# Does diarrhea have little flecks?



## 13925 (Oct 11, 2006)

Does diarrhea have little flecks of brown in it or is it usually just plain liquid? Mine usually has the flecks of brown in it.Glad we can ask these embarrassing questions here!


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## Nanobug (Nov 7, 2006)

> quoteoes diarrhea have little flecks of brown in it or is it usually just plain liquid?


It's a continuum between watery diarrhea and fully formed stools. It's "normal".


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## joelcoqui (Oct 17, 2006)

BAd diareeah is watery and flecky and dirtys up the bowl so you can see what u just did. Some people call diareah when they go very loose stools as well.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Some people include loose stools as diarrhea. There is a range. Which way your diarrhea presents is sometimes used to help figure out what you have.It isn't like flipping a light switch where it is either completely water or fully formed. Exactly where any person draws the line will vary, but most people consider loose, frequent or urgent stools to be in the diarrhea spectrum.It doesn't mean pure liquid without any solids in it at all. K.


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## 13925 (Oct 11, 2006)

Thank you for the replies. I think I am worrying too much about everything lately. I read something about if your stool looks like coffee grounds it could be cancer. This doesn't look like coffee grounds because it's more like flecks and it's light brown. I just can't keep running to the doctor for everything. They start to think you are a hypochondriac which I'm starting to wonder if I am. I'm going through a lot of depression right now because of family illness. The doctor put me on an anti-depressant, but I'm afraid to take it now because they all seem to make me so sick to my stomach and I haven't got time for that right now. Thanks for the understanding.


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## Kathleen M. (Nov 16, 1999)

Flecks of solid in watery diarrhea typically isn't what they mean by coffee ground looking.The good thing about the internet is you can find a lot of information. The bad thing about the internet is you can find a lot of information to scare yourself with. They see this a lot with medical students, when they get to the coursework where they learn what symptoms mean what disease and how to test for that a fair number of them start freaking out about everything their body does.Sometimes it's best to take a break from that. Some of the antidepressants can actually make the IBS better sometimes, so it may be worth giving it a go. The side effects are pretty idiosyncratic. Just because you didn't tolerate one you took doesn't tend to predict very well if you will tolerate the next one you try.K.


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## NANCY588 (Oct 29, 2001)

Sometimes I have episodes where literally five feet of soft, barely formed stool will come out in a single, coil-like 'explosion.'I always assumed it was diarrhea. How soft does poop have to be to be technically considered diarrhea? Does sheer volume count? I should probably add that following these episodes, I almost always end up having sand-like or liquid poopies. Where else could I possibly describe something so utterly gross without embarrassment??


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## 16229 (Jan 28, 2006)

D actually refers to the number of times more than consistency of stool.More than 4 watery, loose stools in a day is considered d. If it's just watery then it's usually just loose stool.


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## NANCY588 (Oct 29, 2001)

Well... don't mean to sound cranky myself, but I can tell you that their are actually people who have four, well formed, regular bowel movements daily who do not have diarrhea - so I don't agree that it's the number of times you poop that determines diarrhea. If I have just one, mushy explosion in a single day, I consider it diarrhea - and if you were within 100 feet of my bathroom, I think you'd agree!!


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

LOL! Nancy







BQ


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## 16229 (Jan 28, 2006)

I draw that distinction because of when you receive medical treatment. For a long time I called my loose stools d. And I can see how you can call them d.I had a conversation about this with my GI. He's the one who said it is more about the number of times. Technically, I have intermittent c along with loose stool (always). Only we called it d for a long time. It was not being treated properly because I incorrectly told them I had d. That is why I bring up the distinction.


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## 13925 (Oct 11, 2006)

It is nice hearing from all of you. I have only been on this board for a short time and it has already helped with my depression. Like you said, where else can we talk about these things that we wonder about. I'm sure we've all seen more doctors than we care to think about and we like to see if one of our new symptoms is common, or if we should make yet another trip to the doctor.


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## BQ (May 22, 2000)

http://ibdcrohns.about.com/library/glossar...ef-diarrhea.htm


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