Understanding Mucus Discharge from the Rectum

Your GI tract, from your mouth to your anus, is one long tube of skin designed to absorb nutrients and excrete toxins. Because it needs for food to move along at a reasonable pace, the entire length is a mucous membrane, meaning it makes mucus. Yes, I mean snot.

Because it is skin, it replaces itself just as discussed in a previous post on wear time.

So for those of you who do not have Barbie butt, AKA no hole, you have an anus and possibly still a rectum or what's known as a rectal stump since it may extend above a few inches. The surgeon would leave from 1 to 30 of bowel in place, so the anus opens up into a rectal cavity.

Your doctor either had hoped to reconnect you, or if he felt that administration of medication per rectum was advantageous for you, your stump of a rectum is still at risk.

Regardless, now you have an inside tube that is lined with muco-epithelial cells, AKA skin that produces mucus or mucous membrane.

As the old skin grows in and eventually matures and dies, it needs to go somewhere so that the growing skin beneath it can come in and do its job.

As you shed the top layer of skin, there are pores designed to put out mucus to lubricate the food we eat to get it to our butts. So a layer of skin about a millimeter thick dies, but it's held in stasis by the mucus. This continues to build up until you have a nice little mucus plug built up there. The mucus plug is typically white, but it can be tan, green, or brown depending on what bacteria may be growing in it. Remember, it's dead tissue, bacteria will be growing. So please, once you pass it, make sure you use gloves. I see no reason that a mucus plug can't be voided into the toilet and flushed away; however, it typically does not happen at such a convenient time. You will pass the plug; many people report significant itching as some of the mucus leaks out from the anus; others say it feels like cold cream coming out of their butt.

Regardless of which (or both) it is, it means you're getting ready to pass a plug; it may not be that same day, but it will be soon. If you voided the plug in your drawers, use some tissue to lift it out and flush it in the toilet and wash your garment as normal. Note the color and any odor and report it to your doctor at the next visit.

Now a little bit of important information: if you still have a rectum, you are still at risk for rectal cancer and must be scoped for safety routinely. What that means is the long thin camera they run in through the anus up till the top of your stump and monitor the area for cancerous cells.

I hope this information is helpful; please feel free to ask any questions.

How did long-term opiate use cause cancer?

Mine smells horrible! It's on

Interesting info. Thanks for sharing!

The long-term opiate use caused chronic constipation, which was not dealt with by my mother or her physician. The constipation resulted in rectal cancer that was not discovered until it was too late.

Linked to this (incredibly helpful) post, as a new Osteomate, I was wondering how often people with the required equipment (rectum/colon) have a mucus plug to pass?

I had my surgery around 8 weeks ago and despite being advised that it would be normal to pass some mucus etc occasionally from my rectum other than the odd very gentle expulsion of wind, I had not experienced any need to pass anything. However...... in the last 2 days I have passed mucus, ranging from very soft and slimy to quite firm mucus mini 'stools' on 5 individual visits to the bathroom. Despite the graphic explanation, my question is; Is this normal? As I get increasingly used to my 'Stanley' (ileostomy), will it be less often? Does anyone else get discomfort prior to passing the plugs??

Many thanks xxx

Daniel, I am so sorry to hear about your loss. If anything I shared helps anyone, it makes it worthwhile for me.

That is completely normal. Remember that the same bacteria still populate the area for a while until lack of nourishment causes them to die. Until then, you will continue to experience odor.

First of all, let me reassure you that, yes, this is completely normal. Second, it depends on how long your rectal stump is. If it's 4in/10cm or less, you probably will only pass a little bit at first and then maybe once a year. If it's longer than 7in/18cm, it could be extensive for a while. Over time, the bacteria die off and the odor is less because they're starved for nourishment. But skin must grow as the skin grows and sloughs. The body will create mucus to carry debris away, because that is the type of skin that is still inside of your rectal stump, so you will always have this as a phenomenon, occasionally even a decade later. Many people retain the stump because there's a possibility of reconnecting, which is called a takedown surgery or a reanastomosis. I know that you will probably know more about medicine now than you ever wanted to in your lives, but trust me, knowledge is never wasted. I learn from all of you every time I log on.

Thank you so much for your reply, that is very reassuring. I currently have a loop ileostomy so my whole colon and rectum is intact (due to my condition, it is an exceptionally long one too!).

I was just a little confused as it has been going on for 3 days now, but I am only 8 weeks post-op. I am hoping it will settle down in time.

The plan is to have it all removed in about 2 years' time so I will have little or no 'rectal stump' long term.

Gladly, reversal/reconnection is neither an option nor something I want, so once it is gone, it will be gone for good.

Take care x

Thanks. My mother died in 1995, so it's been a while. I think that, had her cancer happened in this day and age, things may have been different. Both doctors and patients are more aware of the dangers of opiates than they were in 1995.

Sounds normal but you should never pass rectal gas with a permanent stoma. That is cause for a doctor's appointment. Gas could be a sign of fistula or infection (toxic gas from infection).

I occasionally get the feeling I need to pass rectal gas. However, it is a false feeling. What is there is rectal discharge and, should I give in to the false feeling, I would have some wet shorts! :-)

--Daniel

Well, to reassure you, yes, this is normal and the answer to your question, although it's not very satisfying, is it depends. It depends on the length of your rental stump and how frequently your skin specifically replaces itself. When the mucus needs to pass, it may take several visits to the bathroom or one really massive one, kind of depending on how good you are holding it in and kind of depending on how long the stump is, therefore how much mucus and skin cells need to pass. Yes, this will be true for the rest of your life because your skin will continue to grow for the rest of your life unless, for some reason, you lose your reckless thump and end up with Barbie butt or Ken butt.

Hi!

Could you please expand on the prolonged use of opiates and colon cancer? I too have been on oxycodone for over 2 years now for a severely messed up shoulder, bone-on-bone arthritis. Surgery is not an option due to my COPD. Thanks!

I should be more specific about what I mean. The problem with opiates is that they promote constipation. My mother's doctor did not talk to her about that. This was the late 80s and early 90s. Over time, she developed rectal bleeding. She still did not communicate that to her doctor. It was not until my father saw blood in the toilet that she had to face it. By then, it was too late. She had developed rectal cancer, which was already spreading.

If you and your doctor are effectively dealing with the effects of oxycodone, I don't think you should have problems. I don't know what the status of your colon. I no longer have one and was on oxycodone for 4 months following my surgeries. No colon apparently equals no constipation problems. :-)

It is always good to remember that constipation can kill.

--Daniel

ostomate&. And mysterious mose -

 Okay, I must have been absent this day and a very important informational thread by you and I am sorry.  Reading this thread has enlightened me and is a reminder to not be absent, check older posts or at the very least check those posts mentioned recently- to which I say thank you mysterious mose for the reference.  Now for a bit of humor which is my dose of daily medication - I couldn’t help but giggle to your mention of the RECKLESS THUMP - I knew it was that auto correct devil and should have been rectal stump but what a prizewinning auto correction!  Thanks for todays dose of medication !  jb

Mysterious Mose sorry for your loose, and yes "long-term opiate use can cause chronic constipation" but not for every one I have been on 180mg of morphine a day for 15 years now and I never was constipated. when my bowels stopped due to my spine problems that was always a big argument I had with pian Doctors and Surgeons. 

I have had my colostomy sense 2017 and three years ago I started having mucus drainage from my stump and anus. It has gotten so bad it is sometimes a four or five hour  time frame. Sometimes all day. I thought I had found a solution once but it only worked for about two months. That was a fecal transfer. But now the mucus has come back and it stinks something awful.

I have fear with it because it is a constant drainage rather that once in a while. I don't understand about the mucus plug. I actually wish it was a plug and that I could let it drain when I wanted it to. I am always looking for answers. I haven't found anyone who can really help on this issue permanently. I know some people never have this problem, I belong to an ostomy group and talk to them about it and most of them have never had a problem with mucus from the stump. I am so afraid of the drainage and the leaking through my clothing and finding an answer to help with that. I did find some butterfly pads on amazon and they do help but not big enough for the amount of leakage I have. Is anyone one else having this same king of mucus drainage?