What is the Cause of Mucus in Stools?

What Causes Mucus In Stools?

Mucus in stools can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'worrying' to 'very serious'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

Diagnose your symptoms now!

check your overall health status
let The Analyst™ find what's wrong
identify any nutritional deficiencies

Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose mucus in stools, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "mucus in stools" as a symptom. Here are four possibilities:

Ulcerative Colitis
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Candida / Yeast
Crohn's Disease

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

frequent unexplained fevers

diarrhea for 1-3 months

pain medication use

loss of appetite

regular painful urge to defecate

mild left iliac pain after meals

highly elevated basophil count

spacey/unreal feelings

regular runny nose

poor tolerance of sugars

abdominal pain reduced by eating

severe irritable bowel syndrome

... and more than 90 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of mucus in stools:

Cause	Probability	Status
Irritable Bowel Syndrome	98%	Confirm
Candida / Yeast	24%	Unlikely
Ulcerative Colitis	4%	Ruled out
Crohn's Disease	3%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate irregular stools, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Do you see mucus in your stools?

Possible responses:

→ Never / rarely / don't know
→ Occasionally
→ Often

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate either occasional mucus in stools or frequent mucus in stools, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Crohn's Disease

Ulcerative Colitis

If the disease is limited to the rectosigmoidal area then stools may be normal or dry although there can also be constipation. Rectal mucous, which can be high in red and white blood cells, accompanies stools or occurs between bowel movements.

Yeast / Candida Infection

Concerned or curious about your health? Try The Analyst™