Bristol Stool Chart printable pdf download

Bristol Stool Chart

Use the Bristol Stool Chart to help determine the persons intestinal

health.

The consistency of stool depends on how long it has spent in the

colon. The longer it spends ‘in transit’, the more liquid is absorbed

by the colon.

The chart below is a general guide.

• Types 1 and 2 indicate constipation

• Types 5 and 6 may indicate diarrhoea

• Types 3 and 4 are the easiest to pass

• Type 7 may be a sign of illness, for

example, food poisoning

Type 1

Type 5

Separate hard

Soft blobs with

lumps like nuts

clear cut edges

(hard to pass)

(passed easily)

Type 2

Sausage-shaped

Type 6

Fluffy pieces

but lumpy

with ragged

edges, a mushy

Type 3

Like a sausage

stool

but with cracks

Type 7

Watery,

on its surface

no solid pieces,

Type 4

Like a sausage

entirely liquid

or a snake,

smooth and soft

Delivered by The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust

Version 1.0. Last updated: 06.07.2016

Bristol Stool Chart