Because of the H1N1 pandemic that has already started to sweep North America and because the health agencies are predicting a 30 to 40% of the people will be off work or worse case scenereo dying I felt this is an important subject so I took this information off the internet so you can at least be prepared for the second wave.
The Bristol Stool Chart or Bristol Stool Scale is a medical aid designed to classify the form of human feces into seven categories. Sometimes referred to in the UK as the "Meyers Scale," it was developed by K.W.Heaton at the University of Bristol and was first published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997.[1] The form of the stool depends on the time it spends in the colon.[2]
The seven types of stool are:
Color variations of feces
Yellowing of feces can be caused by an infection known as Giardiasis, which derives its name from Giardia, a microscopic parasitic organism. If Giardia infects the intestines it can cause severe yellow diarrhea. This is a dangerous communicable infection and must be reported. Another cause of yellowing is a condition known as Gilbert's Syndrome. This condition is characterized by jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia. Hyperbilirubinemia occurs when too much bilirubin is present in the circulating blood.
Feces can be black due to the presence of blood that has been in the intestines long enough to be broken down by digestive enzymes. This is known as melena, and is typically due to bleeding in the upper digestive tract, such as from a bleeding peptic ulcer. The same color change (albeit harmless) can be observed after consuming foods that contain substantial proportion of animal bloods, such as Black pudding or Tiết canh. The black color is caused by oxidation of the iron in the blood's hemoglobin. Black feces can also be caused by a number of medications, such as bismuth subsalicylate, and dietary iron supplements. Because liquorice is high in iron[citation needed], this may also cause the feces to become black. Hematochezia is similarly the passage of feces that are bright red due to the presence of undigested blood, either from lower in the digestive tract, or from a more active source in the upper digestive tract. Excessive and frequent consumption of alcohol can also provoke abnormalities in the path of blood throughout the body. This can also result in the passing of red-black stool. This symptom is probably indicative of some degree of alcoholism, which is a rather serious condition.
In children with certain illnesses, feces can be blue or green. Eating green or leafy food can turn feces green[citation needed]. When digesting solid food for the first time, babies also produce feces which tend to be green and of unusual consistency. This is because of the presence of cells discarded during development of the digestive tract. Food with large amounts of food color can cause feces to be colored. An example is FDA Blue #5 (found commonly in grape Kool-Aid), which turns feces green when it reacts with bile in the intestine. The effect is considered harmless, and there have been no reports of ill effects. After a barium meal, the subsequent stool should be white.
Fecal contamination
A quick test for fecal contamination of water sources or soil is a check for the presence of E. coli bacteria performed with the help of MacConkey agar plates or Petri dishes. E. coli bacteria uniquely develop red colonies at temperature of approximately 43 °C (109 °F) overnight. While most strains of E. coli are harmless, their presence is indicative of more serious fecal contamination, and hence a high possibility of more dangerous organisms.
Fecal contamination of water sources is highly prevalent worldwide, accounting for the majority of unsafe drinking water, which is the only water available to 1.1 billion people. In developing countries most sewage is discharged without treatment. Even in developed countries events of sanitary sewer overflow are not uncommon and regularly pollute the Seine River (France) and the River Thames (England), for example.
The main pathogens that are commonly looked for in feces include:
The Bristol Stool Chart or Bristol Stool Scale is a medical aid designed to classify the form of human feces into seven categories. Sometimes referred to in the UK as the "Meyers Scale," it was developed by K.W.Heaton at the University of Bristol and was first published in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology in 1997.[1] The form of the stool depends on the time it spends in the colon.[2]
The seven types of stool are:
- Separate hard lumps, like Maltesers (hard to pass)
- Sausage-shaped, but lumpy
- Like a sausage but with cracks on its surface
- Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft
- Soft blobs with clear cut edges (passed easily)
- Fluffy pieces with ragged edges, a mushy stool
- Watery and all liquid
Color variations of feces
Yellowing of feces can be caused by an infection known as Giardiasis, which derives its name from Giardia, a microscopic parasitic organism. If Giardia infects the intestines it can cause severe yellow diarrhea. This is a dangerous communicable infection and must be reported. Another cause of yellowing is a condition known as Gilbert's Syndrome. This condition is characterized by jaundice and hyperbilirubinemia. Hyperbilirubinemia occurs when too much bilirubin is present in the circulating blood.
Feces can be black due to the presence of blood that has been in the intestines long enough to be broken down by digestive enzymes. This is known as melena, and is typically due to bleeding in the upper digestive tract, such as from a bleeding peptic ulcer. The same color change (albeit harmless) can be observed after consuming foods that contain substantial proportion of animal bloods, such as Black pudding or Tiết canh. The black color is caused by oxidation of the iron in the blood's hemoglobin. Black feces can also be caused by a number of medications, such as bismuth subsalicylate, and dietary iron supplements. Because liquorice is high in iron[citation needed], this may also cause the feces to become black. Hematochezia is similarly the passage of feces that are bright red due to the presence of undigested blood, either from lower in the digestive tract, or from a more active source in the upper digestive tract. Excessive and frequent consumption of alcohol can also provoke abnormalities in the path of blood throughout the body. This can also result in the passing of red-black stool. This symptom is probably indicative of some degree of alcoholism, which is a rather serious condition.
In children with certain illnesses, feces can be blue or green. Eating green or leafy food can turn feces green[citation needed]. When digesting solid food for the first time, babies also produce feces which tend to be green and of unusual consistency. This is because of the presence of cells discarded during development of the digestive tract. Food with large amounts of food color can cause feces to be colored. An example is FDA Blue #5 (found commonly in grape Kool-Aid), which turns feces green when it reacts with bile in the intestine. The effect is considered harmless, and there have been no reports of ill effects. After a barium meal, the subsequent stool should be white.
Fecal contamination
A quick test for fecal contamination of water sources or soil is a check for the presence of E. coli bacteria performed with the help of MacConkey agar plates or Petri dishes. E. coli bacteria uniquely develop red colonies at temperature of approximately 43 °C (109 °F) overnight. While most strains of E. coli are harmless, their presence is indicative of more serious fecal contamination, and hence a high possibility of more dangerous organisms.
Fecal contamination of water sources is highly prevalent worldwide, accounting for the majority of unsafe drinking water, which is the only water available to 1.1 billion people. In developing countries most sewage is discharged without treatment. Even in developed countries events of sanitary sewer overflow are not uncommon and regularly pollute the Seine River (France) and the River Thames (England), for example.
The main pathogens that are commonly looked for in feces include:
- Salmonella and Shigella
- Yersinia tends to be incubated at 30 °C (86 °F), which is cooler than usual
- Campylobacter incubated at 42 °C (108 °F), in a special environment
- Aeromonas
- Candida if the person is immunosuppressed (e.g., undergoing cancer treatment)
- E. coli O157 if blood is visible in the stool sample
- Cryptosporidium
- Entamoeba histolytica
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