Nutritional Guide - Flipbook - Page 5
Bowel movements
Usually, 4 regular stoma pouches’ worth of stool per day, with a brown colour is
normal. Colour changes can be related to food e.g. red colouring from beetroot. The
stool texture will vary depending on the type of procedure you have had:
Type 1
Type 5
Separate hard lumps
like nuts (hard to pass)
Soft blobs with clear
cut edges (passed easily)
Type 2
Type 6
Sausage-shaped
but lumpy
Fluffy pieces with ragged
edges, a mushy stool
Type 3
Type 7
Like a sausage but with
cracks in its surface
Watery, no solid pieces,
entirely liquid
Type 4
Like a sausage or a snake,
smooth and soft
What comes
out of a stoma
is often
referred to as
“stoma output”
Type 3-5 is normal for a colostomy
Type 5-6 is normal for an ileostomy
Type 6-7 is normal for a jejunostomy
Over 1500ml of liquid stool is considered “highoutput”. This most frequently happens in the first
6-8 weeks (sometimes up to 6-12 months) after
an ileostomy (or jejunostomy), and usually requires
temporary dietary changes such as reducing fibre and
points to possible bowel irritants in the diet. Special
guidance is sometimes needed on fluids as well as
medications. Any sudden changes in texture, volume
or colour of your stoma output should be discussed
with your Doctor while in hospital, or GP or Specialist
Nurse once you’re home.
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