If you think you’re having a bad day, wait until you read more about this condition. Yes, vomiting feces is real, and it’s more than an inconvenience, it’s just about the worst thing that can happen to you!
Before you get all worried, know that vomiting feces is incredibly rare, but be careful, it can be a symptom of something far worse, like liver, colorectal and ovarian cancer. Here’s all you need to know about the condition that may cause you to vomit feces. Read on if you dare, we hope you have the stomach for this!
What Causes Fecal Vomiting
The scientific term for the condition is gastrojejunocolic fistula, in which fecal matter passes from the colon to the stomach instead of the other way around. This often happens when there’s an intestinal obstruction and comes with ither discomforts, including bad breath, abdominal pain, dehydration and diarrhea.
When feces can’t find their way out, your body gets stressed and causes contractions called peristaltic wave that decompress the intestine, causing feces to go backwards into the stomach. From there, you just vomit them.
Although displeasing and even dangerous, this is still a defense mechanism, as your body gets rid of decomposing matter in the only way it can. Even if that means through your mouth.
Feculent vomiting, What Causes It?
As mentioned above, an obstruction in your intestinal tract causes you to vomit feces, but other conditions can cause it too.
A hernia might cause a bulge in the intestine that could block the natural path for feces. Inflammation can also block your intestines, and even a twisted intestine will block feces entirely, although this is rare.
Colon cancer and tumors will definitely block some of all your intestine, and also foreign objects, like when you swallow something by accident. Finally, if you had an injury, you might have excess scar tissue blocking the feces path.
How About Fecal Breath?
There are several reasons that can cause you to have a poopy breath, and they don’t necessarily mean you have an obstructed intestine. Here are the most common causes of fecal breath.
Excessive vomiting. If you vomit often, the acidity in your mouth causes excess growth of bacteria, which poops and turns sugars into foul smelling odors.
Acid reflux. If you have acidic backfires, you experience something like what’s described above, lots of bacteria in your mouth. This also causes dental decay, swallowed gums and a burning throat.
Dirty teeth. If you don’t have a proper dental hygiene, you have a bad breath, and if it’s too bad, it can smell remarkably similar to fecal matter. Make sure you wash your teeth after every meal and before going to sleep.
A sinus infection. The nose and mouth are linked, so any problem in your sinus causes problems in your mouth. The air passages in the back can be the source of infections, which will lead to bad breath. You might also notice a runny nose, fatigue, sneezing, coughing and even fever.
Smoking and drinking. Smoking and drinking alcohol causes boor oral hygiene, and leads to bad breath, it might lead to fecal breath too if you’re not careful.
What to Do If You Suspect You Might Vomit Fecal Matter?
If you do vomit fecal matter, go to the hospital ASAP, if you have a funky bad breath, evaluate if you have a proper oral hygiene. Visit your doctor or dentist and see if there’s something serious going on. Chances are you just need to improve your oral health, but who knows, you might have an obstructed intestine! Be safe and visit your medic regularly.
