# Dopers, what's your stool type on the Bristol Scale? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828 "2017-10-02T22:05:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/1 "2017-10-02T22:05:34Z")
Behold, the [Bristol Stool Scale](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/60/19/63/601963a2f5f072c8eee94229c16ca05b--bristol-stool-scale-the-bristol.jpg)! Leading medical authorities rely on it to assess patient health and colon function, particularly in those patients complaining of significant digestive disorders. Types may range widely in healthy patients too, but tend to cluster between Types 2 and 5, with Types 3 and 4 being considered ideal. Type 1 stools usually mean one is on opioids or other bowel-slowing meds, or has some sort of motility disorder. Type 7 stools generally indicate a severe secretory diarrhea or use of an osmotic agent. Types 1 and 2 are more prevalent in females, while types 5 and 6 are more prevalent in males, at least in the study population which established this scale. So, how do you rate, on a normal, average day? Please check out the link above so you may provide the most accurate info in the Poll which shall follow. Past threads on this topic were pre-polling. I’m hoping for better data this go-around. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/2 "2017-10-02T22:10:20Z")
Starts with 1 and then goes on to 4 once things get going - side effect of medicine. But you forgot Type 8 AKA The Political - all wind and piss and no substance. 😃 Which is me after a chilli-free meal in an Indian restaurant. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/3 "2017-10-02T22:18:02Z")
This is a bunch of ‘crap’…I am kidding, I voted. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/4 "2017-10-02T22:29:57Z")
Doesn’t it vary every day based upon diet? Mine certainly do, I’m in the 2-6 categories all the time. It depends upon whether I eat salad, beef, fruit, drink beer, have spicy food… Etc. My diet is wild and whacky, therefore so are my poops. ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/5 "2017-10-02T22:49:08Z")
Alas my autonomic nervous system is faulty and has decided my intestines shall have two speeds, stopped or [Lucy-and-Ethel-at-the-end-of-the-Candy-Wrapping-scene](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NPzLBSBzPI). That gives typical stool types of 1 or 7. Today is a 7. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![ReticulatingSplines](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@ReticulatingSplines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ReticulatingSplines)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2017, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/6 "2017-10-02T23:02:54Z")
I picked “like a snake,” because my poop has fangs. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/7 "2017-10-03T00:34:26Z")
I presume I don’t have to put TMI spoilers for this thread, right? That sentence is the only warning you’re going to get. Does anyone actually have a consistent level though? Mine has always fluctuated depending on various factors. Even what I would consider standard depends on the week or the month. (Note, IBS runs in the family.) It also seems to leave out one type that is more gel-like. No hard pieces, but not really liquid, either. Kinda the consistency of peanut butter. I guess I could file that under “fluffy/mushy,” but that never seems to agree with the pictures I see of it. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/8 "2017-10-03T00:43:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It also seems to leave out one type that is more gel-like. No hard pieces, but not really liquid, either. Kinda the consistency of peanut butter. I guess I could file that under “fluffy/mushy,” but that never seems to agree with the pictures I see of it. Variation is normal. But you describe a Type 4 above. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/9 "2017-10-03T00:48:12Z")
“Like a sausage, but with distinct areas carrying complex designs and caricatures of historic figures, and smelling faintly of lavender” isn’t listed. What are you trying to pull here?😕 ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/10 "2017-10-03T00:51:24Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I presume I don’t have to put TMI spoilers for this thread, right? That sentence is the only warning you’re going to get. This warning was appreciated, and I would have heeded it, but it was left off of a subsequent quote of your post. Now I’m sad:( ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/11 "2017-10-03T00:52:38Z")
Kinda like a Rorschach for your ass, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/12 "2017-10-03T00:58:22Z")
Nope, not even _opening_ this one. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/13 "2017-10-03T02:27:54Z")
Generally #4 with occasional forays into #5 depending on diet. I’ll mention that my vet uses a scale that goes from 1 to 7 with 7 being pure liquid. [![](https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171003/14fda8bd76659bf7bf407158b613355b.jpg) ](https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20171003/14fda8bd76659bf7bf407158b613355b.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Arrendajo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Arrendajo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arrendajo)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/14 "2017-10-03T02:38:41Z")
I might not be much of a swinger, but my bowels certainly are. I can go from a 1 to a 7 in a single movement. And to top it off, I’m irregularly irregular. ---
**Author:** ![excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e8c25b/32.png) [@excavating\_for\_a\_mind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/excavating_for_a_mind)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/15 "2017-10-03T02:55:04Z")
Aww, Qadgop, you didn’t make this a public poll. How disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![anomalous1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@anomalous1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anomalous1)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/16 "2017-10-03T03:21:48Z")
Medication excluded; this is how i view it Type 1: Dehydrated, no veggies or lots of cheese Type 2: No Fiber (Eat Vegetables!) Type 3 & 4: Normal Type 5: Mexican Food with lots of green sauce Type 6: Beer Type 7:Full blown alcoholic. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/17 "2017-10-03T03:26:31Z")
I’d say 5 is average for me, with forays into 4 and 6. Occasional 7’s with no understanding of what causes it, since my diet doesn’t change that much. This is more than even I want to know about my stools. Hijack: I find that modern low-flow toilets make it hard to tell if there is anything wrong with my stools, as my PCP asks me at every physical. This is because there is so little water and the bowl directs everything into such a small space at the bottom, there’s very little to see. I guess this is an unintended consequence of water conservation. End of hijack. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/18 "2017-10-03T04:23:50Z")
Usually a 3. One place where my stool has become exceptional is flotation; I usually have to “bucket flush” to get it all down. Every time. In 50% of the toilets I’ve crossed paths with. It floats like a cork. It started about 6-8 years back and I blame it on one of the medications I was changed to around that time. I’ve mentioned it to my doc several times and she has taken samples; nothing she is concerned with has shown up. But it does get annoying to say the least. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/19 "2017-10-03T04:28:28Z")
Never was a big fan of the Bristol Scale – I personally prefer [The Shit List.](http://www.asandler.com/jokes/lists/shitlist.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b487fb/32.png) [@Walken\_After\_Midnight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walken_After_Midnight)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828/20 "2017-10-03T05:05:11Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Behold, the [Bristol Stool Scale](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/60/19/63/601963a2f5f072c8eee94229c16ca05b--bristol-stool-scale-the-bristol.jpg) The [cake versions](https://www.google.com/search?biw=1280&bih=649&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=bristol+stool+cake&oq=bristol+stool+cake&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0j0i7i30k1l3.1332539.1335012.0.1335874.13.11.2.0.0.0.86.627.11.11.0.dummy_maps_web_fallback...0...1.1.64.psy-ab..0.3.188....0.3UZr__K4nwg) look yummy. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dopers-whats-your-stool-type-on-the-bristol-scale/797828.md?page=2)