Change in bowel habit

Change in bowel habit

1. What is normal for you?

2. Constipation

   • abnormally delayed or infrequent passage of dry hardened stools
   • Drugs
     • Opiates
     • Iron tablets
     • Al+ Antacids
     • Antidepressants
     • Antiepileptics
     • Antipsychotics

3. Diarrhoea

   • abnormally frequent intestinal evacuations w/ more/less fluid stools
   • Acute
     • contact w/other sufferers?
   • Chronic
   • Drugs
     • Laxatives
     • Antibiotics
     • Mg+ Antacids
     • NSAIDs
     • SSRIs

4. Associated features

   • Pain
   • Fever
   • Vomiting
   • Weight loss
   • Extraintestinal IBD
     • A PIE SAC
       • Erythema nodosum
       • Anaemia
       • Iritis
       • Pyoderma gangrenosum
       • Aphthous ulcers
       • Sclerosing cholangitis
       • Clubbing
       • Arthritis
   • Tenesmus
   • Nocturnal symptoms

5. Stool appearance

   • Blood
     • red
       • low in GI tract
     • black
       • malaena
         • characteristic smell
     • yellow
       • mucus/slime
         • UC
         • Anal fissure (Crohn's)
         • IBS
         • Obstruction
     • redcurrent jelly
       • intussusception
   • pale floaters
     • obstructive jaudice
     • malabsorption

6. Other qs

   • Foreign travel
   • Stress
   • Relationship to food