion, absorption and transport in the small intestine (malabsorption). Enteropathy (chronic disease of the small intestine) occurs when the body is unable to absorb the required amount of nutrients from the food you eat. This usually happens when there is an intestinal infection or a disease of the intestinal mucosa that prevents the absorption of food nutrients.

Common Causes of Malabsorption

Celiac disease - a reaction to gluten with damage to the lining of the small intestine and disruption of the normal absorption of nutrients
Inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or colitis
Carbohydrate intolerance – inability to digest sugars and starches
Food allergies, such as to milk protein

A common symptom of malabsorption is foul-smelling diarrhea.

If you have inflammatory bowel disease, your reaction to certain foods may include foul-smelling diarrhea or constipation and flatulence. The gases may also have an unpleasant odor.
Intestinal infections can also be accompanied by an unpleasant smell of feces. Shortly after the infection develops, abdominal cramps may occur, followed by foul-smelling, loose stools.
Some medications may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea. If you are allergic to ingredients or dietary supplements, taking some multivitamins may also cause foul-smelling stool. Unpleasant stool odor may occur after a course of antibiotics and persist until normal intestinal bacterial flora is restored.
Foul-smelling diarrhea may be a side effect of overdosing on a multivitamin or on any one vitamin or mineral. Diarrhea associated with multivitamins or medication overdose is a sign of a medical emergency. High doses of vitamin A, D, E, or K can cause life-threatening side effects.
Other conditions that can lead to foul-smelling stool include chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, and short bowel syndrome (surgical removal of part of the small intestine that interferes with the absorption of nutrients).

Signs of smelly stool

Symptoms that may be associated with foul-smelling stool include:

Bad-smelling stools can be a sign of a serious illness. Contact your doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:

Blood in the stool
Black chair
Pale stool
Fever
Abdominal pain
Unintentional weight loss
Chills.

How is foul-smelling feces diagnosed?

Your doctor will diagnose foul-smelling stool after you answer questions about your stool, such as:

consistency
When did you first notice the unpleasant odor?
how frequent are the urges?
what has changed in your diet (well analyze what you ate before your stool became smelly), foods you have recently started eating.

Prevention

Stool odor - causes of sour, fetid, pungent, putrid and rotten stool odor

The smell of feces is also an important indicator of intestinal function, which reflects the content of aromatic substances such as indole, phenol and skatole, and also allows us to judge the functioning of the microflora of the lower gastrointestinal tract.

In healthy people, stool has an unpleasant, not pungent odor, which does not attract much attention and is considered normal stool. Each person has his own characteristic stool odor, changes in which can be noted without much difficulty.

Why does the smell of stool change?

The smell of stool can change in a variety of situations, such as changes in the daily diet, as well as in cases of disturbances in the motor and evacuation functions of the intestines. So, in people suffering from constipation or supporters of vegetarian cuisine, the smell of feces is insignificant and may not even be felt. In cases of predominance of protein foods in the diet and alcohol abuse, the smell intensifies, which cannot go unnoticed.

It is important to correctly understand changes in the odor of feces in various pathologies, which will allow timely diagnosis and proper treatment of the disease.

The most common cause of increased stool odor is disruption of the intestinal microflora, as well as a lack of digestive enzymes. In this case, putrefactive processes occur in the intestines, which is manifested by the characteristic smell of hydrogen sulfide.
When digestion of plant foods rich in fiber is difficult, a pathological condition such as fermentative dyspepsia may occur, in which the sour smell of stool attracts attention.
Insufficient pancreatic function is manifested by a lack of digestive enzymes, up to their complete absence. In this case, processes of putrefactive decay of undigested food are observed in the intestines, as evidenced by the characteristic putrid smell of feces.

The most threatening is the strong, foul odor of feces, which people associate with the rotten smell of carrion. If this smell is detected, you should immediately consult a doctor for a full diagnosis, since this smell of feces most often occurs during the breakdown of malignant neoplasms in the intestines.

Stool smell

The smell of feces is determined by the presence of aromatic substances in it (phenol, indole, skatole, etc.), which are formed as a result of bacterial breakdown of proteins. Normally, the smell should be unpleasant, but not pungent.

The smell of stool usually depends on the nature of the food. If the food is dominated by meat products, the smell of feces becomes stronger and more pungent. When plant or dairy foods predominate, the smell becomes weaker. With diarrhea, the smell of feces is sharper, and with constipation, the feces have almost no odor, due to the absorption of protein breakdown products in the intestines.

A sour smell is observed with fermentative dyspepsia (a digestive disorder associated with excessive consumption of carbohydrates (flour products, sugar, fruits, cabbage, peas, etc.) and fermented drinks, such as kvass).

Feces may have a sharp putrid odor due to indigestion in the stomach, putrefactive dyspepsia (a digestive disorder associated with excessive consumption of protein products that are slowly digested in the intestines), colitis with constipation.

A fetid odor occurs when the secretion of the pancreas is impaired, in the absence of bile flow into the digestive tract.

A weak odor occurs with constipation, insufficient digestion, and accelerated evacuation from the small intestine.

Foul odor of feces

Foul-smelling stool is stool that smells very bad. As a rule, this is due to the food that the patient consumes, but it can also be a sign of the disease.

All stools almost always have an unpleasant fecal odor, but foul-smelling stools are those that have a particularly offensive and unbearable odor that is different from normal. This symptom may be associated with certain diseases. Foul stool can also have common causes, such as diet changes.

Causes of smelly stool

Cystic fibrosis (cystic fibrosis);

Short small bowel syndrome.

Diagnosis and treatment

Black or pale stools;

Diet-related changes in stool;

High body temperature;

The attending physician will need to perform a diagnostic examination and may ask the patient the following questions about his medical history:

When the patient first noticed that his stool became foul-smelling;

Is the color of the stool normal or not (pale or clay-colored);

Is it difficult to flush this stool;

What diets has the patient recently used?

Changes in the patient’s diet have worsened or improved the odor of the stool;

What other symptoms does the patient have?

The doctor may take a stool sample. Other tests may also be needed.

What does the appearance of foul-smelling stool in adults indicate?

Feces always smell unpleasant, but this is their usual smell, which does not attract attention. The foul odor of adult feces is a fairly strong, putrid odor. The appearance of such a nuisance is associated with a person’s diet or illness. It is also an indicator of the functioning and microflora of the patient’s digestive organs. You can determine the presence of substances in feces: indole, phenol, skatole.

A strong, unpleasant smell of stool can indicate a number of diseases.

Reasons for appearance

There are several reasons that affect the change in the smell of stool.

Nutrition

The putrid odor of feces is often associated with human eating habits. There are foods that provoke rotting processes in the stomach and intestines. The list of such products includes: vegetables containing phytoncides (onions and garlic), as well as cabbage, legumes, fatty foods, yeast baked goods. Also, a bad smell appears when consuming products containing: flavorings, preservatives, stabilizers, flavor enhancers, as well as food that has been stored incorrectly.

If vomiting, fever, and weakness in the body appear along with this symptom, then most likely it is food poisoning.

Disturbed intestinal microflora

The causes of foul-smelling stool may be independent of a person’s diet. This may be a disruption of body functions due to disease or the environment. When the balance of pathogenic and beneficial flora occurs inside the intestines, dysbacteriosis begins. Pathogenic bacteria are always present in the body in moderate quantities, but when the body’s condition is unfavorable, they begin to increase in number, which contributes to the development of intestinal diseases, gastroenteritis, colitis, etc. Very often, dysbiosis develops after taking antibiotics, because these medications kill like bad , and good bacteria.

Often a foul odor is observed with dysbacteriosis

The presence of dysbacteriosis is indicated by: stools of irregular consistency and bad odor, the presence of gases and bloating, as well as an unpleasant odor when breathing. Sometimes skin rashes appear. The smell of feces becomes unbearable due to the large number of pathogenic microorganisms.

Allergy to food

This can also cause such a nuisance as foul-smelling feces. The most common allergens: honey, cow's milk, fish and seafood, citrus fruits, chocolate.

Symptoms: skin rashes and itching, dryness, flaking, intestinal dyspepsia, diarrhea, flatulence. During a severe form of food allergy, watery eyes, sneezing, and runny nose may be present. Treating allergies is a slow process. First, the disease is diagnosed. They do immunological tests to determine the allergen. Symptomatic medications are prescribed and the intestines are cleansed of toxins.

Unpleasant stool odor may occur due to an allergic reaction to a number of foods

Insufficient enzymes

Enzymopathy occurs when the body does not produce the enzymes necessary for digesting food or produces very few of them. The pathology may already be present from birth or acquired due to diseases. A subspecies of fermentopathy is lactose deficiency, in which milk sugars are not absorbed. Symptoms of insufficient production of the enzyme for digesting lactose in adults: foamy, foul-smelling stools, weight loss.

Lactose deficiency makes itself felt after eating dairy and sour-milk products.

Diagnosis methods based on symptoms

The attending doctor examines and interviews the patient about his illness. It is especially important to find out the following:

How long ago did the patient notice the presence of an unpleasant odor in feces?
What color is the stool?
Is feces easily washed away?

At your appointment, you need to tell your doctor about all your symptoms and dietary habits.

Has the patient been on any diets recently?
What changes have occurred in feces after changes in diet.
What other symptoms does the patient observe?

The doctor may take stool that smells rotten for chemical analysis to determine the presence of bacteria and infections in it.

What does this or that stool smell indicate?

A sour odor occurs with excessive consumption of sugars, peas and other legumes, as well as fruits. Carbohydrates cause fermentation in the intestines and dyspepsia. In addition, a putrid odor indicates indigestion and poor digestibility of proteins.

An unpleasant smell of feces with an oily accent indicates bacteria and the decomposition of fats. In some cases, stool smells like acetone during the development of diabetes mellitus, excessive consumption of protein, fats, alcohol, and also during severe physical exertion.

This video will tell you in detail about the features of treating dysbiosis:

Treatment methods

During treatment it is necessary to follow a proper diet. It is very harmful to overeat, drink alcohol, fatty meats, spicy and fried foods. You should also consult your doctor. As a treatment, remedies are used to restore digestion.

If the tests reveal the presence of infection in the stool, then antibiotics are prescribed. In case of poisoning, drugs are prescribed that remove intoxication. If there is no infection, then correction of nutrition and the use of vitamins are sufficient for therapy. General principles of treatment are presented in the table.

Fetid and putrid odor of feces in an adult. Reasons for changes in stool odor in an infant

An important indicator that helps diagnose intestinal diseases is the smell of stool. It can be affected by pathogenic microorganisms that cause food rotting. Normally, the smell should be unpleasant, but not pungent. If it is sour or rotten, strongly reeks of ammonia, bleach, and bitterness, this indicates disturbances in the digestive tract.

Reasons for changes

The smell of feces depends on the food consumed. If a person eats a lot of meat, the excrement smells more pungent. The aroma weakens when the daily diet includes a lot of plant foods, fermented milk products, and milk. Eating fish, garlic, onions, and kvass can affect the smell. With diarrhea, the stool smells more pronounced, but with constipation, the aroma is practically absent.

Why does the smell change? This is influenced by microorganisms that live in the intestines. If there is any failure, they begin to develop rapidly, which leads to the growth of pathogenic microflora. As a result, bacteria poison the intestines with their toxins, which increases the process of food rotting.

This may be caused by the following factors:

food allergies;
dyspepsia;
colitis;
liver disease;
enteropathy;
rotavirus or “stomach flu”;
dysbacteriosis;
inflammation.

In a healthy person, the stool has an odor, but it does not smell rotten. Defecation should be painless. It is unacceptable for the stool to be liquid and contain blood, mucus, and pus. The color of stool should not change much: it is normally brown in both men and women.

What changes does the specific aroma of stool indicate?

The fetid and pungent odor of feces in an adult is observed when the pancreas does not function properly, in which bile does not enter the gastrointestinal tract.

A putrid and pungent odor of feces can occur in stomach diseases associated with the consumption of large quantities of foods containing protein.

If it tastes somewhat sour, this may indicate digestive problems. This sometimes happens after consuming carbohydrate foods, as well as drinks made using the fermentation process.

When stool smells weak, this indicates insufficient digestion of food and the possible development of constipation.

Oily feces with a smelly aroma indicate the decomposition of fats, but if the feces smell like rotten eggs (sulfur), this indicates poisoning with hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide.

Stool that smells of vinegar, ammonia, rubber, ammonia, or has a chemical aroma is an indicator of the growth of bacterial colonies in the body. The ammonia smell occurs when nitrogen is not broken down and absorbed properly. Sweetish - may appear when infected with cholera.

When stool smells like acetone, we are talking about the possible development of diabetes mellitus, improper nutrition (fasting, eating large amounts of protein foods, fats, lack of carbohydrates), heavy physical activity, and alcohol abuse.

If children's feces smell of something sour, then the reason may be related to the development of the disease. We are talking about the following pathologies:

fermentation dispersion;
colitis;
dysbacteriosis;
problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

The sour smell of feces in a baby does not always indicate a serious problem. Sometimes this is triggered by a banal stomach upset in the baby. This can occur both in a breastfed (breastfed) child and when fed with artificial formula. Mixed feeding can also affect this, after introducing complementary foods to an infant up to a year old.

A sour smell of feces in a child under 2 years of age indicates a possible food allergy. If vomiting and fever are observed, these are symptoms of rotavirus infection.

What should you do if your child’s stool has no odor at all? There is no need to panic about this. For example, for a newborn this is a completely normal phenomenon that is observed in the first 2-3 days of his life. Original feces (meconium) are dark green or tar-colored and have no odor at all. The baby's stool also does not have a characteristic odor after prolonged use of antibiotics.

Changes in stool in adults

The appearance of an unusual aroma - putrid, sour, bitter or reeking of something metallic - is an indicator of a serious illness in the body or a violation of the usual digestion process.

The most common cause of a strong and strange odor is changes in the intestinal microflora. A sour smell can appear when eating a large amount of plant foods. Feces begin to stink of rot with a lack or complete absence of digestive enzymes in the intestines. Excrement that smells like glue can be seen in dysentery. The appearance of an abnormal odor may be accompanied by bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea, and flatulence. If you have these symptoms, it is important to make an appointment with your doctor to find out the cause.

Diagnostics and tests

To prescribe treatment, it is necessary to conduct a chemical analysis of the excrement. The identification of undigested food particles in the stool is of great importance in making a diagnosis. These include residual fat or muscle fibers from meat products.

When a change in the properties of stool is accompanied by other symptoms, the doctor prescribes an ultrasound examination of the intestines, FGDS, MSCT of the abdominal cavity, and sometimes a biopsy of the small intestine.

Prevention and nutrition

If the cause of the strange smell of stool is poor digestion, the patient will have to follow a special diet. It is necessary to remove smoked foods, fatty meats, spices and hot sauces from the diet. Another important condition is complete abstinence from alcohol.

Taking antibiotics will help get rid of the infection. When eating food, medications are prescribed that can relieve intoxication. If the infection has not been detected, then the patient will only need to eat properly and take vitamins.

To prevent problems with digestion and bowel movements, it is important to properly process foods. The meat should be exposed to heat, the vegetables should be washed well. It is necessary to drink enough clean water per day. It is best to exclude soda and freshly squeezed juices from your diet. The functioning of the digestive system is improved by physical activity, so do not forget about daily exercises, which can be done at home.

What does the smell of feces in a child indicate?

By noticing changes in different parameters of the child’s stool, parents can respond to the disease in a timely manner and help the baby cope with the illness faster. One of the characteristics of stool that can help you notice that something is wrong with your baby is the smell of the stool. What is it like normally and how can it change in case of illness?

Why is it so important?

The smell of feces is given by the breakdown products of the food that the child has consumed; its appearance is associated with the presence of indole, hydrogen sulfide, phenol, methane and skatole. Knowing what a baby’s feces should smell like normally, it will be easier for parents to determine whether something unpleasant has happened to the digestive processes in the little tummy.

What should it be normally?

The first stool that babies pass immediately after birth (meconium) has no odor. The only way to know that your baby has pooped is to look in the diaper. But already from the third day of life, the baby’s feces begin to change, acquiring color and smell depending on the type of feeding.

In children who are fed breast milk, it is normally sour. In bottle-fed babies it is more pronounced. At the same time, the presence of a putrid odor in the feces of artificial babies is considered the norm. In older children it is not sharp.

Read more about normal baby stool in another article.

Disturbing odors

Sour

The acquisition of a sour odor in the child's stool is characteristic of fermentative dyspepsia. It manifests itself as diarrhea, rumbling in the stomach, and bloating. It is also expressed in liquefied greenish stool, similar to foam, which can tell parents and the doctor that the baby has problems absorbing milk sugar.

Fetid pungent, strong

Feces can acquire such an odor if there are problems with the pancreas (if its function is impaired due to pancreatitis) and with hypersecretion of the large intestine.

It is unpleasant in a baby who has been fed complementary foods containing gluten; it may be a symptom of celiac disease. Also, foul-smelling stools may be a manifestation of problems with the flow of bile into the intestines caused by cholecystitis.

Putrid, unpleasant

Its presence may indicate:

Colitis.
Putrefactive dyspepsia.
Disorders of intestinal motor function.
Impaired digestion of food in the stomach.
Dysbacteriosis.

Sour-smelling feces: causes, treatment, prevention

Causes

The sour smell of feces is an alarming symptom. The reason may be hidden not only in digestive disorders. The pathology is influenced by chronic intestinal diseases, the development of life-threatening infections - dysbiosis, impaired transportation of food masses, and damage to the pancreas. If the human body cannot adequately ensure the correct process of absorption of vital substances in the intestines, then a chronic illness develops. Poor absorption and very foul-smelling stool may be caused by:

Food allergies;
intestinal infections;
celiac disease;
food intolerance;
Crohn's disease;
inflammation.

Important! If the diarrhea has an odor, you should consult a doctor. Smelly diarrhea is often accompanied by abdominal pain, vomiting and nausea, flatulence, and fever. All of these conditions can be extremely dangerous.

What does feces smell like?

A sour smell occurs if a person has consumed too much sugar, peas, legumes, or fruits. Foods rich in carbohydrates cause fermentation and dyspepsia.
The stench develops with impaired pancreatic function and pancreatitis. Also, the stench occurs when there is hypersecretion of the intestines, if diarrhea occurs.
A putrid smell is a sign of impaired digestion. Appears when proteins are poorly absorbed in the digestive system.
Oily accents in the smell indicate the influence of bacteria and the decomposition of fats.

Treatment

On a note! Diarrhea in adults is treated with medications that harden the stool. Infection is indicated by strongly foul-smelling stools and frequent bowel movements. In some dangerous situations, hospital treatment may be necessary.

Prevention

To avoid various disorders in bowel movements and digestion, it is important to properly handle foods when preparing food.

Daily exercise and walks in the fresh air contribute to health. Motor activity stabilizes the digestive system and improves organ peristalsis. The food entering the body is absorbed much faster.

Jumper flip flops

Sometimes the smell of feces can resemble the smell of rotten eggs - but this phenomenon is considered to be the norm. Intestinal infections can also be accompanied by an unpleasant smell of feces. Fetid feces have an unusually strong, putrid odor. In many cases, foul-smelling stools are due to the foods you eat and the bacteria that have colonized your large intestine. For people in the postoperative period, diarrhea with a sour smell is very familiar.

So, with discharge similar to rice grains with a clear smell of rotten fish, cholera can be detected. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat and using the toilet. Porridge, low-fat broth are recommended for consumption; boiled meat is ideal; chicken is ideal; pork and veal are best avoided.

The smell of feces in infants as one of the indicators of a child’s health

If you have diarrhea with the smell of rotten eggs and there are small blood clots in it, then the cause may be dysentery. Do not cook meat and vegetables on the same cutting board. Preparing them on the same board can result in the vegetables being contaminated with salmonella or other bacteria. Unpleasant stool odor may occur after a course of antibiotics and persist until normal intestinal bacterial flora is restored.

If you are allergic to ingredients or dietary supplements, taking some multivitamins may also cause foul-smelling stool.

Quite often, diarrhea with a fishy odor indicates salmonellosis.

Often, the diarrhea itself, and with it the putrid smell, go away when food rich in protein and fiber is excluded from the diet.

They can be caused by eating foods rich in fiber.

In each of these cases, diarrhea with a strong odor has specific symptoms, frequency, color and many other associated factors.

In some cases, a child’s diarrhea with odor may occur after eating low-quality foods or unripe fruits.

The small stool now had a little mucus. Stool colors. Sorry for the details and the rotten egg smell. Today I gave her some baby kefir. Your health prognosis depends on what is causing your foul-smelling stool. Most conditions that cause foul-smelling stool are treatable. Bad-smelling stools can be a sign of a serious illness. Often the cause of foul-smelling stool is changes in your diet.

But foul-smelling stool can also indicate serious health problems.

If you have inflammatory bowel disease, your reaction to certain foods may include foul-smelling diarrhea or constipation and flatulence.

Another common cause is chronic disturbances of digestion, absorption and transport in the small intestine (malabsorption).

In most cases, diarrhea with odor is a clear indication of an exacerbation of chronic diseases or intestinal infections.

But the sour smell can cause nausea and even vomiting. Some medications may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea. Frequent bowel movements can occur up to 15 times a day. It is preceded by severe pain in the abdominal area.

What should it be normally?

A friend recommended this primadophilus. I bought it, and already on the third day we had well-formed stools, without any mucus, etc., and began to poop consistently once a day. The chair is restored quite quickly. Contacting a specialist and passing all tests is mandatory. But if such a phenomenon is accompanied by loose stools, foam or other abnormalities, then this is a reason to be wary.

But along with this, the color of the stool may turn green, and the baby himself will change in behavior.

To, so to speak, make things easier for yourself.

In this case, the mother should change breasts as little as possible. After all, as many mothers do, they first give their child one breast, and when he sucks out all the foremilk, they immediately offer him the second.

If the area around the anus becomes red, the baby is restless and constantly cries, then he does not have enough hind milk.

In fact, any caring mother will be able to distinguish pathology from a normal phenomenon.

But that's just how it seems.

The doctors couldn’t stop our diarrhea with mucus for a whole month, we also pooped a lot, little by little, our whole butt got spoiled, the doctors prescribed three different courses of treatment, nothing helped. It is advisable to carry out the correct treatment prescribed by a specialist to effectively combat this symptom. Treatment of these diseases should be carried out under strict medical supervision. Otherwise, very unfavorable consequences may occur.

In this case, inflammation in the colon has been going on for a long time and has worsened under the influence of external factors.

The child needs to normalize the drinking regime, and only the pediatrician can tell you what to do next.

Why does the smell of stool change?

It is important to correctly understand changes in the odor of feces in various pathologies, which will allow timely diagnosis and proper treatment of the disease.

The most common cause of increased stool odor is disruption of the intestinal microflora, as well as a lack of digestive enzymes. In this case, putrefactive processes occur in the intestines, which is manifested by the characteristic smell of hydrogen sulfide.
When digestion of plant foods rich in fiber is difficult, a pathological condition such as fermentative dyspepsia may occur, in which the sour smell of stool attracts attention.
Insufficient pancreatic function is manifested by a lack of digestive enzymes, up to their complete absence. In this case, processes of putrefactive decay of undigested food are observed in the intestines, as evidenced by the characteristic putrid smell of feces.

smelly feces

Foul-smelling stool is stool that smells very bad. As a rule, this is due to the food that the patient consumes, but it can also be a sign of the disease.

Causes of smelly stool

Cystic fibrosis (cystic fibrosis);

Short small bowel syndrome.

Diagnosis and treatment

Black or pale stools;

Diet-related changes in stool;

High body temperature;

The attending physician will need to perform a diagnostic examination and may ask the patient the following questions about his medical history:

When the patient first noticed that his stool became foul-smelling;

Is the color of the stool normal or not (pale or clay-colored);

Is it difficult to flush this stool;

What diets has the patient recently used?

Changes in the patient’s diet have worsened or improved the odor of the stool;

What other symptoms does the patient have?

The doctor may take a stool sample. Other tests may also be needed.

Feces (feces) is a formed mass consisting of human waste, undigested particles, enzymes, bile components and various bacteria that live on the epithelial lining of the intestine and take part in the formation of immunity. Normally, feces should have a light brown color, the shape of a dense sausage and a mild characteristic odor. If an adult's stool becomes foul-smelling, in some cases this is due to dietary habits. Correcting the diet should help solve the problem, but if this does not happen, you need to consult a doctor and rule out pathologies of the digestive and excretory systems.

Foul-smelling stool in an adult

What foods can cause a strong odor?

Onions and garlic provoke rotting processes in the body

Almost always, a foul odor appears if a person’s diet often contains foods that:

contain a large number of chemical additives (stabilizers, flavor enhancers, flavorings, preservatives);
were stored under unsuitable temperature or sanitary conditions;
contain signs of packaging damage (swollen and dented cans, leaking bags, etc.).

Signs of food poisoning

The smell of feces has changed: possible reasons

If a person eats right, but the stool has become foul-smelling, the cause may be disturbances in the functioning of the body that arise from internal pathologies or exposure to external factors.

Microflora disturbance

The main symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis in an adult

changes in the odor and consistency of stool;
flatulence, a feeling of bloating and distension in the intestines;
rumbling in the stomach between meals;
bad breath;
frequent false urge to defecate.

Additional signs of dysbiosis

Fermented milk bioproduct Narine

food allergy

Allergies to certain foods can also cause human feces to suddenly develop a strong odor. The most popular food allergens are:

honey and bee products;
cow's milk (allergy is caused mainly by milk proteins - lactoglobulins);
Fish and seafood;
citruses;
chocolate and products with added butter or cocoa beans.

Symptoms of food allergies

Changes in stool due to food allergies

Enzyme deficiency

Enzymopathy in adults

Foul-smelling stool with fever

Powder for preparing Regidron solution

Further treatment is carried out using the following drugs:

antidiarrheals (“Lopedium”, “Diara”, “Loperamide”);
centrally acting drugs to stop vomiting (“Cerucal”);
antimicrobial drugs with a broad spectrum of action (“Nifuroxazide”, “Enterofuril”);
probiotics and prebiotics to populate the intestines with beneficial bacteria and restore the normal balance of microflora (Linex, Bifiform);
antiviral drugs for viral infections (Ergoferon, Arbidol);
antispasmodics to eliminate paroxysmal intestinal spasms (“Drotaverine”, “Spazmol”).

The drug Enterofuril in the form of a suspension

For the entire period of treatment, the patient is prescribed a gentle diet, excluding dairy products, chips and crackers with flavors, fatty, spicy and fried foods.

Note! With properly selected therapy, normalization of stool should occur on the fifth day of treatment.

Signs of gastrointestinal infections

Strong smell of feces due to intestinal diseases

What does the color of stool mean?

Intestinal inflammation (colitis and enteritis)

Signs of chronic colitis or enteritis are:

painful intestinal spasms accompanied by bloating and flatulence;
bloating and pressure in the central or lower abdomen;
nausea (rarely vomiting);
unpleasant, pungent odor from excrement;
bowel disorders.

Intestinal condition with colitis

Methyluracil tablets

Intestinal candidiasis

Symptoms of intestinal candidiasis

lack of appetite that occurs against the background of moderate nausea (in rare cases, single vomiting is possible as signs of intoxication of the body);
itching in the anal ring during bowel movements;
rumbling in the stomach;
intestinal cramps;
flatulence;
flatulence syndrome (“explosive” release of large amounts of odorous gases).

Development of intestinal candidiasis

Treatment of candidiasis is carried out with the help of antifungal drugs (in oral dosage form). Their list is given in the table below.

Antimycotics for the treatment of intestinal thrush in adults

Sour-smelling feces: causes, treatment, prevention

Causes

The sour smell of feces is an alarming symptom. The reason may be hidden not only in digestive disorders. The pathology is influenced by chronic intestinal diseases, the development of life-threatening infections - dysbiosis, impaired transportation of food masses, and damage to the pancreas. If the human body cannot adequately ensure the correct process of absorption of vital substances in the intestines, then a chronic illness develops. Poor absorption and very foul-smelling stool may be caused by:

Food allergies;
intestinal infections;
celiac disease;
food intolerance;
Crohn's disease;
inflammation.

What does feces smell like?

A sour smell occurs if a person has consumed too much sugar, peas, legumes, or fruits. Foods rich in carbohydrates cause fermentation and dyspepsia.
The stench develops with impaired pancreatic function and pancreatitis. Also, the stench occurs when there is hypersecretion of the intestines, if diarrhea occurs.
A putrid smell is a sign of impaired digestion. Appears when proteins are poorly absorbed in the digestive system.
Oily accents in the smell indicate the influence of bacteria and the decomposition of fats.

Treatment

Prevention

To avoid various disorders in bowel movements and digestion, it is important to properly handle foods when preparing food.

Daily exercise and walks in the fresh air contribute to health. Motor activity stabilizes the digestive system and improves organ peristalsis. The food entering the body is absorbed much faster.

Signs of gastrointestinal diseases: when the smell of stool is especially unpleasant

Let's be honest. Even healthy stools always smell not very pleasant. But if you notice that the smell in the toilet is more pungent than usual, this may be a sign that something is wrong in the body.

According to board-certified gastroenterologist Larry Good, the specific odor of toilet discharge after a bowel movement always depends on two factors:

what you eat;
what type of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract) predominates now.

The human gastrointestinal tract is home to billions of microorganisms. The smell of stool is formed due to gases that are produced in the intestines when indigestible fiber is broken down enzymatically. So if your stool smells too strong for a few days, don't worry: it may be due to the foods you've eaten recently.

But what to do if the smell of stool remains too unpleasant and intense for a long time? Then you should first of all talk to a gastroenterologist.

Related symptoms:

This is especially important if, according to your observations, the consistency of your stool has also changed. This can be a sign of many gastrointestinal diseases, including:

Clostridial infection (or gas gangrene) is an infection that is caused by spore-forming anaerobes (clostridia).

Related diseases:

You may not be very excited about the prospect of sharing your bowel observations with your doctor. But don't let this bother you! The fact is that doctors had encountered such symptoms before meeting you. Moreover, this information is currently personally relevant to your well-being and condition. Therefore, you have a good opportunity to improve your health, and then your intestines will function flawlessly.

Immunology and biochemistry

Foul-smelling stool

What causes bad stool odor?

Causes of smelly stool

Common Causes of Malabsorption

Celiac disease - a reaction to gluten with damage to the lining of the small intestine and disruption of the normal absorption of nutrients
Inflammatory bowel disease, such as Crohn's disease or colitis
Carbohydrate intolerance – inability to digest sugars and starches
Food allergies, such as to milk protein

A common symptom of malabsorption is foul-smelling diarrhea.

If you have inflammatory bowel disease, your reaction to certain foods may include foul-smelling diarrhea or constipation and flatulence. The gases may also have an unpleasant odor.
Intestinal infections can also be accompanied by an unpleasant smell of feces. Shortly after the infection develops, abdominal cramps may occur, followed by foul-smelling, loose stools.
Some medications may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and diarrhea. If you are allergic to ingredients or dietary supplements, taking some multivitamins may also cause foul-smelling stool. Unpleasant stool odor may occur after a course of antibiotics and persist until normal intestinal bacterial flora is restored.
Foul-smelling diarrhea may be a side effect of overdosing on a multivitamin or on any one vitamin or mineral. Diarrhea associated with multivitamins or medication overdose is a sign of a medical emergency. High doses of vitamin A, D, E, or K can cause life-threatening side effects.
Other conditions that can lead to foul-smelling stool include chronic pancreatitis, cystic fibrosis, and short bowel syndrome (surgical removal of part of the small intestine that interferes with the absorption of nutrients).

Signs of smelly stool

Symptoms that may be associated with foul-smelling stool include:

Bad-smelling stools can be a sign of a serious illness. Contact your doctor immediately if you have any of the following symptoms:

Blood in the stool
Black chair
Pale stool
Fever
Abdominal pain
Unintentional weight loss
Chills.

How is foul-smelling feces diagnosed?

Your doctor will diagnose foul-smelling stool after you answer questions about your stool, such as:

consistency
When did you first notice the unpleasant odor?
how frequent are the urges?
what has changed in your diet (well analyze what you ate before your stool became smelly), foods you have recently started eating.

Prevention

Strong smell of feces, why?

To begin with, I’ll say that, thank God, I feel great, I have a healthy appetite, I eat well, I don’t smoke, I don’t abuse strong alcoholic drinks..

But there is a certain flaw that my family really doesn’t like and they are very indignant about it. In short, I’ll tell it like it is.. when I go to the toilet, for the most part, after me it’s not possible to go to the toilet for a long time, because, according to my Mom, after me there’s a surprisingly rare pungent stinking smell that hurts the eyes and turns the insides out..

It seems that all people go to the toilet, this is nature, this is how we are built, everyone has their own unpleasant odors during the process of bowel movement.. but for some reason my smell is not the same as everyone else’s, it is very strange and very foul.

Don't take this as a joke or anything like that! I’m asking in all seriousness, I need a serious answer from a person who is close to medicine and understands what he is saying. I need an advice,

You will wash all the useful substances from the body!

Try switching to a plant-based diet.

Maybe something will change.

Fetid and putrid odor of feces in an adult. Reasons for changes in stool odor in an infant

Reasons for changes

This may be caused by the following factors:

food allergies;
dyspepsia;
colitis;
liver disease;
enteropathy;
rotavirus or “stomach flu”;
dysbacteriosis;
inflammation.

What changes does the specific aroma of stool indicate?

The fetid and pungent odor of feces in an adult is observed when the pancreas does not function properly, in which bile does not enter the gastrointestinal tract.

A putrid and pungent odor of feces can occur in stomach diseases associated with the consumption of large quantities of foods containing protein.

If it tastes somewhat sour, this may indicate digestive problems. This sometimes happens after consuming carbohydrate foods, as well as drinks made using the fermentation process.

When stool smells weak, this indicates insufficient digestion of food and the possible development of constipation.

Oily feces with a smelly aroma indicate the decomposition of fats, but if the feces smell like rotten eggs (sulfur), this indicates poisoning with hydrogen sulfide and carbon disulfide.

If children's feces smell of something sour, then the reason may be related to the development of the disease. We are talking about the following pathologies:

A sour smell of feces in a child under 2 years of age indicates a possible food allergy. If vomiting and fever are observed, these are symptoms of rotavirus infection.

Changes in stool in adults

The appearance of an unusual aroma - putrid, sour, bitter or reeking of something metallic - is an indicator of a serious illness in the body or a violation of the usual digestion process.

Diagnostics and tests

Prevention and nutrition

The smell of feces or why do poop stink?

Each of us will be able to distinguish the smell of shit from any other. It's in our genetics. True, today people do not attach much importance to it. Modern man only strives to get rid of it by using air fresheners while he shits so that it doesn’t stink. But the smell of feces can carry a lot of valuable information for us. You yourself have probably noticed that it is not always the same and for each person it may differ in one direction or another. One person's shit stinks horribly, while another person's poop has a significantly lower concentration of pungent stench. Also, the smell of feces differs not only in the strength of the stench, but also in other indicators; it may have sourness, rottenness or some other additional aroma in its palette of odors. Returning to the information conveyed by the stench of poop - our feces are a kind of marker that is one of the first to warn us about almost all changes in our body. Thus, a change in the color, shape, consistency, as well as the smell of feces may indicate the presence of some kind of ailment that has settled in the human body or a disturbance in the functioning of a certain organ. Therefore, dear reader, do not underestimate feces and their smell. After all, not every medicine has a pleasant smell and taste, right?

Did you know that our ancestors very actively used feces in their life. Using the color and smell of feces and urine, ancient people determined the health status of their neighbor, and thus, when an illness was discovered, they tried to attack him in order to take him by surprise and give themselves an advantage in battle.

Why does shit stink?

Well, first of all, let's look at the question of why feces stink, where does its characteristic smell come from? To do this, we need to dive into the depths of our intestines and find out what kind of processes are happening there. After all, as we all know, feces are nothing more than overcooked food that we ate for lunch. But the fried potatoes and chops seemed to smell quite appetizing. What could have distorted their smell so much?

The fact is that when passing through the links of the digestive chain, food is broken down into simpler components and at each stage the breakdown of various types of substances contained in food products occurs. The intestines are home to many different bacteria that are involved in the digestion process. During their life, gases are released. Which, in the process of forming feces, are mixed with poop making it porous. Gases contained in the intestines are divided into 2 types: inert and caustic (so-called fecal gases, which actually stink).

Thanks to the formation of inert gases, we fart, and fecal gases give poop and farts, among other things, a corresponding fetid odor. The inert gas mixes with the fecal gas and fills the cavities in the feces and that's why shit stinks when we shit it.

Also, depending on the concentration of fecal gas, the intensity of the stench of poop can also affect the intensity of the stench.

How can shit smell?

It is worth noting that any poop stinks, but within normal limits. That is, healthy feces certainly have an unpleasant odor, but it should not be pungent. So to speak, the bias of stench aromas in one direction or another, of course, also depends on the type of food consumed. Since this in turn affects the processes and nature of fermentation and rotting of digested food. So, for example, meat food gives a sharper smell, and dairy food, in turn, is sour. With constipation, a putrid odor appears as food stagnates in the intestines and begins to rot. And with poor absorption of nutrients, they become food for pathogenic bacteria, which leads to their development and the appearance of a characteristic deviation in the smell of feces.

As you can see, the palette of smells of shit is quite wide, and if you notice a deviation in the smell of your feces, pay attention to this and consult a doctor. Perhaps this is a bell that calls on you to respond and provide medical assistance to the body or make adjustments to your lifestyle to maintain health.

There are several types of shit stench:

Sour - shit acquires a sour stench with excessive consumption of sugar, flour products, fruits, peas, etc., foods that are rich in carbohydrates, a large amount of which can cause fermentative dyspepsia.
Foul odor of feces - quite often the cause of fecal stench is pancreatitis - a dysfunction of the pancreas. The cause may also be a lack of bile secretion, intestinal hypersecretion (increased mucus secretion).
The putrid smell of shit - this type of feces aroma is acquired when digestion is disturbed in the stomach. It can occur with excessive consumption of protein foods, which are slowly digested and begin to rot.
Oily smell of feces - occurs due to bacterial decomposition of fats.

Preventing poop stench

To reduce the risk of diseases, a symptom of which is foul-smelling poop, it is enough to follow simple rules, and they consist in a diet. If the strong stench of shit is caused by a reaction to food, then you need to adjust your diet, the doctor will help you with this. Also follow the rules for cooking meat products and their neighborhood on the shelves of the refrigerator. Do not cook meat and vegetables on the same cutting board, otherwise the vegetables may be contaminated with salmonella and other bacteria that lead to bacterial infections in the intestines.

Sometimes fetid feces can mean not just a strong stink from your poop, but be a diagnosis that a doctor will make. Pay enough attention to your poop and its properties, including stench. If the smell of feces has suddenly changed dramatically in you and this continues for a long time, then this may indicate a violation in the functioning of your body. If other symptoms have been added to the stench of feces, then this is already a significant reason to consult a doctor in order to undergo examinations and, if necessary, receive timely treatment.

With you Kakasich, we hope we were able to provide you with a small portion of useful information about poop.

Thank you for your support, Kakasic appreciates your help.

Stool smell

A fetid odor occurs when the secretion of the pancreas is impaired, in the absence of bile flow into the digestive tract.

A weak odor occurs with constipation, insufficient digestion, and accelerated evacuation from the small intestine.

Frequent urge to defecate, accompanied by the release of liquid feces with an unpleasant odor and foreign impurities, indicates the presence of a serious malfunction in the functioning of internal organs, provoked by infection, overeating, an allergic reaction, an imbalance of intestinal microflora, poisoning, exacerbation of chronic diseases or an inflammatory process. Unfortunately, most people prefer self-medication to visiting a doctor, which often leads to a deterioration in health: in addition to diarrhea and diarrhea, a person begins to suffer from pain and pain in the stomach and rectum, nausea that turns into vomiting, lack of appetite, flatulence, and bloating. Against the background of digestive problems, incessant diarrhea and vomiting, the victim may develop dehydration - a life-threatening and health-threatening condition that can be fatal. However, do not panic: you can prevent the development of complications by observing the following rules:

1 If you experience loose stools or diarrhea with a strong odor, you should consult a doctor. If your condition does not allow you to get to the hospital on your own, you should call an ambulance. If a child develops diarrhea, you should not waste time traveling to the clinic: you need to call a doctor at home. Children under one year of age can die from dehydration within twelve hours of the appearance of loose stools, so you should not take risks: parents are not able to provide qualified assistance to the baby; only a specialist can do this.

2 If you have diarrhea and vomiting, you need to drink a glass of salted water or a “Regidron” / “Electrolyte” solution once every half hour: the liquid will replenish the lack of nutrients and restore the moisture balance in the body.

3 To speed up the recovery process after severe diarrhea, you must follow all the recommendations of your doctor: if the specialist has prescribed not only medication, but also a diet, you should limit the consumption of foods included in the list of prohibited foods. Refusal of a therapeutic diet for diarrhea threatens to result in another attack of diarrhea, so do not neglect the advice of a doctor.

Causes causing loose stools, diarrhea with a strong odor

Loose stools with a pungent odor and foreign impurities can be provoked by:

1 chemical/nicotine/alcohol/food poisoning;

2 overdose of highly effective drugs can cause severe diarrhea;

4 inflammatory or tumor process in internal organs;

5 overeating (frequent consumption of food in large quantities negatively affects, first of all, the condition of the stomach and pancreas);

6 an allergic reaction to food can cause severe diarrhea and foul odor from stool;

7 imbalance of intestinal microflora;

8 exacerbation of chronic diseases of internal organs;

9 increased intestinal motility (peristalsis) often leads to diarrhea;

10 enzyme deficiency;

11 abuse of fast food, smoked meats, canned food, semi-finished products, sweets, baked goods, hot/sour/hot sauces;

12 frequent consumption of raw vegetables, fruits and berries (coarse fiber contained in fruits irritates the walls of the digestive tract and increases their peristalsis, which leads to diarrhea with a pungent odor and interspersed with mucus containing semi-digested food particles);

13 stress can cause nervous diarrhea, severe diarrhea: a nervous situation at work or at home can provoke nervous diarrhea or “bear sickness” - an unbearable urge to defecate, accompanied by the release of liquid feces of a normal color with a familiar smell.

Symptoms and signs of diarrhea

The diagnosis of diarrhea implies the presence of a frequent urge to defecate, accompanied by the release of liquid feces of various shades with a pungent, chemical or putrefactive odor. Diarrhea is often accompanied by cramps and pain in the intestinal area, increased body temperature, vomiting, and flatulence.

The impending “catastrophe” can be judged by the following signs:

1 bloating;

2 rumbling, gurgling, gurgling sounds accompanying the digestion process;

3 heaviness in the stomach;

4 nagging pain in the intestinal area;

5 increased gas formation;

6 weakness, lethargy, drowsiness;

8 nausea.

As a rule, diarrhea begins within an hour from the moment these symptoms appear. The frequency of the urge to defecate can reach fifteen times a day. Naturally, in such a situation, there can be no talk of any work activity or social activity: until the victim’s condition stabilizes, he is forbidden to leave the confines of his home in order to avoid deterioration of his health.

Types of diarrhea, what is diarrhea?

Experts distinguish between two forms of diarrhea:

1 Acute diarrhea: occurs as a result of toxic substances or infectious agents entering the body and leads to immediate dehydration of the body.

2 Chronic diarrhea: occurs against the background of a malfunction of the digestive system, endocrine diseases and circulatory problems. It can last for two to three weeks, gradually depleting the victim’s body.

Only a doctor can cope with both acute and chronic forms of diarrhea in the shortest possible time: self-medication can lead to a worsening of the situation, so it is better to avoid it.

Causes of smelly, foul-smelling diarrhea, why is there a pungent odor from loose stools?

Diarrhea is a dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract, which is accompanied by unpleasant sensations in the form of bloating and flatulence. In cases of prolonged, severe diarrhea, you should immediately consult a doctor. Based on the nature of loose stools, you can determine the disease that provoked it. Diseases of bacterial and non-bacterial origin are distinguished by color, blood spots, mucus and smell. There are a number of pathologies accompanied by very strong diarrhea with a foul odor.

The most common underlying causes of foul-smelling diarrhea are caused by:

1 Dysbacteriosis of the gastrointestinal tract. Quite often, stomach upset occurs due to the use of antibacterial medications.

2 Viral damage to the walls of the gastrointestinal tract. At the same time, liquid feces have a very unpleasant, stinking odor. These include rotavirus infection.

3 Viral infection of simple origin. Symptoms include foul-smelling stools that are liquid in form.

4 Inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract (so-called enteritis). In cases of attacks of colitis, there is a smell of rot and musty eggs.

5 Eating unprocessed, unwashed or poor quality food. Most often, in such situations, the child’s body is more susceptible to diarrhea. This is due to the fact that children have a less developed immune system than adults.

6 Dysentery, which is manifested by defecation in the form of diarrhea with a rotten egg smell.

7 Allergies to certain foods.

8 Chronic diseases of the stomach and intestines.

9 Violations in the baby’s daily diet. The appearance of a rotten smell during diarrhea is associated with insufficient consumption of foods containing fiber and protein.

10 Salmonellosis or cholera. The liquid stool will have a fishy odor.

11 Hepatitis A of viral origin.

Prevention of diarrhea, how to get rid of frequent diarrhea?

Not everyone knows how to prevent diarrhea, what to do to prevent diarrhea from appearing again? Compliance with the following rules will help prevent the appearance of loose stools with an unpleasant odor and foreign impurities:

1 Wash your hands thoroughly after visiting the restroom, going outside, or counting money: a huge amount of bacteria settles on the skin, which, once in the body, can cause diseases such as dysentery, salmonellosis, helminthiasis and giardiasis.

2 When choosing products, pay attention, first of all, to their expiration date and composition. Various flavoring additives, preservatives, color fixatives can provoke an allergic reaction and poisoning, so give preference to natural products: their shelf life rarely exceeds a week, which has its advantages - gentle processing allows you to preserve maximum beneficial properties.

Treatment of diarrhea involves following a diet and taking medications prescribed by a doctor based on the results of the following tests:

1 coprogram (determining the composition of feces);

2 ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs;

3 stool analysis for dysbacteriosis;

4 complete blood count;

5 blood test for hepatitis virus.

It is necessary to take medications and tablets prescribed by a specialist for the treatment of diarrhea with an unpleasant odor in strict accordance with the instructions: exceeding the permissible dosage can provoke a relapse. During treatment, it is necessary to avoid foods that place additional stress on the body: alcohol, sweets, baked goods, freshly squeezed and ready-made juices, pork, beef, duck, goose, lamb, veal, spices, fatty fish, sausages and sausages, canned food, tea and coffee, fresh vegetables and fruits with the exception of persimmons and bananas. Chicken, rabbit, turkey, dry biscuits, jelly, dried white bread, boiled or baked vegetables and fruits, water porridge with milk, dried fruit compote, lean soups, natural yogurt without additives in the form of fruits and berries will help restore the functioning of internal organs. . Vitamins and probiotics can be prescribed as a supporting agent: they must also be taken in accordance with the instructions, otherwise stool disorders may recur.

Loose stools, diarrhea with the smell of rotten eggs or rot, causes

Loose stools with the smell of rotten eggs or rot indicate the presence of an infection or inflammatory process in the internal organs, in particular the intestines. Diarrhea in this case is often accompanied by vomiting and fever. With vomit and feces, the body loses a huge amount of fluid: you can replenish its deficiency by drinking Regidron solution or ordinary, slightly salted water. You need to drink little but often: if you drink too much liquid at once, you may experience a gag reflex.

Loose stools, diarrhea mixed with mucus, causes

Liquid stools with a pungent odor and an admixture of mucus occur against the background of an intestinal infection or flu in the legs. A person is not able to cope with diarrhea caused by the pathogens of these diseases on his own: only a doctor can help him.

Loose stools, diarrhea mixed with blood, causes, what to do?

Liquid stool mixed with fresh or coagulated blood is an indication for urgent hospitalization: it is impossible to determine the cause of such a deviation without the use of special diagnostic methods. Diarrhea mixed with blood can be provoked by a tumor process in the organs of the digestive system, erosive gastritis, an open ulcer of the stomach or duodenum, intestinal infection, damage to the organs of the gastrointestinal tract by a foreign body swallowed with food, and many other factors, which can be identified and eliminated only a qualified specialist. If the stool during diarrhea contains blood, obvious scarlet speckles, or diarrhea with black stool from already coagulated blood, you must definitely seek help and establish an accurate diagnosis from a doctor. And if diarrhea with blood is accompanied by severe loss of strength, if a person becomes sleepy, shows signs of loss of consciousness, nausea, vomiting, high body temperature, then if even several of these symptoms are combined, it is necessary to call emergency medical help.

What diseases can be caused if stool with diarrhea smells strongly?

In order to determine what is bothering you, you first need to diagnose the whole body and establish the correct diagnosis. Only a doctor can make an accurate diagnosis! He will also prescribe an effective effective treatment regimen. Self-treatment is strictly prohibited! One of the possible causes of foul-smelling liquid stool with a sour odor in a baby is a rotavirus infection. The stool will be yellowish or greenish in color. In addition to the terrible smell and color of stool, rotavirus infection is associated with abdominal pain and the urge to vomit. An increased body temperature, runny nose and lacrimation are also observed. Confirmation of the diagnosis is the isolation of a viral infection from the stool.

A distinctive sign of dysentery is the appearance of painful sensations in the abdominal area, and then the appearance of gastrointestinal tract disorders in the form of diarrhea and the smell of eggs. In the stool one can distinguish impurities of mucous secretions and blood inclusions. Sometimes diarrhea looks a lot like spitting. The frequency of gastric emptying reaches more than twenty times a day. In order to accurately determine the disease, the patient must undergo a stool test for bacterial culture. Cholera is characterized by diarrhea with a fishy odor. The stool looks like rice water. Along with watery feces, there are urges to nausea and a gag reflex, signs of poisoning (intoxication) of the body and its dehydration. If diarrhea similar to rice water is detected, it is urgently necessary to do a bacterial culture of the stool.

When a baby is poisoned by food, severe watery diarrhea is observed, which has a rather unpleasant odor (sometimes there may be no unpleasant odor). Diarrhea may occur about ten times a day. In this case, there is nausea and a gag reflex, associated with pain in the center of the abdomen (umbilical region). For diagnosis, it is necessary to determine which product is the causative agent of poisoning. In most cases, poisoning occurs from pastries and cakes containing custard.

Loose stools with a rotten odor in food allergies often appear accompanied by other allergic symptoms, for example, a rash. In order to determine the allergen, diagnostics are carried out by taking allergy tests. Colitis, enteritis, enterocolitis, which are accompanied by liquid feces with a fetid odor, are determined by diagnosis using a coprogram, rectoscopy, colonoscopy, and x-ray.

The standard diagnosis of all pathologies associated with the appearance of diarrhea with a rather unpleasant odor consists of:

1 Determine the factors that contributed to the appearance of mucus-smelling diarrhea and collect anamnesis of abnormalities.

2 Primary examination and palpation of the abdominal area.

3 General blood test. A general blood test is a mandatory test, regardless of the type of disease. With the help of OAC, it is possible to determine whether an acute inflammatory process exists in the human body.