Causes
The most common reason is food eaten early. Rare but serious causes: chronic intestinal disease, development of infection, disruption of food transportation, damage to the pancreas.
The appearance of foul-smelling stool can be caused by:
- food allergies;
- intestinal infection;
- celiac disease;
- food intolerance;
- Crohn's disease;
- inflammation.
The reasons above cause diarrhea and increased gas production, which smells sour. Vomiting may develop during acute intestinal infections.
Diarrhea with a sour smell indicates chronic indigestion and intestinal infection. Nasty and loose stools in an adult may occur due to insufficient pancreas.
It is normal to go to the toilet from three times a day to once every two days, the stool should look soft, and the process should be effortless and painless. In an adult, the color of the stool is brown, in infants it is light yellow, the smell is unpleasant, but without a fermentative odor and dark or other shades.
What does smell depend on?
The appearance and smell of stool is affected by bacteria and microorganisms that are found in the intestines. With any disturbance in digestion, bacteria multiply faster, the growth of disturbed microflora increases and microbes poison the intestines with toxins, which provokes rapid rotting of food and an unpleasant odor.
The reasons are the same for everyone, but there are several differences between a child and an adult.
Sour smell of feces in a child
A sour smell in children may be due to an upset stomach. In babies and toddlers, this may be due to food allergies due to formula or mixed feeding, or in rare cases due to breastfeeding. In a child under 2 years of age, sour smelling stool may be accompanied by vomiting and fever due to rotavirus infection.
There are several diseases in children that are accompanied by a sour smell of stool:
- dysbacteriosis;
- fermentation dispersion;
- colitis;
- problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
It is impossible to diagnose the disease yourself, so consult a doctor.
Sour-smelling stool in an adult
A sour smell can occur when eating large amounts of plant foods. If you don't eat enough fiber, it will worsen your gut flora over time. The sour smell may be accompanied by diarrhea, flatulence, abdominal pain and bloating. It is worth seeing a doctor for a diagnosis.
What causes bad stool odor?
Feces usually have a foul odor, but it is an odor that is general and unremarkable. Fetid feces have an unusually strong, putrid odor. In many cases, foul-smelling stool is due to the foods you eat and the bacteria that have colonized your colon. 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.
Symptoms
Symptoms that may occur with sour-smelling stool:
- Diarrhea
- A soft chair
- Rumbling in the stomach
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Flatulence
- Bloating
Foul-smelling stool may be a sign of a serious illness. Call your doctor immediately if you experience the following symptoms:
- Blood in stool
- Black chair
- Pale stool
- Temperature above 39 degrees
- Abdominal pain
- Fast 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.
You will have a stool chemical test and a stool test to check for bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections. A blood test may also be required.
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
Process food while cooking, wash with hot water, steam or any other convenient method. You should not cook meat together with vegetables on the same surface, because the meat may contain pathogenic flora, which will disappear only after cooking, that is, heat treatment.
You should drink enough clean water, about 1-2 liters per day, depending on your activity during the day. Carbonated water and freshly squeezed juices should be excluded.
Daily walks and exercises will help stabilize the digestive system due to better blood circulation throughout the body. The incoming food will be easier and better digested.
Set up your diet and follow it, this will prevent the development of constipation and diarrhea. Don’t eat monotonous food, change your diet and periodically add and remove foods.
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.
Gas formation in the stomach
Any person, even a healthy one, sometimes develops flatulence, that is, an accumulation of gases in the intestines.
You can understand that this is exactly what is happening by discomfort in the abdomen, it becomes swollen, and sometimes painful sensations appear. A large accumulation does not pose a serious danger, but the problem must be treated. How to cope with gases in the intestines yourself, and whether this can be done, will be discussed further.
The accumulation of gases in the body occurs for various reasons:
- Conversation while eating. In this case, excess air is swallowed, which is not absorbed by the intestines, but settles in it.
- Emotional stress. During times of severe stress, food reaches the lower gastrointestinal tract faster and does not have time to be digested.
- Quick snacks. Poorly chewed food is not completely digested, causing gas formation.
- 3-4 days before the start of menstruation, women suffer from flatulence.
Gases can provoke products that tend to cause fermentation, these include:
- Some fruit and vegetable products: apples, potatoes, cabbage, beans, etc.
- Dairy products if a person is lactose intolerant.
- Sugar in large quantities causes fermentation.
- Water with appropriate bubbles.
Increased gas production may be one of the symptoms of certain diseases:
- Pancreatitis and other pathologies of the pancreas.
- Cirrhosis of the liver.
- Gastritis of the stomach.
- Colitis.
- Dysbacteriosis.
If there is a gastrointestinal infection, the problem in question appears constantly. It can be identified by an unpleasant odor. This happens because the body is fighting the problem and some bacteria have a side effect. Sometimes they are released with great discomfort and even severe pain.
Only a doctor can help you deal with gases in the stomach in this case. In order to release gases from the intestines, an adult should be prescribed complex therapy. If the cause of flatulence is the presence of a disease, then you should first get rid of it.
Eliminating symptoms involves getting rid of pain and eliminating it naturally. If gas formation occurs as a result of air entering the stomach, then measures should be taken to prevent its penetration into the gastrointestinal tract when eating.
Exercises
Therapeutic gymnastics helps to easily get rid of the problem, it is simple and effective.
You need to do exercises regularly - this will improve the functions of the lower gastrointestinal tract, because blood circulation in the stomach area will increase. You can perform gymnastic exercises at home.
They all start from a supine position. So, we get rid of the accumulation of gases in the intestines by performing physical exercises:
- Starting position – with knees bent and lying down, perform the bicycle exercise. Make at least 30 circles with your legs.
- In the same starting position, pull your legs bent at the knees towards your stomach. Return to original position. Do it 10 times.
- Raise your legs and throw them behind your head. Perform 15 times.
- Bend your legs, spread and connect your knees. Do 15 times.
- Starting position: kneeling, keep your back parallel to the surface. Raise your left leg, then your right. Perform 10 times with each leg.
- The position is the same: exhale - bend down at the waist and hold for a moment and take in air again. On a new exhalation, bend your spine upward and tighten your stomach. Do 30 times.
Increased gas formation in women
Finally, walk in place, raising your knees high.
If gases do not leave the intestines, you can use traditional medicine methods:
- Dill. Dill-based products are given even to small children. The decoction is prepared simply: grind a spoonful of plant seeds in a coffee grinder and pour in 1.5 cups of boiling water, leave for 3 hours. Drink the prepared infusion during the day in 3 doses. You need to drink before main meals.
- Chamomile. It has antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory properties, and also relieves pain. To remove gas in the stomach, you need to take a spoonful of flowers and pour 200 ml of boiling water. Let it brew a little, strain and drink 100 ml 4 times a day.
- Caraway. Brew a spoonful of plant seeds with a glass of boiling water and let cool. Drink half of the resulting infusion at one time before a meal. Acts as an antispasmodic, prevents rotting and fermentation of food in the gastrointestinal tract.
Fennel, coriander, ginger, mint and other plants also effectively fight gases in the intestines.
If gases are difficult to pass from the stomach of an adult, there are reasons for this. Sometimes you have to get rid of them with the help of medications. Especially if there is gurgling, pain with contractions. Then treatment must be carried out in two directions. The first is to find the root cause and eliminate it if possible. The second is to eliminate as much as possible and counteract its accumulation.
If gases from the abdomen do not pass well, medications can be used in treatment:
- Defoamers. Gas formation in the gastrointestinal tract occurs in the form of foam. The drugs extinguish foam and improve its absorption by organs. These medications have a positive effect on the motility of the lower gastrointestinal tract and have a strong carminative property. These include Dimethicone, Simethicone, Espumisan.
- Prokinetics. They speed up the movement of food through the esophagus. If it moves slowly, then there is a risk of decomposition, which contributes to bloating. This group of drugs includes Peridone, Silancetron, Motilium.
- Enterosorbents. They are needed to remove toxins, poisons, bacteria and gases from the gastrointestinal tract from the body. Activated carbon is considered the most famous in this group of drugs. But with prolonged use it can cause hypovitaminosis. It is better to give preference to such medications - Smecta, Enterosgel, Atoxil.
- Enzyme preparations. The lack of any enzymes in the body leads to disturbances in the functioning of the digestive system, which is why flatulence occurs. Drugs in this group must be taken when eating in excess. The drugs include Festal, Mezim, Pancreatin.
- Antispasmodics. Reduce contractile function and smooth muscle tone. Eliminate pain from large accumulations. Drugs in this group include No-shpa, Spazmalgon, Drotaverine.
Only by finding out the reason why the accumulated gases do not escape can you prescribe the correct treatment:
- If they cannot be removed due to tumor growth, then surgery is performed.
- When blisters constantly collect and the problem intensifies, the patient is prescribed Cerucal.
- When the cause is a change in the intestinal microflora, symptomatic drugs and lactobacilli are prescribed, which restore the microflora.
- If the cause of flatulence is constipation, then measures to eliminate it are prescribed.
Espumisan is considered the first and safest remedy for quickly getting rid of gases in the intestines. It is given to children from the first days of life for severe colic. You can drink it if you know exactly the cause of flatulence or as prescribed by your doctor.
Treatment with diet
When gas accumulates in the stomach, you need to know how to get rid of the problem forever by eliminating certain foods from your diet. You need to find out which foods cause flatulence in you and try not to eat them. Each person has his own provocateur of advanced education.
Some suffer from flour products or sweets, while others cannot tolerate fried foods and meat products. If you have an accumulation of gas in your stomach, then you need to avoid foods that have a lot of fiber. These are the following products: all legumes, rye bread, all citrus fruits, fruit and berry products, tomatoes and onions.
Principles of diet for intestinal flatulence in adults
What can you eat
If you have strong gases, you can eat without harm to your health:
- Fermented milk products with low fat content - kefir, fermented baked milk, yogurt, cottage cheese. Doctors advise including Activia probiotic products in your diet.
- Meat, fish and poultry, steamed, stewed or boiled.
- Potatoes, carrots and beets, baked in the oven, boiled or steamed.
- Bread made from wheat flour with bran.
- Buckwheat, pearl barley and wheat porridge, without oil.
- Baked or boiled fruits.
If you want to know how to get rid of gases in the stomach with the help of diet, then you need to understand one thing - you cannot overeat.
Eat food often, but in small quantities, and do not talk at the same time. Then it will be chewed well, move through the digestive system without delay, and be completely digested. And the air that does not get in will not create seething and fermentation in it.
You also need to exclude certain foods from consumption, thereby preventing flatulence. Nutritionists recommend completely stopping eating the following foods:
- Fatty meats, especially lamb, goose and duck, fatty fish.
- Legumes - peas, lentils, beans, chickpeas.
- If you are lactose intolerant, do not consume milk or dairy products.
- Grapes, gooseberries, raisins.
- Sauerkraut and fresh cabbage, tomatoes, asparagus.
- Watermelons, apples and pears.
- Mushrooms, sorrel, onions.
- Soda, you can drink 200 ml of carbonated mineral water, beer and kvass.
- It is permissible to eat a little fresh vegetables and monitor the condition of the body.
- Bread made from rye flour.
- Coffee and cocoa.
In order not to provoke air trapping, it is not recommended to use chewing gum, since during the chewing process a lot of air enters the stomach. You should not eat foods that contain sorbitol - sugar-free chewing gum, diet foods and breakfast cereals. You should also avoid eating whole grain bread and rye flour.
The main causes of gas formation include gases in the intestines and swallowed air. Let's look at each of the reasons in detail. In the process of evolution, humans were unable to adapt to the digestion of certain carbohydrates, for example, pectin, cellulose, and chitin.
They form the basis for the formation of feces and, once they enter the large intestine, become victims of microorganisms. Gas formation is a consequence of this process. Each of us is individual and reacts differently to eating the same foods. This also leads to abdominal discomfort.
Swallowing air is the main cause of bloating. This occurs in small quantities when eating food. A number of factors contribute to this:
- quick meal:
- chewing gum;
- smoking;
- passing air through the dental crevices;
- drinking carbonated drinks.
