# floating stools



## Guest (Feb 25, 1999)

Has anyone asked their doctor about floating stools? Is it normal and we just never noticed it before?thanks


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

Floating stools can be caused only by gas in the stool and nothing else. It is normal for persons who naturally produce methane gas (about 1/3 the population) and probably also for vegetarians, who eat of lot of undigestible starches. Some doctors believe that fat malabsorption can do this, but that is a myth, which seems to still be floating (pardon the pun) around.


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## Guest (Feb 25, 1999)

Hi and welcome, I too have had the problems you described. Floating stools can be caused by many things. The best place I found to get good info on this is Dr. Koop's site(htt://doctorcoop.net/adam/mhc/top/003126.htm) This site is run by Dr. Koop himself and his staff. For those that don't know who Dr. Koop is He graduated from Cornell Medical School and went on to become Surgeon General from 1981-1989. He is now doing lectures and working out of DartmouthCollege.(htt;//koop.dartmouth.edu/lectures/other.html or just type in Dr. Koop or Floating stool on Yahoo). Floating stools can be the sign of serious dieases. I suggest you check with your doctor and read Dr. Koop's site.


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

The site mentioned by MaryT is in error. As this is a responsible conveyor of medical information, I emailed the owner and asked for it to be corrected though it may take a while as they are not original writers of the information there.Anyway, floating stools are caused by gas and only gas. Floating stools are not a sign of any disease.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 1999)

Nesaby,Check site: http://www.healthanswers.com/database/<br[/URL] />ami/converted/003128.htmlHere you will find other causes.Karl


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

You posted the same incorrect database reference as MaryT did. I will email them as well.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 1999)

They're still teaching us in nursing school that fat malabsorption can cause greasy looking, foul smelling, floating stools. This makes sense to me, because fat floats when placed in water. I don't think that they would be telling us this if it wasn't true.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 1999)

Fluxwhat you say makes sense since I have had very little fat and no lactose in my diet. I have added a lot of fiber to my diet (metamucil and fruit) and I am guessing that that is what's causing all the stools to float.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 1999)

Flux,Please answer these questions:Are you diagnosed with IBS?What education and/or credentials do you possess that motivates you to consistently insist your facts or beliefs are accurate and any opposing view is bunk?Thank You,Karl


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## Guest (Feb 26, 1999)

K-Stools float only because of gas trapped in them which makes them more bouyant. Patients with fat malabsorption will also often have floating stools because fat maldigestion and carbohydrate malassimilation are often linked. Carbohydrate in the colon is digested by colonic bacteria which produce, among other things, gas. Hence,the floating stools in steatorrhea. Fat "floats" because it's hydrophobic and wants to minimize it's contact area with water. Stools float because they have gas in them that makes them more bouyant, not because they contain fat. A case of true, true and sometimes related.








[This message has been edited by DocJ (edited 02-25-99).]


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## flux (Dec 13, 1998)

I suspect that in the past people noticed that steatorrheic stools floated and simply assumed that the fat was causing it. That was just passed on into the textbooks and nobody questioned it. It wasnï¿½t a formal study was done to find the real mechanism. But as you discovered, K, sometimes myths linger.


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## Guest (Feb 26, 1999)

Thanks for clearing that up DocJ!


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## Guest (Feb 27, 1999)

Fat floats for two reasons:1. It's not water soluble. As a result, it won't mix with water, and if forced into a mixture, will settle out. If an emoluent is added to the mixture, however, the fat will bind with the emoluent, and form a solution.2. Fat has a lower specific gravity than water. Since it won't mix, and is effectively lighter per unit volume, it will settle to the top of water, not to the bottom. Hydrocarbons also share this feature. Probably has something do with long chain molecules occupying a larger volume than the equivalent weight of good old H2O.I have no idea whether fatty stool would have a lower specific gravity than water, and whether that would be the reason it would float.bob


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## Guest (Feb 27, 1999)

Doc J,Sorry a little confused. Stools float because of only gas or do they also float because offat. Your explanation cites that fat floats and a linkage between maldigestion and malassimilation. So does the foregoing suggest it could be either gas or fatty stools? Does the presence of gas also mean a presence of fat?Karl[This message has been edited by Karl (edited 02-27-99).][This message has been edited by Karl (edited 02-27-99).]


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