The Doo-Doo Documents 4: Smell

“So putrescent, so feculent, so foul.”

These words, borrowed from Colleen Paeff’s The Great Stink: How Joseph Bazalgette Solved London’s Poop Solution Problem (2021) really get to the heart of the matter.

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of poop? The smell, of course! Poop and stink go hand in hand. (See Rooty Toot Toots for remedies which may help for stinky gas.)

Why are poops stinky?

Referring back to the first article in this series, dead bacteria, which makes up 30% of poop, is the cause of the smell. Mental Floss, citing Val Curtis from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine says, “that we think poop stinks for our good. Our disgust towards certain sights and smells is a ‘behavioral immune system’… that evolved to keep us from coming into contact with infection and disease (Soniak 2013).

So, how does homeopathy fit into stinky stools? Well, if you are a regular reader of Ruminating on Remedies, I’m hoping you are now catching on to the idea that after the 220+ years that homeopathy has been around, homeopathy pretty much has a remedy to address pretty much everything… even stinky stools.

Most stools stink and that’s normal. However, sometimes there may be a particular odor that is new to a person. In these instances, that new poop smell may help guide one to a helpful remedy.

There are a few homeopathic remedies which keep popping up for specifically stinky stools. In particular, Dioscorea, Colocynthis and Sulphur. Generally speaking, I try to keep the remedies mentioned in this blog to those that are readily available. Dioscorea and Colocynthis are not unusual remedies, but unlike Sulphur, they are definitely not found in my local stores which sell homeopathic remedies, nor are they always included in remedy kits, but they are well worth seeking out to have in your homeopathic remedy stash.

Interestingly, in terms of gastrointestinal disorders, Dioscorea and Colocynthis are opposite each other in regard to colicky pains. Dioscorea has a tendency to stretch backwards to relieve abdominal pains whereas Colocynthis would bend forward to relieve those pains.

As for smelly stools, Colocynthis, according to Schroyens, has stools which smell like:

• burning paper

• burnt, as if

• cadaverous

• musty

• offensive

• putrid

• sour

Dioscorea, on the other hand, is mentioned in Murphy’s Repertory in 86 rubrics relating to stools but it is the only remedy listed in the only rubric for those acutely sensitive to the odor of stools to the point of fainting. (Dioscorea is also mentioned in a number of other repertories for offensive stools in general.) Sulphur is another remedy to consider for those oversensitive to stool odors.

A Synoptic Key (Boger 2015) is an excellent get-to-the-point materia medica (the book also includes “a brief repertory” which also gets right to the point). Dr. Boger lists Stool, bad odor, including 3 really good stool remedies: Arsenicum album, Carbo-veg and Podophyllum. (That’s a heck of a lot easier than parsing through the 297 remedies listed in Schroyens under offensive stools. See what I mean -- he gets right to the point, kind of like a "start here" sort of repertory.)

However, if the stools are offensive only in the morning, consider Graphites.

If the stools smell like rotten cheese, try Bryonia or Hepar sulph.

If the stools have a penetrating odor: Sulphur or Podophyllum.

If the odor cannot be removed, even with washing: Sulphur.

Putrid (meaning decaying or rotting smell) stools: there are lots of well indicated remedies here, but start with Podophyllum or Arsenicum album. If these putrid stools are found in the elderly, try Baptisia. If they smell putrid only at night, try Sulphur.

Back to Boger for stools that smell like carrion (decaying flesh of dead animals): Carbo veg.

Like rotten eggs? Chamomilla.

Like sour milk? Tabacum. Sour, in general? Calc carb, Hepar sulph, Mercurius or Sulphur.

For an odorless stool, look to Veratrum album.

If you would like to keep your bathroom smelling decent for those visitors who have not yet discovered the wonders of homeopathy, try some Poo-Pourri.*  They make products to spray into the toilet “before-you-go” and claim it “trap[s] bathroom odor under the water’s surface, so it never enters the air.” It works and it also makes for a funny present with names like: “Trap-a-Crap” and “Royal Flush” and “Heavy Doody” and they even come in seasonal scents.

Now, I must admit that I am pooped. I have crapped out on the Doo-Doo Documents for now but there is more to be said on this topic and perhaps one day we shall revisit this extraordinarily important topic.

Julia Coyte, CHom

Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

* I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their products.

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RESOURCES

Boger, C. M., 2015. Synoptic key of the materia medica : a treatise for homeopathic students. New Delhi: B. Jain.

Murphy, R., n.d. Homeopathic Remedy Guide. accessed through Radar Opus software.

Paeff, C., Carpenter, N. and Mcelderry, M. K., 2021. The great stink : how Joseph Bazalgette solved London’s poop pollution problem. New York: Margaret K. Mcelderry Books.

Schroyens, F., 2012. Synthesis : repertorium homeopathicum syntheticum. Accessed through Radar Opus software. London: Homeopathic Book Publishers.

Soniak, M., 2013. Why Does Poop Stink? [online]. www.mentalfloss.com. Available from: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/49033/why-does-poop-stink.