Dr. Stool writes: We all need a little more order in our lives. Now, thanks to two ingenius poo docs from England, we have the ability to neatly classify our most untidy of waste products.
While we believe that the variety in poo is, indeed, “bottomless,” these poo minimalists have devised a quick and easy classification entitled, the Bristol Stool Scale. Developed in the 1990s at the University of Bristol (those crazy Brits), this scale classifies stool into 7 categories. While we are a bit skeptical that this limited classification can capture the glorious diversity of poo, the underlying premise is sound.
K W Heaton and S J Lewis (the developers of the scale) determined after considerable research that a poo’s consistency is determined by how much time it spends in the colon. The longer the incubation, the drier and more particulate the stool (this occurs because the colon’s primary function is to absorb water).
The amazing thing about these British physicians is that they actually created a visual scale so that patients could say, “Hey doc! That one, that one…That’s me!”
Bristol Stool Scale
Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts
Type 2: Sausage-shaped but lumpy
Type 3: Like a sausage but with cracks on its surface
Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges
Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
Type 7: Watery, no solid pieces. Entirely Liquid
If you are so inclined, hit the jump for the illustrated version (although the illustrations in “What’s Your Poo Telling You?” are much more impressive.
speaking as a weirdo british physician who used to work in bristol, you’ll have to trust me on this- it is both important to know the answer to the question and very useful to have visual images particularly for kids. without it, the standard answer to the question; “what’s your poo like?” is- “normal”. no-one ever wants to think that they’re not. altho how they think they know what other people’s are like is beyond me!
and just in case you’re wondering; probably 4-6.
It’s always better to identify something we’ve seen by pointing out from the selection than to describe it. i think some doctors find it hard to identify what their patient is taking about without the visual guide.
That’s something we can’t ignore. Without the chart, doctors would take long time in examining it which is helpful in identifying certain ailments our body has based on the chart.
thanks for the guide i say. now apart from the obvious what is the best shape poo and will colon cleansing change the results?