Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsAppearanceStool SamplesFrequencyTreatmentWhen to See a Doctor
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Appearance
Stool Samples
Frequency
Treatment
When to See a Doctor
Crohn’s diseasecan cause many symptoms, both in the digestive tract and in other parts of the body. Abnormal stools (poop) tend to be common, especially whenCrohn’s diseaseis active. Digestive symptoms can include diarrhea, constipation, pain, and blood or mucus in the stools.
This article will discuss Crohn’s disease, what your stool and bowel movements may be like with the condition, when to see your healthcare provider, and what treatments may be recommended.
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Crohn’s Disease Facts and Statistics: What You Need to Know
Symptoms of Crohn’s Poop
What is considerednormal for stoolruns on a spectrum. Most people pass stool (defecate) somewhere between three times per day to three times per week.What might be outside the normal range is having a bowel movement four or more times per day on a regular basis.
Crohn’s disease could cause:
What Does Crohn’s Disease Poop Look Like?
Crohn’s disease can cause stool to look different. It could be looser, more difficult to pass, and it could be in various shapes or colors.
Color
Crohn’s disease doesn’t cause stool to appear in any specific color. However, stool in people with Crohn’s disease may be various colors based on how the disease affects them.
People with Crohn’s disease may have malabsorption, which means that food isn’t completely digested and the nutrients aren’t absorbed. If food has a strong color (think green for spinach or black for Oreo cookies) and isn’t digested well, it can cause the stool to turn that color.
Crohn’s disease may also cause some people to pass blood ormucusin their stools if their disease is active. Blood can appear anywhere from bright red to nearlyblack. The brighter the color, the further down in the intestines the blood is coming from. Mucus is white or yellowish, looks stringy or like gel, and may be slippery.
Can a Stool Sample Detect Crohn’s Disease?
Stool tests are done to monitor Crohn’s disease. However, a stool test alone can’t diagnose Crohn’s disease.
Crohn’s disease is usually diagnosed after taking into account all of the symptoms, as well as the results of blood tests, imaging studies, and usually acolonoscopyand/or avideo pill capsule endoscopy.
The biopsies (tissue samples) taken during an endoscopy test such as a colonoscopy are often used to confirm the diagnosis.
Do You Poop a Lot With Crohn’s?
Some people who have Crohn’s disease will go to the bathroom more often than people who don’t live with a digestive disease. In severe Crohn’s disease, diarrhea could occur many times a day.
The key is to know what is typical for inactive Crohn’s disease (called remission) and then know what happens to your stool during a Crohn’s disease flare-up. This varies from person to person. People with Crohn’s disease may find that they’re having more stools, possibly with diarrhea, when their disease is more active.
How to Treat Crohn’s Poop
The symptoms of Crohn’s disease may come and go. One of the ways peopletreat active diseaseis with medications. This includes oral drugs (pills), enemas (foams or suppositories), injections, and infusions (medications given through a line in a vein). Dietary changes, vitamins, and supplements are also sometimes tried.
Antidiarrheal medicationsmight sometimes be used for Crohn’s disease but only after talking to a healthcare provider about them. They might not be helpful for some people.
The medications for Crohn’s disease will help treat the inflammation that’s leading to diarrhea, constipation, or other changes with your stool. People typically work with their healthcare providers to find the treatment that helps get symptoms under control.
Talk to a healthcare provider before taking stool softeners or laxatives when you have Crohn’s disease. If constipation is related to Crohn’s, more treatment might be needed to manage Crohn’s disease.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
People with already diagnosed Crohn’s disease usually see their healthcare provider regularly (every six months or yearly is common). The healthcare provider will usually give instructions on what symptoms indicate a visit should be more frequent. These could include diarrhea, constipation, blood in the stool, and abdominal pain.
For people who don’t have a diagnosis, seeing a healthcare provider when there are changes to bowel movements is also important.
Diarrhea or constipation that goes on for more than a few days or comes and goes for weeks or months is one reason. Abdominal pain, which either comes on suddenly and is severe or is more nagging and goes on for a long time, is another reason to seek care.
Foul-smelling stool can also be a symptom of an infection that might need treatment with antibiotics.
Finally,blood in the stoolis never normal. Blood can appear bright red to darker, almost black, making it more difficult to identify as blood. The odor also might be different and smell like pennies. Blood in the stool is always a reason to see a healthcare provider.
Crohn’s Flare: Symptoms, Causes, When to Go to the Hospital
Summary
Crohn’s disease can cause changes to stool. This can include changes in color and frequency or the presence of blood or mucus. When stool appears different, it’s important for people already diagnosed with Crohn’s disease to talk to a healthcare provider to check if the condition is becoming active again.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mitsuhashi S, Ballou S, Jiang Z, et al.Characterizing normal bowel frequency and consistency in a representative sample of adults in the United States (NHANES).Am J Gastroenterol. 2018 Jan;113(1):115-123. doi:10.1038/ajg.2017.213Guan Q.A comprehensive review and update on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.J Immunol Res. 2019;2019:1-16. doi:10.1155/2019/7247238.Lamb CA, Kennedy NA, Raine T, et al.British Society of Gastroenterology consensus guidelines on the management of inflammatory bowel disease in adults.Gut. 2019;68(Suppl 3):s1-s106. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318484.Lichtenstein GR, Loftus EV, Isaacs KL, Regueiro MD, Gerson LB, Sands BE.ACG clinical guideline: Management of Crohn’s disease in adults.Am J Gastroenterol. 2018;113(4):481-517. doi:10.1038/ajg.2018.27.Additional ReadingUNC Multidisciplinary Center for IBD.Ulcerative colitis – Crohn’s disease.
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Mitsuhashi S, Ballou S, Jiang Z, et al.Characterizing normal bowel frequency and consistency in a representative sample of adults in the United States (NHANES).Am J Gastroenterol. 2018 Jan;113(1):115-123. doi:10.1038/ajg.2017.213Guan Q.A comprehensive review and update on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.J Immunol Res. 2019;2019:1-16. doi:10.1155/2019/7247238.Lamb CA, Kennedy NA, Raine T, et al.British Society of Gastroenterology consensus guidelines on the management of inflammatory bowel disease in adults.Gut. 2019;68(Suppl 3):s1-s106. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318484.Lichtenstein GR, Loftus EV, Isaacs KL, Regueiro MD, Gerson LB, Sands BE.ACG clinical guideline: Management of Crohn’s disease in adults.Am J Gastroenterol. 2018;113(4):481-517. doi:10.1038/ajg.2018.27.Additional ReadingUNC Multidisciplinary Center for IBD.Ulcerative colitis – Crohn’s disease.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Mitsuhashi S, Ballou S, Jiang Z, et al.Characterizing normal bowel frequency and consistency in a representative sample of adults in the United States (NHANES).Am J Gastroenterol. 2018 Jan;113(1):115-123. doi:10.1038/ajg.2017.213Guan Q.A comprehensive review and update on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.J Immunol Res. 2019;2019:1-16. doi:10.1155/2019/7247238.Lamb CA, Kennedy NA, Raine T, et al.British Society of Gastroenterology consensus guidelines on the management of inflammatory bowel disease in adults.Gut. 2019;68(Suppl 3):s1-s106. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318484.Lichtenstein GR, Loftus EV, Isaacs KL, Regueiro MD, Gerson LB, Sands BE.ACG clinical guideline: Management of Crohn’s disease in adults.Am J Gastroenterol. 2018;113(4):481-517. doi:10.1038/ajg.2018.27.
Mitsuhashi S, Ballou S, Jiang Z, et al.Characterizing normal bowel frequency and consistency in a representative sample of adults in the United States (NHANES).Am J Gastroenterol. 2018 Jan;113(1):115-123. doi:10.1038/ajg.2017.213
Guan Q.A comprehensive review and update on the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease.J Immunol Res. 2019;2019:1-16. doi:10.1155/2019/7247238.
Lamb CA, Kennedy NA, Raine T, et al.British Society of Gastroenterology consensus guidelines on the management of inflammatory bowel disease in adults.Gut. 2019;68(Suppl 3):s1-s106. doi:10.1136/gutjnl-2019-318484.
Lichtenstein GR, Loftus EV, Isaacs KL, Regueiro MD, Gerson LB, Sands BE.ACG clinical guideline: Management of Crohn’s disease in adults.Am J Gastroenterol. 2018;113(4):481-517. doi:10.1038/ajg.2018.27.
UNC Multidisciplinary Center for IBD.Ulcerative colitis – Crohn’s disease.
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