Stools - foul smelling

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Lower digestive anatomy

Overview

Treatment

Stools - foul smelling

Definition:

Foul-smelling stool is usually associated with diet, but may be an indication of a medical condition.

Alternative Names:

Foul-smelling stools

Considerations:

Stool normally has an unpleasant odor, but one that is recognized as fairly common. Stools that have an extremely bad, out-of-the-ordinary odor may be associated with certain medical conditions. Foul-smelling stools also have normal causes, most notably diet.

Foul smelling stools may occur in conjunction with floating stools.

Common Causes:

Cystic fibrosis
Gluten-induced enteropathy (sprue, celiac disease)
Malabsorption
Idiopathic steatorrhea (fatty stools with no known cause)
Disaccharidase deficiency (insufficient amounts of the sugar-digesting enzymes)
Short bowel syndrome
Crohn's disease
Ulcerative colitis
Infectious colitis (colon infections)
Chronic pancreatitis

Review Date: 1/23/2006
Reviewed By: Jenifer K. Lehrer, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Frankford-Torresdale Hospital, Jefferson Health System, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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