Should I Be Alarmed I Recently Noticed That I Have And Orange Oily Discharge When Having A Bowel Movement?

Posted on Thu, 23 Jul 2020

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 Answered on

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi, I recently noticed that I have and orange oily discharge when having a bowel movement. It looks like oily drops in the toilet. I recently read that eating an extreme amount of cashews can cause this. And you guessed it, I’ve recently eaten a couple of 8.5oz cans of cashews about in the past week. I started seeing the discharge this past Monday. Should I be alarmed?

Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (53 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Stool test to be done.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for choosing "Ask a Doctor" service for your query,
Have seen your details,
A simple laboratory test called stool analysis should be done before getting alarmed.
The concept is easy if you start eating lots of ice cream you won't find ice cream in stools...Same is with cashew fat.
All you need to do is to give a small sample of stool to laboratory with analysis(If possible with that mucous/oily drop).
Follow up with results.
Thank you.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (1 hour later)

So there is no way that it could have anything to do with excessive cashew consumption and eating fatty fish?

Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (9 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again,
Go for the test at the nearest lab and if the result shows excessive fat in stools it can be related to it otherwise it's just normal mucosal secretion.
Regards!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana