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Oh, crap.
What happened? What’s wrong?
I don’t know what, exactly. Why is there mucus in my poop?
Oh, gross. Well, a little is normal, since it’s the slime your body makes to lube your
guts.
This was more than a little.
If you have an infection, the volume of mucus would go up. If that happened, you really
need to see a doctor.
A runny nose with a cold, runny poop with an infection …
If there is blood, that could be a sign of parasites like worms.
I haven’t eaten any worms.
There are parasites that have eggs in water or tissue of animals we eat.
Then we eat and drink it and get it in us. Oh, gross.
I can’t have that. I don’t eat eggs.
Sometimes the problem is because you have ulcerative colitis.
I don’t have stomach ulcers.
Ulcerative colitis is in the colon. And that generates extra mucus during flare-ups, which
you see when you finally have poop come out.
Why does the body make that much internal snot?
Ulcerative colitis is an auto-immune disorder. The body makes extra mucus to compensate for
the attack.
If my body makes that much mucus, I’d expect to see more. It’s not like I’m blowing
my butt as often as my nose.
While the mucus isn’t absorbed by the body, some of it is broken down by bacteria in your
intestine.
The infection.
Or the bacteria in your gut that help you break down food.
How do I know I need to talk to my doctor?
If the extra mucus comes with blood or clumps of tissue, you need to see the doctor. And
see the doctor if you have abdominal pain when you poop or just all the time when there
is mucus.
Blood, guts and fear. Sounds more like a band than a doctor’s note.
And see the doctor if you can’t poop, in case things are so inflamed poop can’t get
out. That can actually be life threatening.