In this short article, we will answer the question “Why does my poop smell like sulfur?” and will share information about the excrement’s smell and its relation to the food you ingest and also your health.
Why does my poop smell like sulfur?
Stool typically has an unpleasant smell, yet it is a normal and accepted fragrance. Because the bacteria in the intestine produce sulphur compounds when food is broken down, the odour of the stool is not the greatest.
However, depending on what we eat, the odour’s intensity can change significantly.
The stool that smells bad has a particularly pungent odour. Despite being connected to your diet, unpleasant-smelling stools might also be a sign of a significant medical condition. A bad odour in the stools may be accompanied by diarrhoea, bloating, or flatulence.
Generally speaking, eating spicy or red meat can result in faeces with a greater stench. Additionally, nutrient malabsorption frequently results in faeces that smell like sulphur. It happens when the body cannot properly absorb the nutrients from the food you eat.
These are typical causes of malabsorption:
- Celiac illness
- Colitis or Crohn’s disease are examples of inflammatory bowel diseases
- Intolerance to carbs or an inability to adequately digest their
- allergies to milk protein, among others, as well as to other food groups including lactose.
- Stools with an odour resembling sulphur can potentially be a symptom of intestinal infections. Eating food infected with Salmonella, E. coli, and other viruses, bacteria, or parasites can result in gastroenteritis, a type of infection.
Abdominal cramps and subsequently sulphur-smelling faeces may appear shortly after the illness starts to spread.
Sulfur-smelling faeces can also result from the following conditions:
- persistent pancreatitis
- Dysplastic fibrosis
- Short bowel disorder (surgical removal of part of the small intestine inhibits nutrient absorption).
What other odd scents can poop have besides sulphur?
Everyone’s stool will occasionally smell unpleasant, so it’s crucial to pay notice when it does. This is due to the fact that a different odour may point to a health issue.
- A metallic or very strong (pungent) odour
The smell is distinct and obvious when there is blood in the stool. Checking the appearance of stool can also help you determine whether you need to be on the lookout because this type of odour is harder for laypeople to recognise than it is for a doctor.
Blood can be found in dark or black faeces, which could be an indication of upper digestive tract haemorrhage. This can be a sign of oesophagal or stomach cancer or a peptic ulcer.
So, if the scent or sight of your poop makes you think you may have blood in your stool, get help right once.
- Smell like filth or vomit
In other words, an extremely unpleasant smell. You should also visit your doctor if your stool also has a waxy (waxy) or sticky texture, or if the frequency, consistency, or comfort of your bowel movements suddenly changes.
This is due to the possibility that these symptoms point to an infection or digestive issue. For instance, the intestinal parasite that causes giardiasis. The disease can be acquired through tainted food or water.
The infected person may also have diarrhoea that is watery and explosive in addition to the unpleasant odour. However, it might be challenging to pinpoint the precise cause as symptoms don’t typically appear until a week or two after infection.
Then there are issues with the digestive system, including Crohn’s disease, chronic pancreatitis, and illnesses like cystic fibrosis and pancreatic infections that lead to malabsorption.
As Brown cautions, malabsorption may be a sign that lipids are not being adequately absorbed, which results in the odour of rotting food.
Additionally, it’s critical to keep an eye out if the stools are not lighter in colour (clay/clay or white), as this might also be a sign of a pancreatic issue.
- Sweet aroma
The infection C. diff or pseudomembranous colitis (colon inflammation) can make the stools smell sweet and unappealing.
Usually brought on by antibiotic use, the illness can also cause other symptoms like diarrhoea, fever, appetite loss, and stomach pain. Therefore, seek medical attention if you encounter any symptoms, particularly while or after taking antibiotics.
What might your health be indicated by the smell of faeces?
The action of bacteria in food goods causes the smell of faeces. The process by which bacteria and fungus operate on any organic matter is called fermentation, and the more food is fermented, the more powerful the scent becomes.
An intestinal infection called gastroenterocolitis can result in extremely pungent faeces. Due to a shortage of enzymes to break down food, people with chronic pancreatitis may also have foul-smelling faeces.
This type of patient has inadequate fat digestion as a result of decreased or absent pancreatic digestive enzymes. As a result, the stools become foetid, fattier, bulkier, softer, and lighter in colour.
The colour of the stool, not its aroma, is what matters most when it comes to disease. Stools that are very light or white may indicate that the bile ducts are partially blocked.
Stools that are dark and foul-smelling may indicate stomach bleeding or, less frequently, an issue with the colon, which is the last section of the digestive tract.
Conclusion:
In this short article, we answered the question “Why does my poop smell like sulfur?” and shared information about the excrement’s smell and its relation to the food you ingest and also your health.