What ‘Ghost Poop’ Might Say About Your Health

There’s something known on social media as “ghost poop.” It’s not poo that goes boo, though. It’s also not something just for this Halloween season.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite. Ghost poop is a bowel movement that seemingly disappears without a trace after you flush the toilet. There’s no sign of it either in the toilet paper that you used to wipe your butt or in the toilet bowl. And many on social media are claiming that this is a beautiful rather than boo-tiful thing—that it is a sign that your gastrointestinal tract is working well, something that should be the case the entire year. But is this really true about such poo?

‘Ghost Poop’ Might Correspond To Type 3 or 4 On The Bristol Stool Scale

Well, there is something called the Bristol Stool Scale, otherwise known as the Bristol or the Meyers Scale. It allows you to classify the type of poop that you’ve been having in case you want to discuss such things during a visit to the doctor’s office, a happy hour or a date, as in, “Hi, nice to meet you. Wanna know what type my stool is?” The scale consists of the following seven types:

• Type 1 stool: This is when your stool looks a bit like rabbit droppings or nuts, hard, separate pellets that don’t pass easily. They look this way probably because you’re constipated quite severely. The poop is taking too long to pass through your gastrointestinal tract so that a lot of the fluid that was in your poo has gotten absorbed by your colon. You’re probably saying something like “nuts” when trying hard to squeeze out the poo into the toilet so that it can only come out in pellets.
• Type 2 stool: To continue on the food theme (because that’s certainly what you want to think of when you think of poo), these have been described as a bunch of grapes or somewhat sausage-shaped but lumpy. There’s likely still constipation going on here but not as bad as what’s happening with Type 1.
• Type 3 stool: This is the corn on the cob look. But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s actual corn there. It’s when the poop is sausage-shaped with cracks on the surface. This suggests that the transit of poo through your GI tract is normal.
• Type 4 stool: This is the true sausage poo. It’s smoother and more snake-like than Type 3 stool. If you “sausage” poo, your within the normal range within the Bristol scale.
• Type 5 stool: This is chicken nuggets territory. The poo is in soft blobs with clear edges that pass easily. This ain’t diarrhea territory yet. But it can be the Infinity War to that Endgame, a prequel to diarrhea.
• Type 6 stool: This is the “porridge” category, and, sorry, Goldilocks, it’s not “just right.” You’ve entered diarrhea territory here, as the poop is fluffy and mushy. Your poop is probably moving too quickly through your GI tract so that your colon doesn’t have enough time to absorb enough fluid.
• Type 7 stool: Here things are gravy, watery with no solid pieces. You don’t want to be on this gravy train for too long because it is a sign that something’s really wrong with your GI tract. See your doctor if this goes on for more than 48 hours.

Ghost poop would probably fall under either type 3 or type 4. The hard nature of types 1 or 2 would make it hard not to leave something on the toilet tissue after you wipe. And the softer type 5 and the watery type 6 and type 7 are going to leave much more than a trace. So ghost poop could be a sign that you’re on the right track in your GI tract. But it is only one measure and alone not a guarantee of anything.

‘Ghost Poop’ Alone Doesn’t Guarantee Good Digestive Health

As with all health situations and bodily functions, you need to look at more than just a measure to determine how well things are a-going. So with pooping, you should also pay attention to the following:

• Frequency: I already covered this backside issue in Forbes back in April. Normal pooping frequency is within the one-to-three-times-a-day range.
• Color: Keep in mind what brown can do for you. Brown is normal color of poop. If it’s any other color, investigate it further, especially if it consistently stays that different color. Being off-color this way doesn’t necessarily mean badness. Consuming certain things can change your poop color momentarily such as iron supplements or licorice turning it black, leafy green vegetables turning it green or beets turning it red. Your poop can be yellow or very light brown if you happen to be a breastfed baby. But it should be relatively easy to determine if you are one. If there isn’t a simple explanation for poo that’s not brown, talk to your doctor.
• Smell: OK, your bleep stinks no matter how fondly you may think of yourself. But an even more foul smell can be a sign of an infection or GI absorption problem.
• Weight and density: Your poop should sink in the toilet water. When your poop floats on top of water, it could be a sign of something going wrong like an infection or poor GI tract absorption. If your poop is floating above the water and all around the bathroom, it could be haunted. Either way, it’s time to call a professional.
• Composition: Look for unusual things in your poo such as blood, fat, plastic or entire Pez candy dispensers.
• Symptoms elsewhere: Your GI tract should be connected to the rest of your body. (If it isn’t, call your doctor immediately.) Therefore, a GI problem could manifest elsewhere such as when you have fevers, chills, aches and pains, headaches or lightheadedness.

They say that your eyes are the window to your soul. Well, consider whatever comes out of your bottom to be the backdoor to your GI and digestive health. In fact, what’s in your poop can also reflect what’s going on beyond your GI tract, as I’ve described in Forbes previously.

What To Do If Your Don’t Have Ghost Poop

That being said. Just because you can see something in your toilet paper or something left in your toilet after you flush, doesn’t mean you should automatically say, “Oh, s—!” Your digestive health could still be very good. As long as you are in the type 3 or 4 range for the most part, you are fine Bristol Stool Scale-wise.

However, if your poo consistency consistently falls within type 1 or 2, you may want to find ways to relieve your constipation. That may mean drinking more fluids, eating more fiber, getting more exercise or checking which of your medications may be causing the constipation. If none of these help things become more sausage-y, call your doctor.

If your poop keeps going the way of types 6 or 7 for more than a couple days, it will be important to figure out what may be causing your diarrhea. This could be the result of a persistent infection, some other inflammation in your GI tract or problems with the movement of your GI tract, all of which deserve medical attention. Therefore, talk to your doctor.

So while “ghost poop” shouldn’t be the be-all-end-all, the emergence of this term on social media is a reminder that thinking and talking about your poop shouldn’t be a scary thing. It’s good to normalize such discussions so that more people are open about talking about their poop. This will give you more than a ghost’s chance of detecting any potential GI problems early enough to get proper treatment.