Everything you need to know about pebble poop

What is pebble poop?

Pebble poop, or pellet-like stool, may occur when very hard stool breaks apart into smaller pieces.

Everything you need to know about pebble poop

This breakage can happen during digestion, or it may take place in the anus immediately before a person has a bowel movement. It can be more difficult to pass these small pellets than a normal stool, and a person may strain to poop.

Most people have a regular bowel movement pattern, passing stool from between three times a day to once every 3 days. People with longer digestion periods and less frequent pooping may develop hard stools.

When food passes through the digestive system, the colon absorbs some of the water that the food contains. Food that passes more slowly than usual spends too much time in the colon. As a result, the colon absorbs too much water, and the stool may become hard.

Some other symptoms that a person might experience in addition to pebble-like stool include:

The Bristol stool chart is a tool that helps people identify problems with bowel movements. Pebble poop is type 1: