White or clay-like stool is caused by a lack of bile, which may indicate a serious underlying problem. Bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder. Stool gets its normal brownish color from bile, which is excreted into the small intestine during the digestive process.
People with persistently pale stools may need medical treatment. If pale stools occur once with no other symptoms, it is usually safe to wait and see if the stool returns to its usual color. A child or infant with pale or white poop should see a doctor as soon as possible to rule out any underlying conditions.
You may have clay-colored stools if you have a liver infection that reduces bile production, or if the flow of bile out of the liver is blocked. Yellow skin (jaundice) often occurs with clay-colored stools. This may be due to the buildup of bile chemicals in the body.
Pale stools could be a sign of liver damage, as pale, clay, beige or sand coloured stool may be a sign that your body, most notably your liver is not producing enough bile, or it may not be draining bile properly. Bile makes up part of the colouring of your stool.
Causes of anal discharge
Mucus-based discharge may be caused by: Infection due to food-poisoning, bacteria or parasites. An abscess due to infection or an anal fistula – a channel that can develop between the end of your bowel and anus after an abscess.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
People living with IBS may notice whitish mucus in their stool. Other common symptoms of IBS include abdominal pain and changes in bowel movements, such as constipation and diarrhea.
With a yellow coating
Having mucus in the stool is a possible symptom of Crohn's disease. The mucus may appear as streaks on the stools or cover them completely. It may be white or yellow. If the mucus in the stool does not appear alongside new symptoms, it is no cause for concern in people with Crohn's disease.
Gastrointestinal infections caused by certain bacteria, such as Salmonella, Shigella, and Campylobacter, can also lead to pale stools. These infections typically cause symptoms like diarrhoea, nausea, and abdominal pain as well.
The large intestine, or colon, produces protective layers of mucus, a network of proteins rich in sugars added through a process called O-glycosylation. Previous studies suggested that this mucus plays a role in maintaining a healthy relationship between intestinal tissues and gut bacteria.
Color: The stool may be bright red, maroon, or black and tarry, which indicates the presence of blood. Stools may contain more mucus than normal. Odor: The stool odor may be increasingly foul compared to the typical smell.
Many people report experiencing more yellow stools as a symptom of anxiety. Anxiety does not specifically affect the color of stool, but it can affect how food moves through the digestive tract. There are several ways that anxiety affects digestion, increasing the risk of yellow feces.
Do you ever begin sweating and feeling like you are going to pass out while pooping, or do you feel like you will pass out at the sight of blood? It's possible that your vagus nerve is causing this sensation and triggering your body's vasovagal reflex, or vasovagal response.
Mucus in the stool is a very common symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). 1 While some mucus is normal, IBS mucus can be excessive and may be visible in the stool. Even though producing large amounts of mucus is common in people with IBS, scant research has been done about it.
Eating gluten causes an immune reaction, inflammation, and damage to the small intestine. As a result, more mucus in stool can occur, among other symptoms.
If you notice pale/grey colored stools along with abdominal pain or jaundice, you should go to the ER. You may need a gastroenterologist to perform an imaging test and procedure to clear the stones.
Steatorrhoea was a significant feature in an outbreak of rotavirus gastroenteritis which affected adults and infants in hospital. Fat globules or fatty acid crystals were obvious by light microscopy (LM) in faeces from 14 of 25 patients examined. Ten of the fatty stools and two of the remainder were very pale.
Normally, stool is brown, but people with bile duct cancer may have pale or clay-colored stools that are oily and float in water. Also known as cholangiocarcinoma, bile duct cancer is a type of rare cancer that starts growing in the bile ducts. Bile is needed to break down fats during digestion.