What causes narrow stools and how to treat it. Narrow stools may be caused by constipation, IBS, colon cancer, or other gastrointestinal conditions. Your healthcare provider can help identify the problem and provide effective remedies.

What is Narrow Stool?

Narrow stool, also referred to as pencil-thin, ribbon poop, or narrow-shaped stringy poop, is a stool that is smaller in diameter than usual. In some cases, it’s both narrow and flat stool. It could be rigid or fluid, with an estimated diameter somewhere between one to two inches.

Narrow stool that is a symptom on its own can be experienced in combination with additional gastrointestinal symptoms like nausea and cramping in the stomach.

Causes of Narrow Stool

Low Fiber Diet

Diet is the most influential factor that can help maintain healthy bowel movements and frequency. When it comes to a thin narrow poop, it is most likely to be experienced by obstructions that develop in the colon due to chronic constipation. As a result, the stool size may be reduced, making it seem narrow and stringy. Constipation occurs more often if you eat a diet low in fiber. This cause is dependent upon your dietary intake and can be managed by adding insoluble fiber to your diet.

Intestinal Infection

Intestinal infection is considered an independent cause where the body may experience altered bowel movements and skinny stools. Infection can be mostly in the colon, for example, gastroenteritis. Thin stools may result from a constricted stoma channel caused by inflammation of the intestines.

Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome, a condition of the large intestine, may lead to abnormal bowel movements and frequency. It causes swelling in the intestine that ultimately alters the stool shape and turns it into a narrow pencil poop.

Gastrointestinal Parasite Infections

Parasites can be the silent enemy that is actually causing a disturbance. Gastrointestinal Parasites, also known as roundworms such as little worms, might cause thin and narrow stool or diarrhea. They can survive in your gut after living in the soil and getting into your diet.

Other Causes

Other causes of narrow stools include anorectal stricture, a tiny growth or polyp in the colon, fecal impaction, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and abdominal hernias.

Medical Conditions Associated with Narrow Stool

Hemorrhoids

Hemorrhoids, often known as piles, are most likely swollen veins similar to varicose veins in the lower rectum and anus. Hemorrhoids can form under the skin around the anus (external hemorrhoids) or inside the rectum (internal hemorrhoids). Narrow stools may result from hemorrhoids, which can be caused by various factors such as straining during bowel movements, spending a lot of time on the toilet, persistent diarrhea or constipation, consuming low-fiber food, lifting heavy objects repeatedly, being overweight or obese, and pregnancy.

Diverticulitis

Diverticula are small, sharp-edged pouches that can develop in the lining of your digestive tract, most commonly in the lower part of the large intestine (colon). When diverticulosis significantly worsens, the lower colon may become highly fixed, twisted, and restricted, leading to constipation, thin or skinny poop, and the sporadic start of diarrhea.

Fecal Obstruction

Fecal impaction, similar to constipation, occurs when a bulk of dry stool is stuck or lodged in the rectum and blocks the path of stool, making evacuation difficult. Thin feces pass through the blockage.

Colorectal Cancer

Narrow stools could indicate a cancerous gut tumor around the anus. Pencil-thin stool might be the only thing that can pass through the obstruction if it is big enough to stop the stool from moving through the intestine.

Anal Cancer

Skinny stool can also be caused by anal cancer, particularly if it is associated with HPV (human papillomavirus) infection.

If the Cause of Narrow Stool is Still Unknown, Consult a Doctor and Figure Out the Root Cause!

If you are experiencing persistent narrow stools, it is important to consult a healthcare provider to determine the underlying cause and receive appropriate treatment. They can help identify the problem and provide effective remedies.