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Hey Doctor, Recently I Noticed A Very Yellow Looking Stool
Question: Hey doctor,
Recently I noticed a very yellow looking stool with a lot of undigested food in there. I’ve had stomach problems mainly with pain in my epigastric region for a couple of years now and have previously had a gastroscopy/colonoscopy which came out clear and they diagnosed me with IBS/functional dyspsiea but I’ve been have a weird type of bile reflux lately that has a different taste to normal reflux and now that yellow stool has got me worried. What other tests could I do to check it out is it bad that I got a yellow stool?
Recently I noticed a very yellow looking stool with a lot of undigested food in there. I’ve had stomach problems mainly with pain in my epigastric region for a couple of years now and have previously had a gastroscopy/colonoscopy which came out clear and they diagnosed me with IBS/functional dyspsiea but I’ve been have a weird type of bile reflux lately that has a different taste to normal reflux and now that yellow stool has got me worried. What other tests could I do to check it out is it bad that I got a yellow stool?
I’ve also had an abdominal ultrasound and chest x-ray which came up normal as well but I do have right sided pain along with the epigastric pain after I eat and feelings of nausea.
Brief Answer:
Several possible causes discussed and recommendations given
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
The fact that all the examinations you have done (endoscopy, colonoscopy and ultrasound) are normal it means it is very likely it is not a structural condition causing your symptoms but a condition that has to do with the function of the bowel of gastrointestinal system.
Yellow stools might indicate exes fat in the stools and this indicates that your bowel probably is not digesting well the food (functional problem of the bowel).
To confirm the presence of fat in the stool you will need a stool test that checks the fat in stool.
The first thing to rule out when there is exes fat in the stools is celiac disease which is gluten intolerance. You can have a blood test for gluten disease to make sure you don't have it.
Also having some tests like stools for ova and parasites to rule out parasites that might affect bowel function is easy and helpful. Giardia is a parasite that can affect the bowel function and cause indigestion but is difficult to be found in stools for ova and parasites so having stool antigen test for giardia is recommended.
To conclude:
- I would recommend you to do a few more tests to see the function of the bowel and possible causes that might affect it: stool examination for fat presence, stool for ova and parasite, stool antigen for giardia, blood test for celiac disease.
- meanwhile you can try to avoid food with gluten and see if this affects your symptoms. Taking some probiotics might be tried as well to help your bowel flora.
I hope i have answered your query. Please let me know if i can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Several possible causes discussed and recommendations given
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
The fact that all the examinations you have done (endoscopy, colonoscopy and ultrasound) are normal it means it is very likely it is not a structural condition causing your symptoms but a condition that has to do with the function of the bowel of gastrointestinal system.
Yellow stools might indicate exes fat in the stools and this indicates that your bowel probably is not digesting well the food (functional problem of the bowel).
To confirm the presence of fat in the stool you will need a stool test that checks the fat in stool.
The first thing to rule out when there is exes fat in the stools is celiac disease which is gluten intolerance. You can have a blood test for gluten disease to make sure you don't have it.
Also having some tests like stools for ova and parasites to rule out parasites that might affect bowel function is easy and helpful. Giardia is a parasite that can affect the bowel function and cause indigestion but is difficult to be found in stools for ova and parasites so having stool antigen test for giardia is recommended.
To conclude:
- I would recommend you to do a few more tests to see the function of the bowel and possible causes that might affect it: stool examination for fat presence, stool for ova and parasite, stool antigen for giardia, blood test for celiac disease.
- meanwhile you can try to avoid food with gluten and see if this affects your symptoms. Taking some probiotics might be tried as well to help your bowel flora.
I hope i have answered your query. Please let me know if i can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Thanks for that doc I just had another questions which is a weird one. But in Australia we have this tradition where people drink beer or any type of alcohol really out of a shoe it’s called a “shoey”. Long story short I did that last night and was throwing up this morning. What are the chances of getting a staph infection or something along those lines from the bacteria in the shoe it was just one of my sneakers? How long would it take for symptoms to actually show for a staph infection for example in your gut would it be quite serious what signs should I be looking out for? The reason I’m kind of worried is because my gut is kind of weak and I’d think I’d be more prone to getting bacteria go through I’ve heard horror stories of people losing limbs etc which really scares me. What precautions can I take now that I’ve already done it obviously at the time I was drunk and didn’t really think about it.
This kind of explains what it is but if I were to get sick would of it have happened by now it was over 15 hours ago now
https://tonedeaf.com.au/science-shoeys-bad-for-you/
https://tonedeaf.com.au/science-shoeys-bad-for-you/
Just to add I’ve had a really bad stomach ache all day is there anything I can have that will soothe it?
Brief Answer:
Rehydration
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I had to check about it as it is not a common thing with us. It seems the major concern is staphylococcus. Staphylococcus aureus generally produces a toxin and it is the toxin itself and not the staphylococcus that affects you and cause poison. Vomiting and diarrhea and abdominal pain can happen soon after having the contact with the toxin.
You will need to take oral rehydration solutions and have several of them in a day to substitute loss of water and electrolytes with vomiting or diarrhea. Sometimes if patients don't get enough water and electrolytes they can worsen soon and need intravenous infusions and hospitalization.
Your doctor may prescribe you some buscopan to help with the abdominal pain and probably loperamid to help with diarrhea and metochlorpramide for the vomiting. Antibiotics are not needed generally and are not helpful as it is the toxin you ingested and not the staphylococcus that is causing the symptoms.
It would be best to avoid any drinking from a shoe especially drinking beer as it seems it has less strong alcohol concentration and less disinfectant affect making you more likely to get problems with staphylococcus.
I hope i have answered to your query. Let me know if i can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Rehydration
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
I had to check about it as it is not a common thing with us. It seems the major concern is staphylococcus. Staphylococcus aureus generally produces a toxin and it is the toxin itself and not the staphylococcus that affects you and cause poison. Vomiting and diarrhea and abdominal pain can happen soon after having the contact with the toxin.
You will need to take oral rehydration solutions and have several of them in a day to substitute loss of water and electrolytes with vomiting or diarrhea. Sometimes if patients don't get enough water and electrolytes they can worsen soon and need intravenous infusions and hospitalization.
Your doctor may prescribe you some buscopan to help with the abdominal pain and probably loperamid to help with diarrhea and metochlorpramide for the vomiting. Antibiotics are not needed generally and are not helpful as it is the toxin you ingested and not the staphylococcus that is causing the symptoms.
It would be best to avoid any drinking from a shoe especially drinking beer as it seems it has less strong alcohol concentration and less disinfectant affect making you more likely to get problems with staphylococcus.
I hope i have answered to your query. Let me know if i can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr. Antoneta Zotaj
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
Yeah in the future I definitely won’t I only had maybe a mouthfull of it and skulled it all at once it’s kind of drinking game in Australia and that was it for the whole night. I’ve kind of just had stomach pain most of the day but it’s gotten a little better I’ve been drinking a lot of water, cordial and sprite. Do you think it would get any worse what’s the time frame for the toxin to show up I also read you can get blood poisoning would that have happened by now it’s been about 18 hours now since.
Brief Answer:
Detailed answer and explanations given below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Food poison generally is sudden, and strong with lots of vomiting and other symptoms, very soon from exposure (within minutes to a couple of hours) and once it starts to improve it will go on to improve and generally last 1-2 days. So i think you should be continuing to get better as long as you have already started to be better.
Still it is important to take oral rehydration solutions as they are over the counter and can be taken in the pharmacy without need for prescription and can taken in frequent small amount to substitute both water and electrolytes in the right portion.
Drinking frequent small amount of water is good but you will need potassium which you can get from banana and also sodium which you can take if you take some salty food time after time.
To conclude:
- food poison can start very suddenly after exposure with the toxin in the food and lasts 1-2 days and once it improves it will go on to be better
- alcohol itself and without food poison can also cause some of your symptoms so it might also be alcohol related symptoms. Please make sure you also take sugar as alcohol can reduce sugar in blood
- oral rehydration solutions, banana, some salty food and sugar will help you improve (balanced)
- if no improvement or any worsening you will need to see your doctor immediately
I hope i have answered to your query but please let me know if i can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr Antoneta Zotaj
Detailed answer and explanations given below
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Food poison generally is sudden, and strong with lots of vomiting and other symptoms, very soon from exposure (within minutes to a couple of hours) and once it starts to improve it will go on to improve and generally last 1-2 days. So i think you should be continuing to get better as long as you have already started to be better.
Still it is important to take oral rehydration solutions as they are over the counter and can be taken in the pharmacy without need for prescription and can taken in frequent small amount to substitute both water and electrolytes in the right portion.
Drinking frequent small amount of water is good but you will need potassium which you can get from banana and also sodium which you can take if you take some salty food time after time.
To conclude:
- food poison can start very suddenly after exposure with the toxin in the food and lasts 1-2 days and once it improves it will go on to be better
- alcohol itself and without food poison can also cause some of your symptoms so it might also be alcohol related symptoms. Please make sure you also take sugar as alcohol can reduce sugar in blood
- oral rehydration solutions, banana, some salty food and sugar will help you improve (balanced)
- if no improvement or any worsening you will need to see your doctor immediately
I hope i have answered to your query but please let me know if i can assist you further.
Kind regards,
Dr Antoneta Zotaj
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Prasad
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