How often should humans poop?

How Often Should You Poop?

Okay, people. We need to talk about poop. I know, shocking coming from The Gut Fairy. But seriously, how often are you pooping?

I ask people this all the time in my office, and you would be surprised how many people look at me like I just asked them a trick question. I hear, “Well...I don’t know,” or my favorite, “Maybe twice a week? But that’s normal for me.”

Okay. But is it?

There actually isn’t one magic number that is “normal” for every person. Some people poop more than once a day and some people poop less often. Going fewer than three times a week is one of the things healthcare providers look at when evaluating constipation, but I don’t want you to only count how many times you poop. I want you to pay attention to how you poop, too.

Is it easy to go, or are you straining? Are you sitting on the toilet forever? Do you feel like you’re actually finished when you’re done? Does your belly feel better afterward? And please, look before you flush. Is your poop little hard rabbit pellets? One giant hard poop? Soft and formed? Mushy? Watery? All of that gives you information about what is happening with your bowel habits.

And Can We Talk About Kids?

If you have a poop holder, you know. My daughter Madelyn was a poop holder when she was little, and let me tell you, when you have a poop holder in your house, poop becomes a family event.

There’s the hiding, the stiff legs, the butt clenching, and the absolute insistence that they DO NOT HAVE TO POOP, while you’re standing there looking at them thinking, “You very clearly have to poop.”

Kids can hold their poop for all kinds of reasons. Maybe it hurt before. Maybe they don’t want to stop playing. Maybe they hate using the bathroom at school. Whatever started it, holding can make poop harder and more uncomfortable, which can make them want to hold it even more. And around and around we go.

That experience with Madelyn is actually one of the reasons I became so passionate about talking about poop. It sounds silly until you have a child who is afraid to go to the bathroom. Then you realize pretty quickly that poop problems can affect the whole family.

So, Dr. Brenda...How Often Should I Poop?

Here’s what I really want you to take away from this: know your normal. Pay attention to how often you go, but also pay attention to what your poop looks like and how you feel when you go.

If you normally poop every day and suddenly you’re going every four days, notice that. If you’re going regularly but straining every time, notice that. If your poop suddenly looks completely different, notice that. If something keeps changing, get curious.

Ideally you, your children and your baby should poop Daily.  What goes in, must come out!!

That does not mean run to Google and convince yourself you have 14 diseases before breakfast. It means pay attention to your body. One weird poop doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. But when something changes and stays changed, or you’re regularly uncomfortable, struggling to go, or concerned about what you’re seeing, it’s worth talking with an appropriate healthcare professional.

Your body gives you information every single day, and sometimes that information is sitting right there in the toilet.

So please...

DON’T FLUSH SO FAST!

Take a look. Pay attention to what is normal for you and your family. And yes, The Gut Fairy just gave you permission to look at your poop.

You’re welcome.

Your body is talking. Are you listening?

Less Poop Drama. More Gut Magic.™

Dr. Brenda Fairchild, The Gut Fairy

www.thegutfairy.com