The Bristol Stool Chart

Source : Wikipedia

I learnt something new today...how to describe your stool or poo poo!

The Bristol Stool Form Scale or Bristol Stool Chart is a classification of the form, that is appearance in a toilet, of human feces into seven groups. It was developed by Dr. K. Hering at the University of Bristol and was first published in the British Medical Journal in 1990.^[1] The form of the stool depends on the time it spends in the colon.^[1]

Chart contents

Types 1 and 2 indicate constipation, types 3 and 4 are usually the most comfortable to pass, types 5-6 tend to be associated with urgency and type 7 is diarrhea. ^[2]

In type 2-3 basically the stool is very hard and you need to use a stool softener like liquid paraffin. Do not use bulking agents or fiber as this will only make it worse.

In types 4-5 you can use a bulking agent like Forlax or psyllium husk or fibre. Irritants like prune juice, dulcolax or senokot will also work, but be careful not to abuse it.

In type 6-7 basically the faeces/stool is impacted and the wattery bits are being sqeezed through the sides of the stool. This will probably need manual disimpaction (look out for the explosive disimpaction)