What causes fiber strings in poop? Related conditions and treatments

Overview: What do fiber strings in poop look and feel like?

Seeing fiber strings—or any strings—in the stools is an unusual and alarming sight. The good news is that they are almost always a result of something that you have eaten. In other words, strings or fibers in a bowel movement are not an ominous sign of something bad like cancer. They’re usually indigestible vegetable fibers, but they can also be from hair, clothing, or paper tissue. By themselves, stringy stuff in the poop is usually not something to worry about, especially if you can identify where they’re from. 

However, there may still be undigested stuff in the digestive system, especially if the stringy stuff is hair. These undigested lumps in the stomach or intestines are called bezoars (“bee-zohrs”), and they’re usually undigested plant materials, but they can sometimes be made of more worrisome stuff like hair. Bezoars usually don’t cause symptoms. However, they don’t belong in the digestive system. When they do cause symptoms, the most common symptoms are getting full easily, abdominal pain, cramping, nausea, vomiting, bloating, loss of appetite, and weight loss. In the most severe cases, a bezoar can cause blockage of the digestive system or bowel obstruction, resulting in severe problems. Whether or not there are fiber strings in the poop, any symptoms should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

RELATED: How gut health can impact your overall health

What causes fiber strings in poop?

Fiber strings in poop have what healthcare professionals call “exogenous” causes. That means that those strings are showing up in the poop because you ate something. It’s not a problem with the body. 

The most common causes of fiber strings in the poop are certain foods, hair, and foreign objects.

Foods

Fibers in the poop are usually indigestible vegetable fibers. People commonly notice foods that they’ve eaten reappearing in the poop a day or two later, like corn or peanuts. The digestive system can’t break down certain substances, such as collagen fibers. If the food has fibrous strings, such as celery or zucchini, those fibers can look like strings in the poop. 

Indigestible vegetable fiber strings in the poop are more likely to happen in people who:

• Don’t chew their food enough

• Eat a vegetarian diet

• Eat a high-fiber diet

• Use laxatives

• Have health conditions that interfere with digestion, including:

  • Diarrhea

  • Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

  • Intestinal infections (gastroenteritis)

  • Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), such as Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis

  • Celiac disease. 

None of these conditions are causes of fiber strings in poop, but they increase the chances that fiber strings will show up in the stool.

RELATED: IBD vs. IBS: Compare causes, symptoms, treatments, & more

Hair

Hair can be eaten by accident or on purpose. If people eat a small amount of hair accidentally, it may stick to the lining of the digestive tract or it may pass through the digestive system and come out in the poop. When people eat hair on purpose, called trichophagia (“hair swallowing”), healthcare professionals consider this to be a symptom of a psychiatric disorder. In these cases, the hair doesn’t usually show up in the poop, but it can. Habitual hair-eating normally results in a hairball in the digestive tract—usually in the stomach, but sometimes in the intestines—called a “trichobezoar.” 

RELATED: Eating disorder symptoms: What are the early signs of an eating disorder?

Foreign objects

Fibers in the poop can be cloth fibers, wood, or paper fibers. People usually eat nonfood objects as a one-time stunt, as the phrase, “I will eat my hat,” testifies, but it’s never a good idea. If a small amount of cloth, cardboard, or paper fiber is eaten, bits or strings of it may come out in the poop. It’s also likely to get stuck in the digestive tract. 

Should I be worried about fiber strings in poop?

If fiber strings occasionally show up in poop and you’re only eating normal foods—not hats or hair—then fiber strings in poop should be nothing to worry about. However, if you are having symptoms of a bezoar or digestive system disease, such as abdominal pain, cramping, bloating, or weight loss, then seek an evaluation by a healthcare professional. 

If you are eating objects or substances that aren’t food, then talk to a doctor, no matter what your symptoms. 

Some people confuse “fiber strings in poop” with “stringy poop.” These are very different symptoms. People who start having stringy poops should see a doctor, especially if they have other symptoms, such as chronic constipation or blood in the stools. Stringy stools don’t have “strings” in the stools. Instead, they are narrow stools, sometimes pencil-thin stools that look like they’ve been squeezed through a narrow tube. Possible causes include hemorrhoids, large intestine polyps, bowel obstruction, or colorectal cancer. 

RELATED: Colon cancer symptoms: What are the early signs of colon cancer?

How are the causes of fiber strings in poop diagnosed?

If you talk to a healthcare professional about fiber strings in poop, the diagnosis will start with a medical history. Expect questions about your diet, bowel habits, the frequency of fiber strings in the stools, other stool abnormalities, and physical symptoms like pain, nausea, or diarrhea. A physical exam may also be part of the diagnostic process. If a dietary cause is the most obvious reason for the fiber strings, the clinician may send you home with medical advice or dietary recommendations.

If there’s a suspicion that there may be an underlying health condition contributing to poor digestion or a bezoar, the clinician may refer the case to a specialist in digestive system diseases, called a gastroenterologist. Depending on the suspected cause, the doctor will make a diagnosis with a medical history, physical exam, blood tests, imaging tests, and possibly endoscopic examinations or a biopsy. If a bezoar is suspected, the diagnosis is usually made by taking an X-ray, followed by an endoscopic exam.

If there’s a hairball or other evidence that nonfood objects are being swallowed, the clinician may refer the case to a psychiatrist or psychologist. 

How long do fiber strings in poop last?

Fiber strings in poop are usually temporary and harmless. They will go away within a few bowel movements—usually less than a day. If you continue eating foods with stringy, indigestible fibers, you will probably notice these stringy fibers showing up in the toilet bowl regularly.

How to stop fiber strings in poop

In most cases, fiber strings in poop go away on their own without any treatment within a day. Waiting it out is the most common treatment option. 

If there’s an underlying condition contributing to the presence of fiber strings in your poop, treatments will vary widely from prescription medications to surgery.

If there’s a bezoar, the treatment consists of:

• Chemical dissolution with cola or cellulase, followed by a few doses of Reglan (metoclopramide) to move the remnants out of the stomach and intestines

• Removal with an endoscope (a long, thin tube with a camera and tools attached) to fragment or break up the bezoar so that the remnants can pass through the intestines

• Open surgery in severe cases or when bezoars are lodged in the intestines

Eating nonfood objects is sometimes a symptom of an underlying psychiatric condition, such as pica, trichotillomania (obsessive hair pulling), or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Treatment options usually involve psychiatric medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, and habit reversal training.

Living with fiber strings in poop

Fiber strings in poop are rarely a cause for worry. However, if they’re happening a lot, a few tips can help reduce their incidence:

• Talk to a healthcare provider, especially if there are other digestive system problems or symptoms present

• Chew your food more thoroughly

• Reduce your intake of fruits and vegetables with stringy fibers, like celery, squash, zucchini, and bananas

• Reduce your intake of fruits and vegetables that are hard to digest, like corn and nuts

• Peel fruits and vegetables, like carrots, before eating them (always peel persimmons)

• If you’re on a high-fiber diet, you may be overdoing it—consider cutting back on dietary fibers and whole grains 

What’s next? Additional resources for people with fiber strings in poop

Test and diagnostics

• Fiber strings in stool: Causes, symptoms, and treatment, Statcare

• When should you be worried about undigested food in your poop?, Health (2023)

Treatments

• Bezoars, Merck Manual Professional Version (2023)

• Bezoars: Recognizing and managing these stubborn, sometimes hairy, roadblocks of the gastrointestinal tract, Practical Gastroenterology (2021)

Scientific studies and clinical trials

• Habit reversal training for trichotillomania, International Journal of Trichology (2012)

More information on related health conditions

• Crohn’s disease treatments and medications, SingleCare (2020)

• Eating disorder symptoms: What are the early signs of an eating disorder?, SingleCare (2023)

• IBS treatments and medications, SingleCare (2023)