What Causes Stomach Cramping And Light Diarrhea With Half-digested Food Feces?

Posted on Mon, 6 Jan 2014

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

Mon, 6 Jan 2014 Answered on

Sat, 25 Jan 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : I have recently been finding little clear gel tube-like things in my feces. I was certain they were worms but they're clear, and they don't seem to really have defined segments. For the last week or so I've been having stomach cramping and light diarrhea, and my feces has contained half-digested foods. Last night I had seaweed salad. Is there a chance that I just passed that without getting it digested?

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (56 minutes later)

Brief Answer: WAIT FOR A FEW DAYS, THEN HAVE A STOOL EXAM Detailed Answer: Hello Thanks for writing to us with your health concern. You just had seaweed salad last night, have you passed these ' things ' before today ? If not, then this is most probably the undigested bits of seaweed. If yes, then these can be broken bits of worms. Worms dont always have to be passed intact, some of them do not have segments in fact. If it is indeed the salad, it should go away in a couple of days. You mention the cramping and diarrhoea started a week back. If you see the objects again, please get a stool examination report done, that will confirm the diagnosis. Also, the symptoms of cramping and diarrhoea plus partial digestion of foods also points towards a worm infestation. Avoid eating outside or ordering from outside for a few days. stick to home made simple foods. Please have lots of yoghurt and curd in your diet. All the best. Please feel free to ask for further clarifications.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Aarti Abraham (35 minutes later)

Hello again. It has come up a few times in the last week but my mom pointed out to me that in the last week I have eaten pho several times, with the bean sprouts, and it isn't just the wormy biz that's coming out, it seems that everything is under-digested. And while obviously this isn't scientific, the thing does not look much like the photos I have seen of tapeworms and such online, other than the fact that it's long-ish and thin. So I am making the half-educated guess that I have some kind of food poisoning, but if it turns out that I do indeed have worm(s), I have scheduled a doctor's appointment on Friday and if it's still happening I will discuss it with her. In the meantime, I have to not panic, because if I panic there's no possible way I can go back to school starting tomorrow. Thank you for your help.

Answered by Dr. Aarti Abraham (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: DETAILED BELOW Detailed Answer: Hi again See basically there is no need to panic. A worm infestation is easily treated, it is not a big deal. Could be food poisoning too, a mild variety, that leads to undigested bits and pieces of food in the stool, and the shredded fibres look like worms. You are correct in scheduling an appointment on Friday anyway, get a stool culture and stool microscopy test done then. Wish you good health

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar