Skip to main content
Read about

6 Causes of Foul-Smelling Stool

Bad-smelling stool can be caused by diet, a medication, lactose intolerance, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, or an infection. Monitor what you eat and treat the underlying conditions.
An illustration of a piece of dark stool with flies around it.
Tooltip Icon.
Written by Shria Kumar, MD.
Therapeutic Endoscopy Fellow, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Last updated March 26, 2024

Foul smelling stool quiz

Take a quiz to find out what's causing your foul smelling stool.

Foul smelling stool quiz

Take a quiz to find out what's causing your foul smelling stool.

Take foul smelling stool quiz

⚡️ Powered by AI

Get personalized answers to your health questions

Our clinically-backed AI will ask you questions and provide an answer specific to your unique health situation.

✨ BETA

Your response today was provided by ChatGPT trained on the proprietary content of this page. Please note, this tool is for information purposes only and not intended to be used as a substitute for professional advice. You assume responsibility for decisions made with your individual medical situation.

Was this information helpful?

Thank you! Buoy values your feedback. The more we know about what’s working – and what could improve – the better we can make our experience.

Why does your poop smell bad?

Nobody’s stool smells good. But if the odor is different or worse than usual, it could be a sign of a problem.

Your stool is a product of several things, including your diet, colon health, and your overall health. It’s also a product of your digestive system microbiome. That is made up of microbes (bacteria) that live in your gut.

Most of the time, smelly poop is caused by your diet. It could be caused by eating certain foods or from lactose intolerance. But if it routinely smells bad, you may have an imbalance in your microbiome or a disease like inflammatory bowel disease.

Occasional foul-smelling stool may not require any treatment. But if it continues or you also have other symptoms, like runny stool, more frequent bowel movements, nausea, vomiting, or stomach pain—see your doctor.

Causes

1. Dietary changes

Symptoms

  • Foul-smelling stool every so often
  • Abdominal pain
  • Diarrhea

Eating foods that don’t agree with you (such as dairy if you’re lactose intolerant), or foods that smell bad (asparagus, durian) can all lead to foul-smelling stools. If your stool smells really bad a few times in a row, it’s likely that it’s because of a food that you ate.

If you are lactose intolerant, avoid dairy foods or take a supplement with lactase enzymes before eating dairy foods. If symptoms continue or you also have severe pain or fevers, see your doctor to rule out other conditions.

Pro Tip

Just because your stool smells really bad after eating particular foods does not mean you have to cut out those foods. As long as you are not having other symptoms with it, foul-smelling stools on their own are not a problem. —Dr. Shria Kumar

2. Irritable bowel syndrome

Symptoms

  • Foul-smelling stool
  • Abdominal pain
  • Nausea
  • Bloating
  • Changes in stool (diarrhea or constipation)

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common, chronic disorder of the gastrointestinal tract (gut). People who have IBS may experience diarrhea, constipation, or a combination of both.

The most common symptom of IBS is stomach pain. Some people with IBS say they experience a bad odor and changes in stool.

If you suspect you have IBS, see your doctor. Although there is no cure for IBS, there are many treatments available to help control your symptoms. Medications include anti-spasmodics (for belly pain and cramps), gut-specific antibiotics for diarrhea, and other medications.

3. Antibiotics

Symptoms

  • Loose stools while you’re taking antibiotics and for a few weeks after you stop
  • Foul-smelling stool

Antibiotics can change the balance of your gut microbiome (mix of bacteria in your gut). This can cause changes in the odor of your stool and its consistency.

These side effects of antibiotics are usually temporary. They either stop after you complete your antibiotics or within 2 to 4 weeks. It’s not usually a cause of concern.

If your symptoms continue and bother you, your doctor may suggest taking probiotics. Your doctor may also recommend treatments similar to those for IBS, such as medications that relieve diarrhea.

4. Infection

Symptoms

Gastrointestinal (GI) infections have many causes, including bacteria, viruses, or parasites. If you have an infection, you’ll usually also have other symptoms, such as diarrhea or abdominal pain.

See your doctor, who will do tests to identify what caused your intestinal infection.

If it’s a bacterial bug, your doctor will likely prescribe antibiotics. If you have a parasite, they may give you an anti-parasitic medication. If it’s viral, there is nothing to cure the illness. Treatment will focus on staying hydrated and resting.

5. Inflammatory bowel disease

Symptoms

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an inflammation of the digestive tract. There are two types of IBD: Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Symptoms may develop gradually or they can occur suddenly.

IBD is caused by several factors, including genetics. If you have a parent or sibling with IBD, you have a higher risk of developing it as well. Lifestyle plays a role too. For example, people who smoke are more likely to develop Crohn’s disease.

If you suspect you have IBD, see your doctor. Left untreated, IBD can lead to serious problems, such as malnutrition, bleeding, certain cancers, and overall poor health.

Your doctor should refer you to a gastroenterologist (specialist in digestive diseases) and will do tests to confirm a diagnosis. The goal of treating IBD is to eliminate inflammation so the disease goes into remission (symptoms stop).

This is typically done with medication and changes to your diet. Most people with IBD will have recurrence of symptoms (“flares”). If these are severe, surgery may be required to remove parts of the bowel.

Dr. Rx

Our stool is a product of multiple factors: our diet, our colon health, body health, and our microbiome (all the microbes that live on and inside the human body). This is a relatively hardy system, but changes in the balance can result in changes in our stool. —Dr. Kumar

6. Celiac disease

Symptoms

  • Oily, foul-smelling stool
  • Chronic diarrhea
  • Fatigue
  • Stomach bloating
  • Nausea
  • Weight loss

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in your digestive tract. In people with celiac disease, eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, triggers the immune system to respond. The inflammation damages the lining of the small intestine.

See your doctor if you think you have celiac disease. It is treated mostly by avoiding products that contain gluten. Your doctor will also recommend regular blood tests to check for nutrient deficiencies. This is because the inflammation caused by celiac can make it difficult for your body to absorb the nutrients in food.

Other possible causes

A number of conditions may also cause foul-smelling stool, but it is usually not the main symptom or they’re not very common.

  • Dehydration
  • Internal bleeding
  • Cystic fibrosis
  • Pancreatic insufficiency
  • Colon cancer

Why does my infant have foul-smelling stool?

Babies may have foul-smelling stool for a variety of reasons. They could have a stomach infection, or it may be a sign of something more serious, such as celiac disease or cystic fibrosis. It could also be the result of a vitamin deficiency.

Call your pediatrician if it persists. They may ask you to track when the foul-smelling stool began, any color changes, and how often your infant poops.

When to call the doctor

See your doctor if you have foul-smelling stool and:

Pro Tip

Ask your doctor: What triggered this? Is there any testing I need, based on my history and symptoms? —Dr. Kumar

Should I go to the ER for foul-smelling stool?

You should go to the emergency room if you have any of the following:

  • Black, tarry stools or blood in stool
  • High fever
  • Severe pain

Treatments

At-home care

  • Drink more water to keep waste moving through your system and improve digestion and absorption of nutrients.
  • Keep a food diary so you see if a certain food you eat is causing foul-smelling stools.
  • Eat more foods rich in naturally occurring probiotics, like fermented foods and yogurts, to keep your gut microbiome balanced. Eating fiber-rich foods like fruit and vegetables will also help.
  • Stop smoking or drinking alcohol, which can irritate your GI tract.

Other possible treatments

  • Medications to treat any underlying infections (i.e., antibiotics for a bacterial infection).
  • Diagnostic tests for IBS or other diseases (such as blood work or an endoscopy).
  • Medications to treat symptoms, such as anti-diarrheal or antispasmodic drugs to help relieve symptoms.
Hear what 1 other is saying
Once your story receives approval from our editors, it will exist on Buoy as a helpful resource for others who may experience something similar.
The stories shared below are not written by Buoy employees. Buoy does not endorse any of the information in these stories. Whenever you have questions or concerns about a medical condition, you should always contact your doctor or a healthcare provider.
Smelling like poopPosted May 26, 2021 by M.
I have been smelling like poop for 3 yrs. At first, I thought it was a disorder called TMAU. I got tested for it and it came out negative. Then I found out my right kidney is dead and I thought that the smell was coming from that, but my doctor told me he never heard of a kidney smelling like poop so I researched more and found out it's my digestive system... It's the most embarrassing thing I have ever been through... Everywhere I go people make fun of me because of the foul smell... How can I get rid of the smell? Anyone else have this problem? Thank you.
Therapeutic Endoscopy Fellow, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dr. Kumar is a gastroenterologist, who completed her fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. She received her undergraduate degrees in Religious Studies and Chemistry from New York University (2010) and graduated from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (2014), where she was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. She is completing her t...
Read full bio

Was this article helpful?

77 people found this helpful
Tooltip Icon.
Read this next
Slide 1 of 4