The color, shape, and texture of your stool can tell a lot about what is going on inside your body. It is therefore advisable that you take a moment to check on your discharge every day before you flash the toilet.
Normally, the color of stool varies between brown, green, and yellow. Other things that one should consider include the smell and texture. While not always the case, excessively smelly stool might indicate existence of injuries in the rectum or intestines. This will be confirmed if the release is accompanied by blood.
If you produce orange colored stool often, here are some of the things that your body might be communicating:
Too much carotene
When you consume a lot of carrots, pawpaw, tomatoes, and watermelon among other carotene-rich veggies, the body might not be able to make use of all the content within them, and may have to release some through stool or urine. The same happens when you take excess plant-based vitamin A supplements.
Sometimes carotene may also deposit in the palms and feet, giving them an orange appearance. A few people find this pleasant but others may dislike it.
While carotene itself has not shown any signs of toxicity in humans, many other conditions causing orange stool can hide behind it. In other words, the person might assume that it is carotene causing their orange discharge hence might not bother to look out for other factors. From this perspective, it is advisable to consume carotene only up to a level where it does not affect detection of other diseases.
On the other hand, vitamin A that is comes from animals is actually dangerous if consumed in excess. Too much animal vitamin A leads to of scaly skin, heart problems, and brain defects in newborn babies. That is why experts advise people to go slow on liver dishes.
Poor vitamin absorption
Problems within the gastrointestinal tract may hinder absorption of certain foods. Vitamins are usually the most susceptible to loss if there are dysfunctions in the intestine. Defects in the intestines may arise due to genetic factors, pathogen invasion, drug side effects, or mechanical damages. Humans and animals alike are susceptible to these.
Inflammation in the small intestine can hinder it from absorbing vitamins and other important nutrients. This may be short or long term and can lead to change of color in feces.
Short bowel syndrome is a condition that arises when a large part of the intestine either becomes dormant or is surgically removed due to an underlying disease. With a shorter length, the intestine cannot do proper absorption and will let go of some minerals and vitamins.
Poor quality of bile
Bile juice, which is produced in the liver, is responsible for dissolving vitamins to enable them diffuse into the walls of the small intestines. However, some people may have problems with their bile concentration either due to dysfunctions in the liver or because their gall bladder, where the juice should be matured, is not functional. When this happens, the body is not able to use its vitamin input efficiently.
In this case, the doctor can prescribe medications that improve permeability and instruct the person to consume more vitamins.
Obstruction of bile juice flow
The bile duct may experience blockages along it that may stop movement of important body fluids to their sites of action. This prevents bile from interacting with the components of the intestines.
Gallstones are the most common cause of duct blockage. They usually arise from accumulation of calcium in the body either due to poor elimination of calcium or too much consumption. A person with gallstones is also likely to have kidney stones.
Bile duct blockage may also come about due to overcrowding of bacteria. Apart from releasing orange stool, persons having obstructed bile ducts may also notice an increase in amounts of fecal release, exhaustion, abdominal pain, and weight loss.
Irritable bowel syndrome
Individuals experiencing irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) may also release orange colored stool. The condition is caused by a combination of factors including stress, poor diet, and some medications. Other symptoms of IBS are abdominal cramps and gas. Some patients experience constipation while others may have diarrhea.
The condition is not life threatening; however, without treating IBS, you might experience long-term discomforts that may prevent you from enjoying life like normal people.
You might also fail to gain much from what you consume as your system becomes inefficient; the body will also reduce its energy release in order to conserve the little that is available, hence decreasing your physical and mental productivity.
The treatment plan for IBS is usually long term. Though medications may be used, their impact is short term and less effective as compared to positive lifestyle changes like eating healthy, taking adequate liquids and doing enough exercise.
