Liquid Poop (Watery Diarrhea): Common Causes and More

A liquid bowel movement, or diarrhea, is usually due to a short-term illness like food poisoning or a virus. However, it can result from a different underlying medical condition.

Diarrhea can happen to everyone from time to time. It occurs when you pass liquid instead of formed stool three or more times a day.

If your liquid bowel movements are a side effect of a chronic condition, a doctor can usually help you treat or manage them.

This article discusses the various causes of liquid bowel movements, potential complications, and the range of available treatments.

Multiple causes and contributing factors can lead to liquid bowel movements. Examples include:

• acute digestive infection
• constipation, since liquid stool can escape around blockages
• digestive tract disorders, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn’s
• intolerances such as celiac disease
• history of damage to the anal sphincter
• surgeries like hemorrhoid or tumor removal, or treatment for anal abscesses and fistulas
• malabsorption syndromes

Stool is usually brown because of compounds like bile and bilirubin that are present in it. But if you have liquid bowel movements, you may find the liquid is another color entirely.

Learn more about stool colors and what they mean here.

Yellow liquid poop

Yellow liquid poop could indicate an underlying disorder in the liver or gallbladder. Bright yellow liquid stool can also be a sign of giardiasis, an infection caused by an intestinal parasite you can get from drinking unclean water.

Green liquid poop

Diarrhea can appear green due to green foods you ate or stool moving too quickly through your colon.

Pooping clear liquid

Intestinal inflammation can cause the secretion of mucus in the intestines. This causes clear liquid bowel movements.

Black liquid poop

Black liquid poop can be a cause for concern because it can indicate bleeding from a location somewhere in the higher portion of the digestive tract.

Other potential causes of black liquid poop include taking Pepto-Bismol or iron supplements or eating foods that are blue or black in color.

Diarrhea that lasts 2 weeks or less is known as acute diarrhea. Diarrhea that lasts longer than 4 weeks is considered chronic.

Loose bowel movements can have a lot of unpleasant symptoms, including:

• cramping and abdominal pain
• fatigue
• fever
• nausea
• vomiting
• dizziness
• weakness
• urgency for bowel movements that may result in loose stool

If you see unexplained color changes in your liquid bowel movement, especially red, black, or tarry stool, seek emergency medical treatment.

Diarrhea, especially severe or chronic, may cause other complications in your body. These include:

• dehydration
• malabsorption
• electrolyte imbalance
• acute kidney injury

You should always inform your doctor if you experience severe or consistent diarrhea lasting over 2 days.

Liquid bowel movements often resolve independently as the body passes the bacteria or other harmful factors contributing to your illness.

However, if you have bloody or regular diarrhea that lasts longer than 48 hours, contact a doctor to make sure your symptoms do not get worse.

A doctor may obtain a stool sample to send to a laboratory to test for the presence of certain bacteria, parasites, or viruses.

They also may recommend interventions, such as examining the intestinal lining via colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.

Liquid bowel movements can lead to cramping, abdominal discomfort, and dehydration.

If your diarrhea lasts longer than a few days, contact a doctor to determine a potential underlying condition. Staying hydrated and eating bland foods can help you regain strength and avoid dehydration.

Read this article in Spanish.

Liquid Poop (Watery Diarrhea): Common Causes and More

A liquid bowel movement, or diarrhea, is usually due to a short-term illness like food poisoning or a virus. However, it can result from a different underlying medical condition.

Diarrhea can happen to everyone from time to time. It occurs when you pass liquid instead of formed stool three or more times a day.

If your liquid bowel movements are a side effect of a chronic condition, a doctor can usually help you treat or manage them.

This article discusses the various causes of liquid bowel movements, potential complications, and the range of available treatments.

Multiple causes and contributing factors can lead to liquid bowel movements. Examples include:

• acute digestive infection
• constipation, since liquid stool can escape around blockages
• digestive tract disorders, like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and Crohn’s
• intolerances such as celiac disease
• history of damage to the anal sphincter
• surgeries like hemorrhoid or tumor removal, or treatment for anal abscesses and fistulas
• malabsorption syndromes

Stool is usually brown because of compounds like bile and bilirubin that are present in it. But if you have liquid bowel movements, you may find the liquid is another color entirely.

Learn more about stool colors and what they mean here.

Yellow liquid poop

Yellow liquid poop could indicate an underlying disorder in the liver or gallbladder. Bright yellow liquid stool can also be a sign of giardiasis, an infection caused by an intestinal parasite you can get from drinking unclean water.

Green liquid poop

Diarrhea can appear green due to green foods you ate or stool moving too quickly through your colon.

Pooping clear liquid

Intestinal inflammation can cause the secretion of mucus in the intestines. This causes clear liquid bowel movements.

Black liquid poop

Black liquid poop can be a cause for concern because it can indicate bleeding from a location somewhere in the higher portion of the digestive tract.

Other potential causes of black liquid poop include taking Pepto-Bismol or iron supplements or eating foods that are blue or black in color.

Diarrhea that lasts 2 weeks or less is known as acute diarrhea. Diarrhea that lasts longer than 4 weeks is considered chronic.

Loose bowel movements can have a lot of unpleasant symptoms, including:

• cramping and abdominal pain
• fatigue
• fever
• nausea
• vomiting
• dizziness
• weakness
• urgency for bowel movements that may result in loose stool

If you see unexplained color changes in your liquid bowel movement, especially red, black, or tarry stool, seek emergency medical treatment.

Diarrhea, especially severe or chronic, may cause other complications in your body. These include:

• dehydration
• malabsorption
• electrolyte imbalance
• acute kidney injury

You should always inform your doctor if you experience severe or consistent diarrhea lasting over 2 days.

Liquid bowel movements often resolve independently as the body passes the bacteria or other harmful factors contributing to your illness.

However, if you have bloody or regular diarrhea that lasts longer than 48 hours, contact a doctor to make sure your symptoms do not get worse.

A doctor may obtain a stool sample to send to a laboratory to test for the presence of certain bacteria, parasites, or viruses.

They also may recommend interventions, such as examining the intestinal lining via colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy.

Liquid bowel movements can lead to cramping, abdominal discomfort, and dehydration.

If your diarrhea lasts longer than a few days, contact a doctor to determine a potential underlying condition. Staying hydrated and eating bland foods can help you regain strength and avoid dehydration.

Read this article in Spanish.

Foamy stools – causes, diagnosis and treatment

Foamy stools is a discharge of liquid consistency feces with a large number of air bubbles and a sharp fetid odor. The symptom is sometimes accompanied by pain and pain in the abdomen, flatulence. As a variant of the norm, such a chair is more often observed in infants. In older children and adults, the disorder occurs with nutritional errors, may be due to diseases of the digestive system. To determine the root cause of the appearance of foamy feces, a coprogram, ultrasound of the abdominal organs, endoscopy and radiography are performed. To normalize the stool, enterosorbents, probiotics, and antidiarrheal drugs are used.

Causes of foamy stools

Normally, due to the absorption of excess fluid in the large intestine, stool has a well-formed appearance and a moderately hard texture. Liquid stools with a significant amount of foam are formed with increased gas formation in the intestines. Their formation is also facilitated by increased peristalsis. In young children, especially infants, this symptom is physiological and is usually not associated with other dyspeptic disorders. Foamy feces are also found in various organic and functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

Children’s age

In the first years of a child’s life, the digestive system adapts to various foods, during which liquid dark yellow or greenish stools with foam are formed. The sign is most typical for infants, which is associated with insufficient production of enzymes in the intestine. It is possible to increase bowel movements up to 8-10 times a day. If the symptom is observed frequently or is combined with the child’s anxiety, constant crying, refusal to eat, an urgent need to contact a pediatrician. The appearance of foamy stools in infants is provoked by:

• Mother’s malnutrition . The use of large quantities of smoked meats, chocolate, fresh vegetables and legumes affects the composition of breast milk. The child has abundant foamy feces 20-30 minutes after feeding, the stomach is often swollen.
• Early introduction of complementary foods . Loose stools with foam occur when the recommendations of doctors are not followed and new foods are added to the diet before the child reaches six months of age. Defecation disorders persist for 1-2 days.
• Use of foremilk . Liquid stools appear if the baby does not have time to completely empty one breast during feeding. Because foremilk is watery and rich in lactose, it promotes gas.
• Allergy to infant formula . In this case, foamy feces are released for a long time, the child becomes restless, loses weight. At first, the bowel movements are plentiful, then they become scarce, which is due to insufficient nutrition of the baby.

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Foamy stools in a child

Nutritional errors

Periodically foamy stools in adults and children of older age groups are detected when some foods are consumed. Most often, the development of a symptom is associated with eating a large amount of carbohydrate food, which undergoes fermentation reactions in the intestine, which increases gas formation. Characterized by increased stool up to 4-5 times a day. During each bowel movement, abundant foamy feces are released, which have a greenish tint and a sharp “sour” smell. Sometimes lumps of undigested food can be seen in the stool.

The symptom also occurs with the abuse of certain vegetables and fruits (cabbage, grapes, pears), legumes, the predominance of spicy dishes and smoked meats in the diet. In typical cases, dyspepsia resolves on its own within one day, the general condition of the person is not disturbed. The regular appearance of foamy feces, which is accompanied by vomiting, severe abdominal pain, loss of appetite, is a sign of an organic pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. With such symptoms, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible.

Dysbacteriosis

Foamy loose stools are considered one of the key signs of intestinal dysbiosis – a lack of beneficial bifidus and lactobacilli, which are necessary for normal digestion. Patients note the connection of symptoms with meals – at first, disorders occur after overeating, eating “heavy” fatty foods, then liquid, fetid stools are observed constantly, regardless of the nature of the diet. The chair becomes more frequent up to 5-7 times during the day. In addition to foamy feces, severe flatulence and rumbling in the intestines are typical, and abdominal pain is possible.

Intestinal infections

Foamy diarrhea is caused by disorders of the gastrointestinal tract when pathogens enter, as well as damage to the intestinal mucosa. Depending on the severity of the disease, the frequency of bowel movements ranges from 5 to 20 times during the day, the feces are unformed, fetid, with a high content of coarse and medium bubbling foam. Disorders of the stool are accompanied by severe pain and pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite. In children, due to dehydration, the general condition quickly worsens. With the release of foamy feces flow:

• Bacterial processes : salmonellosis, escherichiosis, initial stage of dysentery.
• Viral diseases : rotavirus, enterovirus infections.
• Parasitic infestations : giardiasis, gastroenteric form of balantidiasis and amoebiasis.

Celiac disease

With gluten intolerance, frothy stools appear in children at the age of 7-8 months, when various cereals are used as complementary foods. Celiac disease is characterized by copious, foul-smelling, greenish or light brown stools with foam and particles of undigested food. Defecation becomes more frequent up to 10-12 times a day. Due to digestive disorders, the child loses weight. A combination of the symptom with bloating, anxiety and psychomotor agitation is typical. If the pathology is not detected in time, the child begins to lag behind in growth and physical development.

Lactase deficiency

Watery, foamy stools are caused by low levels of an enzyme that breaks down milk sugar (lactose). As a result, undigested lactose accumulates in the intestines, which causes fermentation and increases the formation of gases. Defecation disorders appear in infants after 3-4 days of life, when the mother forms mature milk rich in milk sugar. There is low weight gain and even weight loss. The passage of foamy feces after taking milk, accompanied by severe bloating, is also possible in adults.

Complications of pharmacotherapy

Most often, disorders become a side effect in the treatment of bacterial diseases (antibiotic-associated diarrhea). Changes in the nature of the stool are associated with a violation of the composition of the intestinal microflora and occur in 20-40% of patients. The symptom develops 2-3 days after the start of therapy and continues throughout the course of taking the drugs. A prerequisite for the formation of liquid stools with foam is also direct damage to the intestinal wall by aggressive medicinal substances. Side effects in the form of diarrhea are typical for such groups of drugs as:

• Antibiotics : penicillins, macrolides, cephalosporins, etc.
• Oral contraceptives : regulon, postinor, marvelon.
• Cytostatics : methotrexate, mercaptopurine, cytosar.

Rare causes

• Chronic bowel disease : Crohn’s disease, amyloidosis of the small intestine.
• Tropical sprue .
• Surgical complications : resection of the small intestine, inflammation of the intestinal anastomoses.
• Congenital enteropathies: intestinal microvillus atrophy, enterokinase deficiency.

Examination

When frothy stools appear, patients turn to a gastroenterologist. Since the symptom can be due to various reasons, the specialist prescribes a comprehensive examination of the gastrointestinal tract using instrumental and laboratory methods. Diagnostic search involves clarifying the cause of defecation disorders and assessing the degree of secondary disturbance of metabolic processes in the body. The most valuable are:

• Coprogram . During a standard analysis of feces, their consistency is assessed, undigested food particles are detected. The pH of foamy feces is necessarily measured and the levels of individual enzymes are determined, which is important for the timely diagnosis of enzyme deficiency.
• Bacteriological analysis . To verify intestinal dysbacteriosis, it is necessary to inoculate feces on nutrient media with the identification of all bacterial colonies. More informative is the sowing of the contents of the small intestine, which is obtained using a probe.
• Function tests . For a quick non-invasive detection of lactase deficiency, a special breath test is used. An increase in the level of hydrogen in the exhaled air after ingestion of a large amount of milk sugar indicates a primary deficiency of the enzyme.
• Ultrasound . Ultrasound of the abdominal cavity is used as a screening to detect structural changes in the gastrointestinal tract, which may indicate the presence of organic pathology. Sonography is widely prescribed in childhood, since the method is absolutely safe and painless.
• Radiography . A series of radiographic images after oral barium sulfate contrast is recommended for persistent stool disorders. On radiographs, the contours of intestinal loops, the presence of defects in the intestinal wall, and volumetric formations are evaluated.

General and biochemical blood tests are indicated for all patients. To clarify the diagnosis of celiac enteropathy, an endoscopic examination of the duodenum with a biopsy of its walls is performed. Confirmation of intestinal infections is performed by detecting antibodies in blood plasma. If there is a suspicion that a foamy stool is associated with congenital diseases, a consultation with a specialist in the field of medical genetics is recommended.

Bacteriological analysis of feces

Symptomatic therapy

In case of mild defecation disorders, non-drug methods are recommended: drinking plenty of water to replenish the water balance, avoiding fatty and spicy foods, rich pastries and fast food from the diet. To eliminate increased gas formation, enterosorbents can be used. Do not take strong antidiarrheals without a doctor’s prescription as they may cause side effects. If the discharge of liquid, foul-smelling feces continues for more than 2-3 days, you should consult a specialist.

Probiotics are given to prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The presence of other dyspeptic symptoms (severe cramping abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, blood in the feces) against the background of foamy diarrhea is an indication for seeking medical help. Attempts to self-treat such conditions are fraught with the development of severe dehydration and aggravation of the underlying disease. Etiotropic and pathogenetic therapy is prescribed by a gastroenterologist after finding out the causes of stool disorders.

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea is a condition in which loose stools (diarrhea) develop when people take drugs to treat bacterial infections (antibiotics).

Most often, diarrhea is mild and stops after some time after antibiotics are stopped. On the other hand, antibiotic-associated diarrhea has been reported to cause colitis, inflammation of the intestines, or a more severe form of colitis, pseudomembranous colitis. In both cases, there is pain in the abdomen, fever and bloody diarrhea.

Mild antibiotic-associated diarrhea usually does not require treatment. In more serious forms of the disease, stop taking the antibiotic or replace it with another drug.

Symptoms

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea symptoms can be moderate to severe.

Common signs and symptoms

Most patients with antibiotic-associated diarrhea have the following mild signs and symptoms:

• Loose stool
• More frequent stool
• Antibiotic-associated diarrhea most often develops within a week of starting the drug. However, in some cases, diarrhea and other symptoms may appear days or even weeks after the end of the course of antibiotics.

More serious signs and symptoms

Some patients have more severe antibiotic-associated diarrhea. With a significant increase in the population of pathogenic bacteria, signs and symptoms of colitis or pseudomembranous colitis may occur, such as:

• Frequent watery stools
• Pain and cramps in the abdomen
• Temperature increase
• Mucus in stool
• Blood in stool
• Nausea
• Loss of appetite

Conditions that require medical attention

If you experience symptoms of severe diarrhea associated with taking antibiotics, you should immediately consult a doctor. These signs and symptoms are common to many diseases, so your doctor may order tests to make a diagnosis.

Complications

The most severe form of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, pseudomembranous colitis, can rarely cause life-threatening complications such as:

Dehydration .