HAVE you ever experienced a ‘ghost poo’ and wondered what caused it?
Elusive excretions, or whatever you call them, don’t leave a trace on the loo paper or down the toilet bowl.
Even when you know you’ve passed a stool, there’s no sign of it anywhere – almost like a ghost – hence the nickname.
While ‘ghost poo’ is not a medical term and definitely not something you’ll find on the website, they are a genuine phenomenon and they could actually reveal important clues about gut .
While the phrase may sound slightly sinister, ‘ghost poos’ actually tend to be a sign of good health.
They can, for instance, be a sign that your stool lacks trapped , which suggests your is healthy and that gas is moving through your body efficiently.
More importantly, however, these elusive excretions could also indicate that you are less at risk of , the deadliest cancer in the world.
Some 11,500 people are diagnosed with the disease every year, making it the tenth most common in the UK.
But only 4.3 per cent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer survive the disease for 10 years or more in the UK.
What’s more, five-year survival rates are generally below the European average in the UK.
This is partly because the sometimes shows no symptoms until it has already spread to other parts of the body, making it incredibly hard to treat.
According to , a large number of people are only diagnosed with the disease after they end up in A&E or at a appointment feeling unwell.
Symptoms only tend to appear in the later stages of the cancer and can include tummy or back pain, yellowing of the skin or whites of your eyes, unexplained and changes to your poo.
Pancreatic cancer can cause pale, oily poos called steatorrhoea.
These are caused by fat in the poo and may smell worse than normal and are difficult to flush down the toilet.
They happen because your body isn’t making enough enzymes to digest the fat in your food properly, Pancreatic Cancer UK explains.
The symptoms of pancreatic cancer
PANCREATIC cancer doesn’t always cause symptoms in its early stages.
As the cancer grows and you do begin to show signs, these may come and go and be unspecific, making it , according to Pancreatic Cancer UK .
Common symptoms include:
- Indigestion – a painful, burning feeling in your chest with an unpleasant taste in your mouth
- – it may start as general discomfort or tenderness in the tummy area and spread to the back, which get worse lying down and feel better is you sit forward
- Diarrhoea and constipation – see a GP if you have runny poos for more than seven days, especially if you’ve lost weight as well
- Steatorrhoea – pale, oily poo that’s bulky, smells horrible and floats, making it hard to flush
- Losing a lot of weight without meaning to
- – yellow skin and eyes, as well as dark pee, pale poo and itchy skin
A ‘ghost poo’, however, is very different to these types of stools. They indicate that your intestines have sucked out most fatty oils or bile.
What’s more, elusive stools will instantly sink in the toilet bowl whereas fatty or greasy stools tend to float.
So if you’ve noticed a ghost poo recently, it could be a sign that you are currently less at risk of pancreatic cancer.
‘Ghost poos’ can also be a sign that your diet is fibre rich.
, says: “If (someone) has a bowel movement and it’s so clean and well-formed that it doesn’t leave any residue and just sinks, that is actually a very healthy bowel movement.”
It suggests a diet high in fibre, which increases the weight and size of your stool.
Fibre is not only important for staying regular on the loo, it is also associated with a lower risk of , , and , according to the NHS.
Meanwhile, some research has suggested that floating stools are linked to gut health issues such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
But as ‘ghost poos’ sink, this once again suggests that you have a healthy gut.
Nevertheless, it is important that you pay attention to your stools regularly to make sure you don’t miss any clues about your health.
Penelope De Lacavalerie, a colorectal surgeon from Australia, says: “Every time you do one, look at the toilet bowl and any paper you’ve used for wiping.”
“Try to notice your poop’s color, shape, and consistency.”
And now you also know that seeing nothing isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and shouldn’t be reason enough to freak out.
