{"id":1090843,"date":"2026-07-15T14:00:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1090843\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T14:00:27","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T14:00:27","slug":"doctors-say-ghost-poops-say-a-lot-about-your-gut-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1090843\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors Say ‘Ghost Poops’ Say A Lot About Your Gut Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cGhost poops\u201d happen to most of us <\/a>at one point or another.<\/p>\n

The elusive excrement\u2019s journey goes as follows: you sit on the loo and pass a bowel movement, only to find it\u2019s left no trace in the bowl and\/or your toilet paper after wiping. <\/p>\n

But what does this phantom faeces mean? <\/p>\n

As it turns out, the phenomenon can say a lot about your gut health (don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s all good stuff).<\/p>\n

What do \u201cghost poops\u201d say about your gut health? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking to Health<\/a>, gastroenterologist Dr Bruce Hennessy said that most \u201cghost poops\u201d would count as a four on the Bristol stool chart (a clinical system used<\/a> to determine what\u2019s \u201cnormal\u201d according to your poo\u2019s colour, size, and shape). <\/p>\n

Four is generally considered an ideal stool. It\u2019s smooth and easy to pass, which, as Dr Mike Sevilla told the publication<\/a>, \u201cshows that you are eating a balanced diet with enough fibre and staying hydrated\u201d.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, gastroenterologist Dr Austin L Chiang, author of Gut: An Owner\u2019s Guide<\/a>, shared with SELF<\/a> that \u201cghost poops\u201d mean your sphincter and other muscles are working well. <\/p>\n

However, Dr Chaing pointed out they\u2019re \u201cprobably more rare than normal\u201d, so don\u2019t take it as a red flag if you\u2019re not having \u201cghost poops\u201d often. <\/p>\n

How can I achieve a \u201cghost poop\u201d? <\/strong><\/p>\n

You can\u2019t fully control when you\u2019ll experience the pristine poop, but there are some things you can do to encourage it.<\/p>\n

Is a \u201cghost poop\u201d ever cause for concern? <\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes, gastroenterologist Dr Islam shared in a YouTube video<\/a>, what feels like the urge to pass stool is actually just gas. <\/p>\n

This happens when you\u2019ve got too much air in your gut, which \u201cinnervates or activates the nerves inside your colon [and rectum] and gives you that urge to have a bowel habit,\u201d the doctor shared.<\/p>\n

There are some instances where this might be worth seeing a doctor about. In fact, speaking to TODAY,<\/a> gastroenterologist Dr Rabia De Latour said a condition called tenesmus can make you \u201cfeel like there\u2019s something in there, but nothing is coming out of the rectal vault\u201d. It might also make you feel like you haven\u2019t \u201cfinished\u201d on the loo and can lead to<\/a> pain, straining and cramping.<\/p>\n

This can be caused<\/a> by inflammation due to conditions like Crohn\u2019s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, an abscess, bowel infection, and more. So, it\u2019s worth speaking to your GP if you notice this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cGhost poops\u201d happen to most of us at one point or another. The elusive excrement\u2019s journey goes as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1090844,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[11],"tags":[5114,105,59038,16,15],"class_list":["post-1090843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-evergreen","tag-health","tag-regular","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116924358917616074","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1090843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1090843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1090844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1090843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1090843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1090843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}