Have you had a “phantom poop”? Doctors Reveal What the WEIRD Phenomenon Really Means

• Many creators discuss what they call “ghost poops” online.
• They say they go through a bowl motion but see no residue when they wipe
• Today, healthcare professionals are speaking out about what that really means

Have you ever had a “phantom poop”? Here’s what it really means if you feel like you’ve gone to the bathroom but can’t find any trace of it in the toilet or on the toilet paper afterward.

From sex secrets to grooming habits, people aren’t shy about posting brazenly honest and fiercely personal confessions on TikTok.

Recently, a lot of content creators have been discussing what they call “phantom poops” on the video streaming app, which is when you have a bowel movement but you don’t see any no residue on the toilet paper when you wipe.

Others have used the term to describe an instance where they felt like they had gone to the toilet – only to find nothing in the toilet.

Hundreds of people have confessed to experiencing the bizarre phenomenon under the hashtag #Ghostpoop on TikTok — and now, medical professionals have explained what it really means and why it happens on the Today show.

Dr. Rabia De Latour, a gastroenterologist at NYU Langone Health, and Dr. Felice Schnoll-Sussman, a gastroenterologist and professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, told the publication that phantom droppings are actually quite normal – and more common than you might think.

They explained that there could be a few different causes, the first being that your stools are so “well-formed” and “firm” that they leave nothing on your butt that can be wiped off.

“The texture of the stool and the amount you should pass can depend on several factors: fiber intake, intestinal health, the amount of water and other nutrients absorbed from the stool in the large intestine, and the functioning of the anal sphincter muscles,” the outlet added.

As for why some didn’t see anything in the bowl, they said it was probably because the feces were extremely “dense” and went “straight into the toilet.”

Both women insisted there’s nothing to worry about if this happens to you, insisting it’s actually “perfectly normal” and the sign of a “very healthy bowel movement “.

Another reason could be that you think you passed fecal matter, when in reality you only passed some gas.

“The sphincters are stimulated and you let something pass, but it’s just air,” Dr. Felice said.

Doctors added that if you often feel the need to have a bowel movement but nothing comes out, it could be a sign of an underlying problem and you should probably talk to your doctor.

The Today show reported that it could be an early symptom of inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, colorectal polyps or anal cancer.

In 2021, an influencer who goes by the name MrPelz on TikTok posted a video about ghost pooping and it quickly went viral.

“When you wipe after a good shit,” he wrote alongside a clip of him sitting on the toilet and wiping his butt.

He then looked at the toilet paper and noticed that it looked clean, adding, “But there’s nothing there…”

The 11-second clip then shows him floating in the air like a ghost.

“Had fun making this one,” he captioned the TikTok, with the hashtags #Ghostpoop and #Ghostwipe, among others.

Her video received over 372,000 views and 4,600 comments, and many people rushed to the comments section to admit that something similar had happened to them.

Since then, many other people have posted videos on the subject. A man, named Brad, uploaded a TikTok that showed him sitting on the toilet, wiping and seeing no residue on the toilet paper.

He finished the video in front of a green screen that looked like heaven.

A woman named Samantha shared a similar clip, writing: “When you come home from a long day and have a huge dump. It’s the moment you’ve been dreading… But wait, ghost shit.

Another guy who goes by the name Sicko shared a video of himself experiencing his “first phantom poop.”

Miley Cyrus’ song What Does It Mean played in the background as he stared at the clean toilet paper with a horrified look on his face.

A woman named Paige bravely announced in her own TikTok: “I’m going to say it… Yeah, sex is cool, but you’ve already taken a big shit and you’ve wiped it and there’s nothing to to wipe ?”

“That was some ghost shit!” I love this shit. When this happens to me, it makes my whole day.