What causes white specks in stool. How to treat white specks in stool. When to see a doctor for white specks in stool. How to prevent white specks from appearing in stool.

Understanding the Causes of White Specks in Stool

White specks in stool can be alarming, but they’re often harmless and result from common causes. The primary culprits behind these white flecks are typically related to diet, medication, or parasitic infections. Understanding the root cause is crucial for determining whether medical intervention is necessary or if simple lifestyle adjustments can resolve the issue.

Dietary Factors

One of the most common reasons for white specks in stool is undigested food particles. Certain foods, particularly those with hard outer shells or casings, can pass through the digestive system without being fully broken down. Which foods are most likely to cause this phenomenon? Seeds and nuts, especially sesame seeds and almonds, are frequent offenders. Their tough exterior protects the nutrient-rich interior, allowing them to survive the digestive process relatively intact.

Medication-Related Causes

Medications can also be responsible for white specks in stool. Some pills have a hard outer casing designed to control the release of the medication within. While the body absorbs the active ingredients, the casing itself may pass through undigested, appearing as white specks in the stool. These remnants are often referred to as “ghost pills.” What medications commonly cause this? Extended-release metformin (used for diabetes treatment), oxycontin (a pain medication), and venlafaxine (an antidepressant) are known to potentially result in visible pill casings in stool.

Parasitic Infections

In some cases, white specks in stool may indicate a parasitic infection. Tapeworms and pinworms are the most common culprits. How can you identify parasitic segments in stool? These specks are usually flat, square-shaped, and approximately the size of a rice grain. They may appear white or yellowish. While tapeworm infections are relatively uncommon, the presence of these segments is a key symptom that shouldn’t be ignored.

Diagnosing the Source of White Specks in Stool

Identifying the cause of white specks in stool is crucial for determining the appropriate course of action. How can you differentiate between harmless dietary causes and more serious issues? Start by considering recent changes in your diet or medication regimen. If you’ve recently consumed foods known to cause white specks or started a new medication, these are likely culprits.

However, if dietary and medication factors can be ruled out, it’s important to consider the possibility of a parasitic infection. Are there any accompanying symptoms? Parasitic infections may cause additional symptoms such as stomach discomfort or diarrhea, although some individuals may remain asymptomatic.

• Keep a food diary to track potential dietary causes
• Review your current medications and their potential side effects
• Monitor for any additional gastrointestinal symptoms
• Consider recent travel or exposure to potential sources of parasitic infection

Treatment Options for White Specks in Stool

The appropriate treatment for white specks in stool depends on the underlying cause. What are the most effective approaches for each potential cause?

Dietary Interventions

If undigested food is the culprit, dietary adjustments are usually sufficient. Limiting or avoiding foods that commonly pass through undigested can reduce the occurrence of white specks. Additionally, chewing food more thoroughly can aid in digestion and minimize the appearance of undigested particles in stool.

Medication Adjustments

For medication-related causes, consulting with a healthcare provider is crucial. They may be able to prescribe alternative formulations of the medication, such as liquid forms or pills without hard outer casings. It’s important to never discontinue or alter medication regimens without professional guidance.

Parasite Treatment

If a parasitic infection is suspected or confirmed, oral medications are typically prescribed to eliminate the parasites. These medications effectively kill the parasites, which are then expelled from the body through bowel movements. How long does parasite treatment typically last? Treatment duration varies depending on the specific parasite and severity of the infection, but follow-up stool samples are often required 2-3 months post-treatment to ensure the infection has been fully cleared.

Preventing White Specks in Stool

While not all instances of white specks in stool can be prevented, there are several steps you can take to minimize their occurrence and protect your digestive health.

1. Maintain a balanced diet with proper chewing habits
2. Stay hydrated to support healthy digestion
3. Practice good hygiene, especially hand washing before meals
4. Ensure proper food storage and preparation to prevent parasitic infections
5. Regularly deworm pets to reduce the risk of parasitic transmission

Can dietary supplements help prevent white specks in stool? While there’s no specific supplement designed for this purpose, probiotics and digestive enzymes may support overall digestive health and potentially reduce the occurrence of undigested food particles in stool.

When to Seek Medical Attention

While many cases of white specks in stool are benign, certain situations warrant medical attention. When should you consult a healthcare professional?

• If white specks persist despite dietary changes
• When accompanied by other symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, or unexplained weight loss
• If you suspect a parasitic infection, especially after travel to high-risk areas
• When medication casings consistently appear in stool, potentially indicating absorption issues
• If the stool appears mostly or entirely white, which may indicate liver, pancreas, or bile duct issues

Early intervention can prevent potential complications and ensure proper treatment if necessary.

Impact of White Specks on Overall Health

In most cases, white specks in stool don’t pose significant health risks. However, understanding their potential impact on overall health is important. How can different causes of white specks affect your well-being?

Dietary Causes

When white specks result from undigested food, they generally don’t indicate a health problem. However, if large amounts of food are passing through undigested, it could potentially lead to nutrient deficiencies over time. Adjusting your diet and eating habits can usually resolve this issue without long-term health consequences.

Medication-Related Causes

The appearance of medication casings in stool doesn’t necessarily mean the medication isn’t working. However, it’s important to ensure that the active ingredients are being properly absorbed. Consistent appearance of pill casings may warrant a discussion with your healthcare provider to explore alternative medication options or formulations.

Parasitic Infections

While many parasitic infections can be effectively treated, untreated infections may lead to complications. What are the potential risks of untreated parasitic infections? In rare cases, parasites like tapeworms can migrate to other organs, forming cysts that may interfere with organ function. This is most common in the brain or liver and can cause symptoms such as vision problems, headaches, or coughing up blood.

Maintaining Digestive Health Beyond White Specks

Addressing white specks in stool is just one aspect of maintaining overall digestive health. What other steps can you take to support a healthy digestive system?

• Eat a balanced diet rich in fiber, fruits, and vegetables
• Stay well-hydrated throughout the day
• Engage in regular physical activity to promote healthy digestion
• Manage stress through relaxation techniques or mindfulness practices
• Limit alcohol consumption and avoid smoking
• Consider probiotic supplements or fermented foods to support gut health

How does gut health impact overall well-being? A healthy digestive system is crucial for nutrient absorption, immune function, and even mental health. By prioritizing digestive health, you’re supporting your body’s overall function and potentially reducing the risk of various health issues.

Debunking Myths About White Specks in Stool

There are several misconceptions surrounding white specks in stool that can lead to unnecessary worry or inappropriate self-treatment. What are some common myths about white specks in stool, and what’s the truth behind them?

Myth: All White Specks Indicate a Serious Health Problem

Reality: While some causes of white specks can be serious, many are benign and easily resolved through dietary changes or simple treatments. It’s important to consider the context and any accompanying symptoms before jumping to conclusions.

Myth: White Specks Always Mean a Parasitic Infection

Reality: While parasites can cause white specks in stool, they are not the most common cause. Dietary factors and medication remnants are more frequent culprits. Parasitic infections often come with additional symptoms and risk factors that should be considered.

Myth: You Should Immediately Start a Cleanse or Detox if You See White Specks

Reality: Cleanses and detoxes are not scientifically proven to address white specks in stool and may even be harmful if not done under medical supervision. Identifying the underlying cause and addressing it appropriately is the best course of action.

By understanding these myths and the facts behind them, you can approach any concerns about white specks in stool with a more informed and balanced perspective. Remember, when in doubt, consulting with a healthcare professional is always the safest option for addressing digestive health concerns.

White specks in stool: Causes, treatment, and tips

White specks in stool usually result from food, medication, or a parasite. Treatment is often straightforward, and adjustments to diet are easy to make.

Changes in the appearance of stool can signal a health problem. However, these changes most often reflect adjustments to diet or bowel habits. If this is the case, the stool should return to normal within a few days.

Nuts and seeds can sometimes go through the body without breaking down completely. The outer shells of some pills can also survive the digestive process and show up in the stool.

Tapeworms or pinworms can look like white specks, and medications are available to treat both infections.

Certain types of food, medication, or parasites can cause white specks in stool.

Diet

The body does not digest some foods as thoroughly as others. For example, sesame seeds and some nuts, such as almonds, are white. Small pieces of these foods may show up in stool as white specks.

These seeds have a hard outer layer that protects the contents inside, and they may pass through the digestive system whole.

White specks in stool that occur soon after a person has eaten seeds are usually no cause for concern.

Learn more about undigested food in the stool here.

Medication

Some pills have hard outer casings. The body may absorb the medication but not this casing, which can appear in stools.

Empty cases are sometimes called ghost pills. Medications that may cause ghost pills to appear in stool are:

• extended-release metformin, a treatment for diabetes
• oxycontin, a pain medication
• venlafaxine, an antidepressant

Some people may be concerned when a drug casing appears in their stool because they think the medication has not worked.

If a person is worried, their doctor may be able to prescribe an alternative medication. For example, some medicines are available as liquids rather than pills.

Parasites

Tapeworms and pinworms can appear as white specks in stools. Tapeworm infection is uncommon, but these specks are a key symptom.

White or yellow specks may be pieces of parasitic worms. These pieces are usually flat, square-shaped, and about the size of a grain of rice.

Some people may not have additional symptoms. Others may experience a stomachache or diarrhea.

Learn more about parasitic infections in humans here.

The correct treatment will depend on what is causing white specks in a person’s stool.

Dietary intervention

If white specks in a person’s stool result from undigested food, then it is typically not cause for concern. However, assessing which foods pass whole and limiting them can reduce the frequency of this occurring.

Medication changes

If medication casings pass through a person’s gastrointestinal tract without proper digestion, doctors may be able to prescribe alternative medicines. Instead of capsules, pills or oral solutions may be available.

Treatments for parasites

Oral medications can treat many gastrointestinal parasites. These medications kill the parasite, which will pass out of the body in a stool.

A person may be required to give a stool sample 2 to 3 months after treatment, to check whether the infection has cleared up.

Remnants of foods and pill casings passing to the stool is typically not a cause for concern. However, parasitic infections can lead to complications.

It is unusual for a person with a tapeworm infection to have complications. However, newly hatched tapeworms can move from the gut to other organs, and this can cause cysts. A cyst is a small sac filled with fluid. Some cysts can stop organs from working correctly, most commonly the brain or liver.

Symptoms include problems with eyesight, headaches, and coughing up blood. If any of these symptoms follow a tapeworm infection, see a doctor.

Changes in the color and appearance of the stool are likely to happen occasionally, and prevention is not always possible.

A person may choose to keep a food diary and check the appearance of their stools. This can help to determine the cause of white specks. Avoiding whole nuts and seeds should cause the appearance of stool to return to normal.

To prevent intestinal parasite infections, people should:

• wash hands thoroughly before preparing and eating
• only drink from safe water sources
• thoroughly wash any garden-grown fruit and vegetables
• deworm pets regularly

Learn about the proper handwashing technique here.

A person who suspects a parasitic infection should see a doctor. The infection will usually require medication.

Some may wish to consult a doctor if changes to diet do not normalize the color of stool. A doctor should ensure that a person is correctly absorbing medication if pill casings continually appear in stools.

If the stool is mostly or entirely white, see a doctor. This may indicate that the pancreas, liver, or bile duct is not functioning as it should.

White specks in the stool are not a serious concern. Small changes can prevent the occurrence and many treatments exist in cases of parasitic infections.

Although the appearance of undigested food pill casings in the stool may be worrying, it is often not a cause for concern. It is natural for some foods to pass into the stool undigested and the body will absorb the necessary medication from within casings during digestion.

Pinworm and tapeworm infections are unpleasant but may carry no symptoms. Oral treatments can treat most parasitic infections quickly and without complication.

White specks in the stool may be the result of undigested food, pill casings, or a parasitic infection.

Changes to diet and medication types can treat these cases, while simple medications can treat parasitic infections.

Anyone that suspects they have an intestinal parasite should seek medical assistance immediately.

White specks in stool: Causes, treatment, and tips

White specks in stool usually result from food, medication, or a parasite. Treatment is often straightforward, and adjustments to diet are easy to make.

Changes in the appearance of stool can signal a health problem. However, these changes most often reflect adjustments to diet or bowel habits. If this is the case, the stool should return to normal within a few days.

Nuts and seeds can sometimes go through the body without breaking down completely. The outer shells of some pills can also survive the digestive process and show up in the stool.

Tapeworms or pinworms can look like white specks, and medications are available to treat both infections.

Certain types of food, medication, or parasites can cause white specks in stool.

Diet

The body does not digest some foods as thoroughly as others. For example, sesame seeds and some nuts, such as almonds, are white. Small pieces of these foods may show up in stool as white specks.

These seeds have a hard outer layer that protects the contents inside, and they may pass through the digestive system whole.

White specks in stool that occur soon after a person has eaten seeds are usually no cause for concern.

Learn more about undigested food in the stool here.

Medication

Some pills have hard outer casings. The body may absorb the medication but not this casing, which can appear in stools.

Empty cases are sometimes called ghost pills. Medications that may cause ghost pills to appear in stool are:

• extended-release metformin, a treatment for diabetes
• oxycontin, a pain medication
• venlafaxine, an antidepressant

Some people may be concerned when a drug casing appears in their stool because they think the medication has not worked.

If a person is worried, their doctor may be able to prescribe an alternative medication. For example, some medicines are available as liquids rather than pills.

Parasites

Tapeworms and pinworms can appear as white specks in stools. Tapeworm infection is uncommon, but these specks are a key symptom.

White or yellow specks may be pieces of parasitic worms. These pieces are usually flat, square-shaped, and about the size of a grain of rice.

Some people may not have additional symptoms. Others may experience a stomachache or diarrhea.

Learn more about parasitic infections in humans here.

The correct treatment will depend on what is causing white specks in a person’s stool.

Dietary intervention

If white specks in a person’s stool result from undigested food, then it is typically not cause for concern. However, assessing which foods pass whole and limiting them can reduce the frequency of this occurring.

Medication changes

If medication casings pass through a person’s gastrointestinal tract without proper digestion, doctors may be able to prescribe alternative medicines. Instead of capsules, pills or oral solutions may be available.

Treatments for parasites

Oral medications can treat many gastrointestinal parasites. These medications kill the parasite, which will pass out of the body in a stool.

A person may be required to give a stool sample 2 to 3 months after treatment, to check whether the infection has cleared up.

Remnants of foods and pill casings passing to the stool is typically not a cause for concern. However, parasitic infections can lead to complications.

It is unusual for a person with a tapeworm infection to have complications. However, newly hatched tapeworms can move from the gut to other organs, and this can cause cysts. A cyst is a small sac filled with fluid. Some cysts can stop organs from working correctly, most commonly the brain or liver.

Symptoms include problems with eyesight, headaches, and coughing up blood. If any of these symptoms follow a tapeworm infection, see a doctor.

Changes in the color and appearance of the stool are likely to happen occasionally, and prevention is not always possible.

A person may choose to keep a food diary and check the appearance of their stools. This can help to determine the cause of white specks. Avoiding whole nuts and seeds should cause the appearance of stool to return to normal.

To prevent intestinal parasite infections, people should:

• wash hands thoroughly before preparing and eating
• only drink from safe water sources
• thoroughly wash any garden-grown fruit and vegetables
• deworm pets regularly

Learn about the proper handwashing technique here.

A person who suspects a parasitic infection should see a doctor. The infection will usually require medication.

Some may wish to consult a doctor if changes to diet do not normalize the color of stool. A doctor should ensure that a person is correctly absorbing medication if pill casings continually appear in stools.

If the stool is mostly or entirely white, see a doctor. This may indicate that the pancreas, liver, or bile duct is not functioning as it should.

White specks in the stool are not a serious concern. Small changes can prevent the occurrence and many treatments exist in cases of parasitic infections.

Although the appearance of undigested food pill casings in the stool may be worrying, it is often not a cause for concern. It is natural for some foods to pass into the stool undigested and the body will absorb the necessary medication from within casings during digestion.

Pinworm and tapeworm infections are unpleasant but may carry no symptoms. Oral treatments can treat most parasitic infections quickly and without complication.

White specks in the stool may be the result of undigested food, pill casings, or a parasitic infection.

Changes to diet and medication types can treat these cases, while simple medications can treat parasitic infections.

Anyone that suspects they have an intestinal parasite should seek medical assistance immediately.

Coprogram with identification of helminths for ferrets

Coprogram is a type of laboratory study of feces that allows you to evaluate some aspects of the functioning of the digestive system.

What is feces?

The test material is a product resulting from the movement of food masses (and digestion/absorption of liquid) through the gastrointestinal tract. Feces – the contents of the large intestine, released during defecation. In a healthy animal, feces contain 75-80% water and 20-25% solid residue. The dense part consists of 1/3 of the remains of food taken, 1/3 of the remains of the discharge of the gastrointestinal tract, 1/3 of microbes, about 30% of which are dead.

Why is it necessary to do a coprogram?

In addition to other laboratory tests on animals, fecal analysis is performed at our veterinary clinic. This type of study, together with a biochemical blood test, is necessary to identify pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract and liver. With its help, inflammatory diseases, invasive (helminthiasis) diseases, protozoa, intestinal absorption disorders, impaired bile flow to the duodenum, and pancreatic dysfunction are detected. Also, fecal analysis is included in the list of standard studies conducted during the annual clinical examination of animals.

How to prepare an animal for testing?

Fecal analysis in most cases is carried out without special preparation, however, it is recommended to avoid taking drugs that change the nature of feces and cause functional disorders of the gastrointestinal tract (iron, bismuth, laxatives) 2-3 days before the study. The time from defecation to examination should be no more than 12 hours (when stored in the refrigerator), and in some cases no more than 20-30 minutes (when diagnosing parasitic diseases).

What tests does the coprogram include?

Analysis includes macroscopic, microscopic and simple chemical examination. Microbiological examination of feces is performed if an infectious intestinal disease is suspected.

1. Macroscopic examination

• Consistency and shape of stool: The stool of a healthy animal has a dense consistency and a cylindrical shape. A simple examination of the feces allows you to detect adult helminths, segments of tapeworms, determine the nature of the animal’s feeding, the presence of undesirable components (sharp bones, sticks, ropes, polyethylene, etc.). The consistency depends on the amount of water, fiber, mucus and fat. Dense, formed feces are excreted in healthy animals. The ointment-like consistency is due to a violation of the secretion of the pancreas (acute pancreatitis, pancreatic necrosis, cystic fibrosis). The feces become hard when the rate of chyme movement through the intestines decreases. Liquid feces accompany insufficient digestion in the small intestine with enteritis, accelerated evacuation, colitis with ulceration. Kashitseobrazny feces becomes with fermentative dyspepsia, colitis, chronic enterocolitis. Foamy character is acquired as a result of fermentative colitis, dysbiosis, dysbacteriosis. A ribbon-like, pencil-shaped form of feces acquires in the presence of hemorrhoids, spasm of the rectal sphincter, anus fissure, rectal tumor.

• The smell of is mainly due to protein breakdown products. A putrid smell appears with insufficiency of gastric digestion, putrefactive dyspepsia, ulcerative colitis. Fetid (the smell of rancid oil) – in violation of the secretion of lipase by the pancreas, the absence of bile. The sour smell is due to fermentation processes in the large intestine, malabsorption of fatty acids in the small intestine.

• Color – with a mixed diet – brown, with a meat diet – more dark, with fermentative dyspepsia – yellow feces, with putrefactive – dark brown. The color of feces is normally brown, normally becomes yellow with a milk diet, dark brown with a meat diet. Black feces acquire when bleeding in the anterior gastrointestinal tract (stomach, duodenum and small intestine). Dark brown is observed with insufficiency of gastric digestion, putrefactive dyspepsia, colitis with constipation, colitis with ulceration, increased secretory function of the colon. Light brown feces becomes accelerated evacuation from the colon. The reddish color is due to the presence of bleeding in the posterior gastrointestinal tract. Yellow color is observed with insufficiency of digestion in the small intestine and fermentative dyspepsia. The gray color is due to pancreatic insufficiency. White stool becomes with intrahepatal stagnation or complete obstruction of the common bile duct.

• The reaction of feces is slightly alkaline, less often neutral or slightly acidic (PH 5.5 – 7.0). A pronounced alkaline reaction – with putrefactive dyspepsia, due to the intensification of the processes of decay of proteins. The acidic reaction is due to the presence of free organic acids in the feces, resulting from the fermentation of carbohydrates and the disengagement of fats by microbes of butyric fermentation during fermentative dyspepsia. The intensification of the processes of bacterial decomposition of proteins (rotting) is accompanied by the formation of ammonia, which gives the feces an alkaline reaction, and the intensification of fermentation processes is accompanied by the release of CO2, organic acids and a shift in pH to the acid side.

Inadequate digestion of proteins in the small intestine or pancreatic insufficiency, as well as the release of inflammatory exudate (colitis) into the intestinal lumen, activate the putrefactive intestinal flora, and the stool reaction becomes sharply alkaline.

Insufficient digestion and increased intestinal peristalsis in enteritis contribute to the activation of the fermentative microflora, and the reaction of feces becomes acidic.

Mucus in stool. In healthy animals, the stool is always covered with a thin layer of mucus with single cells of cylindrical epithelium. The appearance of mucus in the form of flakes with a significant amount of intestinal epithelium, leukocytes and erythrocytes indicates an inflammatory process in the intestine.

2. Microscopic and bacterioscopic examination

• Helminth eggs, protozoa or their cysts are detected using the flotation method. You can also detect artifacts (get into the feces from the outside, such as fleas, ticks, etc.). Examination of feces for parasites reveals helminthiases (toxocariasis, toxascarosis, various types of tapeworms), as well as giardiasis (giardia is a small protozoan that lives in the large intestine and causes inflammation). This study allows you to effectively select anthelmintics (preparations for worms) and draw up a scheme for therapeutic deworming, as well as monitor the effectiveness of treatment for helminthiasis and giardiasis.

• Muscle fibers – usually divided into: changed and not changed. A characteristic feature of altered muscle fibers is the absence of transverse striation. Normally, only altered muscle fibers are detected in a small amount. Detection of unaltered muscle fibers in the feces indicates: insufficiency of the function of the stomach and pancreas, insufficiency of digestion in the small intestine and accelerated evacuation.

• Vegetable cellulose – distinguish between digested and undigested fiber. Digested fiber is that part of the fiber that is broken down under the influence of the microflora of the ileocecal intestine. Normally, it is usually not detected. The amount of undigested fiber in the feces depends on the amount of food rich in indigestible fiber entering the digestive tract. A lot of digestible fiber with fermentative and putrefactive dyspepsia.

• Fat in feces. Dietary fats, both animal and vegetable, are absorbed almost completely under conditions of normal digestion. In the stool of a healthy animal, fat is detected in small amounts in the form of fatty acids, their crystals and soaps. The appearance in the feces of neutral fat or an abundant amount of fatty acids, their crystals and soaps indicate an insufficient function of the pancreas, liver, obstruction of the biliary tract or rapid evacuation of food masses from the intestines, insufficient digestion in the small intestine. A significant amount of soaps and fatty acids is found in fermentative dyspepsia.

• Starch – starch is normally absent in feces. In the pathology of digestion, it is found in digested fiber in the form of intracellular or extracellular grains. In a significant amount, starch appears with insufficient digestion of carbohydrates due to pancreatic disease: extracellular starch is of particular diagnostic importance. A lot of starch in fermentative dyspepsia.

• Connective tissue – there is no connective tissue in the feces of healthy animals in conditions of complete digestion. Its appearance is associated with insufficiency of gastric digestion, i.e. the absence of hydrochloric acid in the gastric juice.

Main syndromes of gastrointestinal disease and interpretation of the coprogram

3. Chemical examination of feces

• Occult blood reaction (Gregersen district). Determination of occult blood in the feces is of great diagnostic value, especially with so “hidden” gastrointestinal bleeding, when macroscopically blood in the feces is not detected.

• Reaction to bile pigments (bilirubin, stercobilin). Stercobilin is the end product of the reduction of bilirubin released into the intestine from the common bile duct, giving the animal’s feces a characteristic brown color. Stercobilin is present in the norm (secreted depending on the weight of the animal 20 – 350 mg / day). The absence or a sharp decrease in the amount of stercobilin in the feces (acholic feces) most often indicates obstruction of the common bile duct by a stone, squeezing it with a tumor, or a sharp decrease in liver function (for example, in acute viral hepatitis). An increase in the amount of stercobilin in the feces occurs with massive hemolysis of red blood cells or increased bile secretion. The detection of unaltered bilirubin in the feces of cats and dogs indicates a violation of the process of restoring bilirubin in the intestine under the influence of microbial flora. The most common causes of this disorder are: suppression of the vital activity of intestinal bacteria under the influence of large doses of antibiotics (intestinal dysbacteriosis), a sharp increase in intestinal motility.

• Triboulet test – determination of soluble protein. During digestion, proteins are broken down and absorbed. Therefore, in the feces of healthy people, soluble protein, as a rule, is not found. It appears with inflammatory processes or ulcerations in the small and large intestines.

Symptom of semolina – PrimaMed Multidisciplinary Medical Center

0173 symptom of semolina “. What does it mean? Should I be concerned and take action?

What is a symptom of semolina

The symptom got its name due to its external resemblance to all known semolina – white groats, from which porridge was cooked in kindergarten.

During gastroscopy, when examining the duodenum, the doctor may notice small white dots on its mucosa, as if someone has powdered your mucosa with semolina.

Causes of symptom

The anatomy of the duodenum is such that it is adjacent to the liver, gallbladder, pancreas, right flexure of the colon, and right kidney.

If any pathology is observed in these organs, then it can cause changes visible during gastroscopy in the duodenum.

Especially such changes often give chronic inflammation of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis). Being located in close proximity, the inflammatory process begins to cover the duodenum.

Is it dangerous?

Any inflammatory process in the body is a danger to your health, disrupting the functions of specific organs and spreading the infection through the bloodstream throughout the body.

What threatens the presence of inflammation in the pancreas?

First of all, a violation of its secretory function – the production of enzymes that are necessary for the breakdown of food.

With a long inflammatory process, special cells that produce enzymes are replaced by normal connective tissue and lose their function. As a result the body begins to fail to cope with its task and the whole process of digestion suffers, and with it your whole body.

12 The duodenum is the central node of the digestive system. Here the main processes of splitting food for its subsequent assimilation in other parts of the small intestine take place.

Naturally, the inflammatory process significantly complicates the work of this biochemical station, interferes with the full processing of food, as a result of which its absorption then begins to suffer. Not to mention that there are risk against the background of an inflammatory process development of duodenal ulcer.

What to do about it?

Most likely, the endoscopist will recommend that you contact a gastroenterologist to identify the underlying disease affecting the condition of the duodenum.