If you have diarrhea, constipation, or irritable bowel movement syndrome, then you shouldn’t wonder there’s that burning sensation down there. If it happens for no apparent reason, you have something to think about. And there are as many reasons as there are answers to a burning poop.

What is poop made of

Whatever you eat, poop is practically made up of water (75%), the remaining 25% is literally waste containing dead bacteria and undigested food, mainly fiber. Poop makes its way around the intestine through many stages, so the part that is left behind hardens: that’s why we must drink more than a day’s supply of water—if not watch what we put in our mouth.

All food will smell like poop the moment it’s inside your digestive tract because of enzymes and bacteria (skatole, mercetapans, and indole). The brown color in your poop is iron. When your poop turns green, it could be you have had a heavy vegetable diet, or you have an infection.

Why poop burns

Granting you have no rectal tissue infection, cyclic amide makes pooping a bit harsh down there. When you eat seed-filled fruits and vegetables, seeds can’t be digested. So they end up attacking the mucus membranes of your digestive tract, especially at the end stage. The anus is supposed to make pooping easy. But most of us don’t realize that meat is too tough for digestion in two days. It takes a week to digest meat, so don’t be surprised to see a compacted poop one day when you had a full meat meal last week.

Another possible explanation, is proctalgia. It is the pain in your rectum that is likely caused by broken anal tissues. Imagine a little breach on your anus’s lips. So when you poop it naturally stretches, then you feel the burning pain. At rare times, there’s even blood, especially if you’re constipated. Survey shows that close to 35% of Europeans have constipation in one form or another.

The anal split can heal up in a matter of days. But when you continue eating a heavy meat diet, the burning sensation comes back all over again every time you poop. You can save yourself from this annoying condition by reverting to an all-fruit or all vegetable diet. These foods are rich in soluble and non-soluble fiber that not only make you poop easily, they also cleanse your digestive tract naturally.

How to avoid that burning sensation

To make it easier, you may use a rectal ointment. There are many brands out on the market these days but the most preferred is Anusol. If the bleeding continues, it may not be an exterior cause any more. Chances are, the fault comes from within. If it’s hemorrhoids that are causing the pain, this is what you can do:

Sit in a tub with warm water sprinkled with epsome salt.

Turn up the water’s warmth at a tolerable level.

Sit in the water between half 30 minutes to an hour.

Instead of using toilet paper, use baby wipes (for that tender touch).

Finally, eat fiber-rich foods.