In terms of the stool’s appearance, major indicators also include blood in your poo. The NHS states changes in bowel habit is one of the main warning symptoms of the disease, which includes having more frequent and looser stools. Many people remain nonchalant when changes in toilet habits or stool shape and colours occur - which could prove to be fatal. In fact, in the last 10 years, they’ve noticed more patients in their 30s, 20s and even teens getting diagnosed – something that used to be considered incredibly rare. Many healthcare professionals are discovering the age of their bowel cancer patients keeps going down.

It does not store any personal data.Bowel cancer has a high mortality rate, which experts believe could be due to the relative lack of symptoms in the early stages of the disease.įor this reason, more than 60% of cases are diagnosed when the cancer has already spread regionally or to distant organs. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Performance'. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category 'Necessary'.

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Do you have a family history of colorectal or other cancers.

Have you started taking any new medications lately?.

How long you have been experiencing pencil thin stools.

Additional symptoms accompanying the narrowing of stools.

Have you changed your dietary habits recently?.

If changes in stool appearance are accompanied by blood in the stool, anemia and stomach pain or abdominal cramps then it’s important to speak to your doctor immediately as these signs could be indicative of cancer. Though it’s not common for narrow stools to indicate cancer if it it has been ongoing for more than two weeks, it would be best to check with a doctor. Though research suggests this is highly unlikely unless accompanied by red flag symptoms discussed below. The growth of cancerous or non-cancerous tumors or polyps may cause a narrowing of the rectum, that is thought to result in thin or narrowed stool. Inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s disease can cause diarrhea or narrowing of the rectum which are both causes of thin stools Where else if constipation is the culprit, stool may be thin and stringy due to inadequate fiber.

When IBS results in diarrhea, stool can be watery and pencil-thin, as the stool hasn’t had enough time to form. In other words the transit time for food to leave our bowel. Irritable bowel syndrome often causes changes in the shape and consistency due to altered colonic motility.

There are a variety of reasons that may be behind pencil thin stools, including conditions causing diarrhea or constipation or an obstruction of the colon. Sudden changes that are not accompanied by a corresponding alteration in dietary habits, is something to be aware of. The key is consistency, if you are going to the bathroom regularly without discomfort, urgency that may result in an accident and pass without straining then there shouldn’t be an issue. Nothing’s ever perfect and our poop comes in a variety of shapes of sizes and forms, which do not necessarily mean something is wrong. As much as we’d love to see a well formed poop in the toilet, signaling all is good with our digestive system. The appearance of thin or narrow stools without the presence of other red-flag symptoms are usually not a cause for alarm.

Pictures of pencil thin stools