If your colon is failing you may know by the signs and symptoms which include severe inflammatory disease, bowel obstruction and severe gastrointestinal dysmotility.
Although while the colon can fail, the colon does not fail in the same way as an organ like the kidneys or heart does.
And instead, when a colon is failing it's failure to function is often referred to as having severe gastrointestinal dysmotility, severe inflammatory disease and or bowel obstruction.
When your colon fails and stops working effectively, the colon cannot process the waste or absorb water and can lead to a dangerous buildup of toxins and poop.
Critical red flags of a colon failing that is an emergency include.
High fever and chills, which is a sign of a systemic infection or even a severely inflamed, potentially rupturing bowel.
Poop that is black, tarry or bloody, which indicates internal bleeding within your gastrointestinal tract.
Frequent vomiting, especially if your vomit is green-yellow or has a fecal odor.
Severe, constant abdominal pain, which can be sharp or localized pain, which does not come and could indicate a loss of blood supply to your bowel (ischemia) or a perforation.
And or the total inability to pass gas or poop, which is a primary sign of a complete bowel obstruction.
The chronic signs of colon dysfunction include.
Unusual fatigue or weakness, which is often a result of anemia from unrecognized, slow blood loss in your colon.
Unexplained weight loss, which includes dropping weight rapidly without changing your diet or your exercise habits.
Pencil thin stools, which is when your poop is consistently narrow, which can point to a physical obstruction or mass narrowing of your colon.
Severe abdominal distension, which includes visible and painful swelling or bloating of your stomach that doesn't subside.
And chronic changes in your bowel habits, like diarrhea or constipation, which lasts longer than 2 weeks without relief.