Stool Diagnosis

Mala (stool) examination is to indicate the abnormality of the dosha i.e. vata, pitta and kapha. Stool is important to generate prognosis of a disease.

Ayurveda mala pariksha - Stool examination

Well-formed stool that is neither too hard nor too soft (about the consistency of a ripe banana) indicates proper digestion healthy system. It should float rather than sink in water. It should not have a foul odor. You should be able to pass your feces once or twice per day without straining. If you notice hard, dry stools, gray or blackish stool, greenish, liquid stool, whitish, sticky stool, mucus in stool indicates imbalance in the system.

• A hard and dry stool indicates vata vitiation. They may only pass stools once a day or every other day that too painful due to poor peristalsis. Stool may have much gas without bad smell. Dark colored stool due to liquid concentration by agni.
• Yellow colored, loose, and foul smelling stool indicates pitta vitiation. They may have regular bowel movement, generally rapidly-excretion twice per day. Stool may have foul-smell. Yellow, green colored stool may be due to excessive stomach acid and bile.
• In the indigestion, state indicates ama state (body-generated toxin) predominance of kapha. They may have regular bowel movement, generally slow-excretion once or twice per day. Sweet smelling stool is due to intestinal fungal infection with largely dairy and carbohydrate consumption. Pale colored stool due to low agni and sluggish liver.
• Not well-formed stool indicates indigestion.
• If the jathar agni (digestive fire) is high, then the stool will be hard because agni will burn out water content.
• If the jathagni (digestive fire) is low, then the stool will be watery because of lack of agni.
• Stool with foul smelling, cold, and spitted into small pieces indicates digestive imbalance.
• Extremely offensive smelling stool with the presence of shine indicates sign of incurability.
• A black, very hot, very clear, or very yellow colored stool indicates evil and impedes death. However, some medication can temporarily change the color; for example, some iron supplementation can change the stool to black color. 
• Stools appear to be as honey, pus or fleshy, alkali, and excess watery with different colors or putrefying smell indicates incurable disease.
• In case of diarrhea with a dead-body like smell indicates incurable condition.

 Stool sample put in a tumbler full of water, 

• If it floats for more than 10 minutes indicates the person has vata disorder.
• If it sinks immediately with mucus in stool indicates kapha dominant and ama (affected with toxic).
• If it disintegrates into pieces and in dark yellow colored indicates pitta disorder.