Why does my poop smell sweet?

A sweet or “sickly-sweet” smell in stool is unusual, but it is not specific to one condition. It can happen for several reasons, including changes in diet, gut bacteria, or digestion.

Possible causes include:

• Dietary factors: Eating a lot of sugary foods or sugar alcohols like sorbitol, mannitol, or xylitol can change stool odor after they’re fermented by gut bacteria.
• Gut infection: Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) can cause very foul-smelling diarrhea, especially after recent antibiotic use. The odor alone does not diagnose it.
• Digestive malabsorption: Conditions such as celiac disease or lactose intolerance can leave undigested مواد in the gut that get fermented and alter stool smell.

See a healthcare provider promptly if the smell is persistent or you also have:

• watery diarrhea
• recent antibiotic use
• fever
• significant abdominal pain or cramping
• blood or mucus in the stool
• unexplained weight loss