The Scoop on Pees, Poos, and Farts: How often should 'Nature Call'?
In this blog, we dive into what it really means to have ‘normal’ pees, poos, and farts. It's crucial to recognize that the ‘norms’ extend beyond how frequently do you go per day. Factors like quality, completeness, absence of pain, and ease of voiding/evacuating play significant roles in determining our overall pelvic health well-being.
The Norms of Urination (Pees):
1. Frequency: Aim for 6 to 8 trips to the bathroom a day. What’s considered ‘normal’ also involves considering the ease of voiding and the absence of discomfort. In clinic, I see clients with shift work (firefighters, nurses, teachers, surgeons) who need to withhold their pees for long durations and their numbers may look less than six and for them that’s their norm.
2. Quality: Healthy urine should be pale yellow and relatively odorless. Darker urine or a strong smell could indicate dehydration or potential health issues. It should feel like a strong painless stream of urine is passing without the need to use great force to urinate. If you notice a deviated stream (one that hits the side of the toilet bowl), that can indicate one side of the pelvic floor muscled is more in tension than the other side.
3. Completeness: Ensure you fully empty your bladder with each trip to the bathroom. Incomplete emptying may lead to urinary retention and discomfort. If you notice incomplete emptying, difficulty starting your stream, difficulty controlling your bladder (frequent leaks and urge) then you may want to consider seeing a pelvic health physiotherapist & urologist to manage your bladder symptoms.
The Norms of Defecation (Poos):
1. Frequency: Having a bowel movement 3 times a day to 3 times a week is considered normal. But it's also crucial to consider the quality of the stool. The Bristol Stool Chart is often used as the holy grail, gold standard of what poops can look like. Typically, we aim for type III/IV stools. A strong fecal urgency should also accompany your need to have a bowel movement; some folks lose this sensation and must rely on other signals or a timed toileting system to pass their stools routinely.
2. Quality: Healthy stools are well-formed, easy to pass, and don't require straining. Variations in color and consistency may indicate dietary changes, iron supplementation, or underlying health conditions. If there’s blood on the stool or in the toilet water, that is a FULL-STOP go immediately to your doctor to inspect what is going on; just to rule out for serious causes for blood in the stools like cancers.
3. Completeness: Strive for a complete evacuation during each bowel movement. Feeling like you haven't fully emptied your bowels could signify constipation, other digestive issues, or pelvic floor muscle dysfunctions.
The Norms of Flatulence (Farts):
1. Frequency: Passing gas around 13 to 21 times a day is typical. However, the norm also involves considering the ease of passing, absence of discomfort, and being able to control when and where you choose to pass gas!
2. Quality: While passing gas is natural, excessive or foul-smelling flatulence may suggest dietary issues or digestive disturbances or microbiome dysbiosis.
3. Comfort: Passing gas should be painless and without discomfort. If you experience pain or bloating with flatulence, it's worth investigating potential underlying causes.
Understanding what's normal for pees, poos, and farts goes beyond frequency norms. Considering factors like quality of pees/poos/farts, completeness, ease of passing, fully emptying, and pain levels provides a more comprehensive picture of our overall health. By paying attention to these aspects and addressing any concerns promptly, we can ensure that our bodily functions remain in harmony, contributing to our overall well-being. If you have persistent issues or concerns about your urinary, bowel, or gastrointestinal health, don't hesitate to seek advice from a healthcare professional; a pelvic health physiotherapist and family doctor are oftentimes the first-line of defence for these concerns. Both are primary care practitioners, so no, you don’t need a doctor’s referral before you seek help from a pelvic health physiotherapist.
Your body will thank you for it!
Mostly Written by Jane Bai, with some help from ChatGPT (gasp).