[Little Hedgehog]

I know it's a strange question but here is the thing: when I go to the bathroom and have a BM, it's usually very "dirty" (sorry for the details). With dirty I mean that I spend like 20 minutes cleaning and wasting half a roll of toilet paper because my stools seem to simply be very dirty. They're not really loose or liquid, but they're just "not dry" and force me to clean up till I bleed.Sometimes I have the typical ideal stools where you only need to wipe like 4-5 times and I'm clean, but usually I need so many wipes I waste an entire roll in two days, this while it's not really diahrea. Not perfectly firm neither, but certainly not watery.And it hurts and is annoying as hell.Any foods that are known to cause this that I should avoid?AndAny foods that help the stools being "cleaner" and "dryer" so that I don't have to wipe so much to be clean?I removed milk from my diet weeks ago because it gave gas. This obviously reduced my calcium intake... could that be a problem?

 

[Kathleen M.]

While Calcium supplements tend to firm up (and can constipate) I'm not sure the calcium in a food is as constipating, but you could try the supplements.Also you could play with fiber and water levels.You might want to get flushable wet wipes (sometimes you find them by the toilet paper, otherwise check out the baby aisle by the diapers) and use those as they clean better and are gentler on the skin. Some people will sit over the edge of the tub and do a quick wash with a wash cloth and water.

 

[Little Hedgehog]

Ok thanks, I'll look into the calcium supplements.Sorry for my ignorance, but how exactly do the fiber and water levels play? Less water and more fiber firm up the stools or is it the other way around?

 

[tiff125]

I use wet wipes and they have helped me quite a lot.

 

[Kathleen M.]

Three things tend to effect stool consistency.1. How much water is in there2. How much fiber you eat3. What speed your colon pushes it to the end.Now fiber can sometimes set off IBS (so it goes even more quickly to the end for some people) but it can also give stool a better consistency.Your body pulls excess water out of the stool, and you may need more water if you eat more fiber (hard dried out fiber is still hard to pass).Unfortunately I don't know a good formula that will predict what you need, but you might use a free, online calorie counter program as most do nutrition and will count your fiber for you. See what you are eating on a standard day now and see if going up 5 grams helps or going down 5 grams helps. If it helps a bit and you are still pretty low (you never want more than 50 grams but if you can handle fiber 20-35 grams a day is a good range to aim for) you might see if 10 more grams helps or not.Now if you find upping fiber increases your IBS symptoms (like gas, pain, diarrhea) then you may want to keep that low. And as I said you may need to increase your water by a glass or two a day if you really increase your fiber because you want to be hydrated enough to keep the fiber somewhat wet in there.

 

[Little Hedgehog]

Thank you for all your suggestions. I will take them into account.

 

[IBD/IBS Author]

This is why I wish bidet's were more common in America. I love using them when we go to Europe. But, the hanging your rear end over the tub and washing is a decent and doable solution, as are the baby wipes. Good luck,