Although talking about your business in the bathroom is often taboo, one gut concept has made waves on TikTok, sparking widespread debate.
Have you ever gone to number two and turned around to find nothing but still water in the toilet bowl? Or did he feel like he needed to empty his bowels so much that he ran to the bathroom only to let out a burst of gas? What happens when you poop and there are no marks left on the sides of the toilet bowl? All of these scenarios, although they seem quite exclusive, are defined under the same term: ghost poop.
According to Dr. Sameer Islam, YouTube gastroenterologist and writer of Men's health, these disconcerting bowel movements, or lack thereof, are completely normal. Feeling like you need to poop but only have gas, experiencing poop that goes straight down the drain, or experiencing clean poop that doesn't leave messy residue in the toilet are the three types of phantom poop.
For the first form, Dr. Islam said that there is a clear reason why one may feel like defecating but cannot. “This is because there is too much air in the colon and also in the rectum,” the expert said in a 2021 article. “It innervates or activates the nerves within the colon. [and rectum] and it gives you that need to have a bowel habit.”
Excess air in the colon can be a result of eating fruits, vegetables, and dairy products (all gassy foods) or being constipated. Another likely cause is swallowing too much air.
Pooping and not seeing it in the toilet bowl or pooping without dirtying the inside of the toilet bowl are not caused by anything concerning. The poop was able to easily leave the body and slide directly into the water.
On YouTube, Dr. Islam explained: “You may have had the magic poop: long, soft and [with a] little splash, and it went straight into the drain… I would celebrate [this].”
Health Summary characterizes ghost feces as “the most ideal bowel movement.”
“Phantom stools could mean that you are eating (and properly digesting) all the right foods for a healthy bowel movement,” the outlet stated.
Amanda Sauceda, a registered dietitian and nutritionist, noted that ghost stools are also signs of substantial hydration. she told him New York Post that if you wipe and there is nothing left on the toilet paper, you are drinking a good amount of water.
“If you're wiping and there's no residue on the paper, that may mean your diet has a good amount of fiber and you're adequately hydrated,” Sauceda explained.
That being said, the goal shouldn't be to never see your poop again. In fact, regularly checking your stool can help identify any underlying health problems, such as colon cancer, infections, digestive problems, or bleeding. Stool tests are a common method of checking stool.
“A stool analysis is a series of tests performed on a stool sample to help diagnose certain conditions that affect the digestive tract.” My health Alberta fixed.
The outlet further explained: “For a stool analysis, a stool sample is collected in a clean container and then sent to the laboratory. Laboratory tests include microscopic examinations, chemical tests, and microbiological tests. The color, consistency, quantity, shape and presence of mucus in the stool will be checked.”
