Crohn's in the News 12-13-09: Crohn's poo stinks, say doctors

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I have so many questions....I guess this technology will be coming to a doctors office near you someday.
 
That is kind of interesting. Most interesting is the fact tha someone out there is measuring farts for their job! ;)
 
Hey - that is the kind of machine my client that I do computer management for works with. They have several mass spec's in their onsite lab. Interesting......
 
I am a chemist for a paper company and I have measured volatiles (or VOCs) by GC/MS in everything from paper to resin to mud to trees...you name it...but never, ever poo. Pretty funny. GC/MS technology is nothing new, it's been around for decades. I'm not sure why the article makes it sound so revolutionary. I guess the most difficult step would be the collection process. There is a lot involved in collecting a sample for VOC analysis because the compounds you are looking for are gases. That, and of course, interpreting the results.

Well, I guess that it's good to know that if I ever lose my job I may have a future in poo analysis.
 
Since I am also in the Paper industry (Shipping) I can say there is a good chance you may have to look for another job.

I have no Poo analysis Skills, but if any needs to be shipped, maybe I can come up with something. I doubt if a Box Car of Poo is going to be needed though.

It is good someone is looking for clues, however weird it may sound.

Dan
 
I can definitely tell when I start to get impacted as I begin to get a weird odor with my stool, so I can believe this stuff would work.
 
Gosh, I don't know if I should make a joke or make a serious response instead????

What I do know is that (and my hubby is actually the one that brought this to my attention) is that during regular (flaring as usual) days, after I use the washroom, there is no poopy smell, I also mainly have stinkless farts too....BUT during my "monthly visit" hubby says my poop smells like cat poop, and that it has kind of a sweet-smell, not necessarily a good sweet either but my farts still remain smell-less.

So although I've never been in full remission the entire 18 yrs I've had this DD and according to my GI I've also more than likely developed IBS along the way, the smells of my poops and the lack of smell to my farts (god I cannot believe I'm writing such things) probably wouldn't really correspond with this new technology to help them in their quest of DX people with gut issues.

Hope that makes sense to somebody besides me?

:)
 
I hate to venture into this area, but I have wondered if the "sweet" smell is good or bad. Mine varies, and I am sure it has some significance, but not sure what.

Dan
 
Wow. I never would've guessed farts could help tell what's wrong with someone. Although I have told my buddy who's farts really smell horrible, he should see a dr. Maybe there was something there all the time...
 
dustydshook said:
Mine have no smell either. I was reading somewhere on the internet that the stinkier your poo the healthier???
Click to expand...

That's interesting! I've been a stinky farter for years, but since officially having Crohns this year my farts don't smell much at all most of the time.
 
GoJohnnyGo said:
Fartologists?
Click to expand...
Maybe I should get into Phartology. That would be a great business card!!
If you spell it with a PH it sounds like a real field.

Michael Brown, MD Phartologist
 
The stenchless farting is actually a sign of a flare many times. I've had numerous GI's and one nurse in the hospital actually ask that, if my gas had any odor. It's actually a clue I found out when I read a bit on it a while back, as I wondered why they didn't....You'd think with a GI disease, they'd smell worse, but I've experienced a loss of odor when flaring, and the odor was there when I was in remission or pre-IBD....I think it could have something to do with the inflammation changing the way odor is added, because the odor comes from different sources (not just what you ate)...and the fact that blood has no detectable odor to humans. Maybe the intestinal walls being all ulcerated prevents an odor from being added, maybe the tract moves gas through too fast for significant odor to be added...I'm sure there's a reason.
 
That's interesting Benson...I always heard the opposite was true regarding odor and gas....Blood does have an odor. Well, blood that is going to be transfused does. It smells just like wet metal or cheap tin. I don't know if the transfusion process enhances the odor but it does have one.... Also Patients with GI bleeds, have a very distinctive odor to their stool, as well as certain viral infections such as Rota-virus....Just my experience from working with kids with gastroenteritis, before the cultures came back you could pretty much tell what the culprit was by the odor of the stool and gas.
 
Well, what I meant by the blood smell was that in the quantities associated with gas is all. The gas/methane was around the blood, but contains no real amount of it, and then the stool that has it in it is something else. Personally, all IBD stool to me has had a distinct odor. I guess I just meant the gas and blood mixing, maybe the walls of the intestine blocking the process that combines odor to it. The stool is different in my experience, doesn't smell like normal "healthy" stool. Gas tends to be basically odorless, and I am guessing it's possible because of the gas being around blood as much as it is around stool and normal bowel wall. Maybe the blood odor isn't strong enough. Stool, per volume, probably carries a stronger stench than blood, per volume...
 
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In general, since I've had Crohn's, my poo & my farts rarely smell. I wonder if it's because I eat very little insoluble fibre?
 

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