Why do I have mucus in my stool?

Many of my clients have asked me this question- always with a look of confusion. They can understand diarrhea & even blood in the stool – but mucus? As scary as this can be- you need to know that this is happening for a “good” reason- as an attempt by your body to protect you. This mostly occurs in more advanced cases of IBD- such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. In these conditions there is considerable damage to the intestinal wall tissue as it is being assaulted by your own digestive acids. This does not just go away -into “remission” but keeps advancing causing more & more damage- every day.
As the damage gets close to nerve & blood tissue – in it’s attempt to protect you- the body sends mucus from your lymphatic system to the bowel. It “packs” it into the most threatened locations as a temporary wall- blocking the penetration of the acid. That is a good – but temporary thing. Because this is only a “stop-gap” measure the mucus regularly slides out along with the stool. Please do not ignore this as it indicates that your body is losing control of the situation. Failure to heed this warning puts you at risk of future surgery & even the removal of your colon.