Hello doctor,
What can cause your stools to be thin in width? Also, I have lots of gas and burping.
Hi,
Welcome to icliniq.com.
Narrow or pencil-thin stool may result from constipation, travel, use of some medications, changes in hormone levels, etc. Constipation is usually caused by a lack of fiber in diet or lack of daily exercise. Again, inflammation in the colon like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis may cause loose, thin, and diarrhea. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may cause thin stool. IBS also can cause mucous in your stool that may provide a stool a stringy shape. Constipation altering with diarrhea along abdominal cramps that worsen after meals and relief by defecation may be found in IBS. A lot of gas or bloating with harder or looser stools like pencil-thin or flat ribbon may also find in IBS.
The stringy stool is when stool appears thin or narrow, often take a ribbon-like appearance. It has resulted from temporary and not serious causes like changes in eating habits or poor diet and hopefully tends to resolve on its own.
Thank you doctor,
I am just worried that it is a blockage. Are blockages painful cause I do not have pain, just really bad gas build up until it comes out and nausea? Do I have anything to worry about? Will my stool go back to normal?
Hi,
Welcome back to icliniq.com.
I think it is not a cause for concern, and it will subside over time without any medical treatment. Other underlying health conditions that may cause such type of symptoms are delayed gastric emptying time due to many causes, distended colon, growth or polyps in the colon, food allergies, parasitic infections, gastroenteritis due to bacterial infections, fecal impaction, abdominal hernia, etc.
Suppose you think that you may have a blockage in your gastrointestinal tract (GIT), then you can undergo some investigations like stool sample test for detecting bacterial or parasitic infections, occult blood test, endoscopy of upper GIT, CT abdomen, colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy, etc., to detect the exact underlying causes for your present sufferings and then treat them accordingly or according to your gastroenterologist's advice. So, consult with a gastroenterologist.
I think the causes of your problems are simple, nothing serious at all. Exercising regularly, diet menu changes, lifestyle modification, removing anxiety or stress, good sleep hygiene, etc., may help relieve you from gastric problems. You may suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or IBS, or both if I think you have any disease conditions. Otherwise, your present sufferings may result from minor causes that I have already mentioned.
It is important that some flare up symptoms may develop in IBS or GERD like yours, which lasts for three to five days.
I hope this helps.
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