10 Symptoms of Celiac Disease
Symptom #1: Steatorrhea
Steatorrhea is a term that describes the presence of an excessive amount of fat in the feces causing stools to be bulky and hard to flush (floats). It also looks pale and appears to be oily. These stools also smell foul. In patients with steatorrhea, some may experience oily anal leakage or fecal incontinence. The increased fat excretion can be measured by determining the level of fecal fat.
Steatorrhea can be caused by many conditions such as exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, poor digestion due to lack of lipases, loss of bile salts, conditions with intestinal malabsorption (such as celiac disease), and more.
