Light brown stool in an adult. Change in the color of feces: differences between the norm and pathology

If you find that the stool has become white color you need to visit a doctor. This is a symptom of such serious diseases as hepatitis and pancreatic cancer. Of course, there are other reasons that cause discoloration of the stool, but first of all, oncology and jaundice (hepatitis) should be ruled out.

Why is feces white?

What does white stool mean? The fact that for some reason the body did not produce the bile pigment stercobilin, which gives the bowel movements a familiar, brownish hue. Stercobilin is a derivative of bilirubin, it enters the duodenum along with bile. Accordingly, if your feces are almost white, or completely white, something has interfered with this process. Here are the main causes of white stools:

• blockage of the bile ducts;
• violation of the liver, as a result of which bile is not produced in sufficient quantities;
• violation of the liver or gallbladder, as a result of which bile does not reach the required concentration;
• violation of the intestinal microflora, due to which bile does not have time to act on feces;
• taking medications that reduce the production and concentration of bile.

Almost all of these violations of the body are provoked by certain diseases. Do you want to know what disease the feces are white? Here short list ailments that cause one or more provoking factors:

• the presence of a tumor in the gallbladder, biliary tract, liver, intestines;
• acute cholecystitis;
• acute pancreatitis;
• all types of hepatitis;
• stones in the gallbladder.

If you have white stools periodically, this may be a signal of any of the indicated diseases in mild form. Here are additional symptoms indicating liver problems and gallbladder:

• nausea;
• sharp drops body temperature;
• pain in the right hypochondrium and lower in the side;
• dark urine;
• yellowing of the sclera of the eyes;
• excessive sweating;
• bad smell from mouth.

If at least one of these signs coincides with whitening of the stool, you should definitely consult a doctor, take a blood test to exclude hepatitis and undergo an ultrasound scan of the liver, bile, bile ducts and intestines.

Vomiting, white feces, fever - a signal that the disease has become acute and needs to be called ambulance.

Sometimes discoloration of the stool is a sign that the body is not fully coping with the fats received from food. This happens with different hormonal disorders, malfunctions in the intestines and pancreas, diabetes mellitus. The patient's well-being does not worsen. In order to test the correctness of this assumption, try switching completely to plant foods, cereals, lean fish. Dairy products, meat and vegetable oil should not be consumed. If the color of the feces has returned to normal, you can go to the gastroenterologist and find out why the fats may not be completely broken down.

There are many medications that can cause white stools. Each of them affects the body in its own way, but as a side effect, it can cause discoloration of the stool. Here is a list of drugs that most affect the color of bowel movements:

Light, liquid stool with a strong unpleasant sour smell may appear if the day before you ate a lot of fatty sour cream, butter, nuts. This phenomenon disappears by itself as soon as a normal diet is established.

In an adult, stool characteristics are normally quite stable. However, this is individual and different people the nature of excrement can differ significantly even in the norm. Feces are waste products of metabolism in the digestive system. Normal stools are brown and moderately soft. If appears white feces, it is worth considering why this happened.

What does a change in feces indicate?

Bile is synthesized in the liver cells, then it accumulates in the cavity of the gallbladder. With every meal in the lumen duodenum a portion of bile is thrown out, which processes fats. It also helps to stimulate intestinal motility and develop under gastric juice and gastric mucus. Lack of necessary enzymes and bile leads to a violation of the normal properties of the stool. Fecal matter acquires its normal color due to bilirubin. It enters the intestines as part of bile, undergoes a series of biochemical reactions and is excreted with feces, giving it a characteristic Brown color. The hue of stool in adults can vary according to different reasons. But, unfortunately, discolored stool most often signals pathological changes in the human body:

• inflammation or sclerosis of the parenchymal tissue of the liver;
• inflammation of the gallbladder (usually acute);
• inflammation of the tissues of the pancreas;
• nonspecific lesions of the intestinal tract (Crohn's disease);
• malignant neoplasms of the gastrointestinal tract.

White plaque on the tongue indirectly indicates a violation of the function of the digestive system, and this symptom cannot be ignored.

Conditions requiring attention

The leading cause that induces fecal discoloration are acute lesions of the hepato-biliary system, namely hepatitis and cholecystitis.

In these diseases, it is important to note the pathognomonic symptoms that accompany acholic feces:

• pain in the right hypochondrium;
• yellowness of the skin, sclera, oral mucosa;
• nausea and vomiting;
• increase in body temperature;
• darkening of the color of urine;
• loss of appetite, distortion of taste preferences.

Colorless feces in a person, combined with these symptoms, indicates the need to begin treatment immediately.

Dark urine in combination with white stool should be especially alert.

Feces with pancreatitis are slightly different, it has a yellowish tint, shines, diarrhea is more common. After removal of the gallbladder, a postcholecystectomy syndrome almost always occurs: the stomach hurts, nausea, bloating, heartburn, steatorrhea to diarrhea are expressed. White stools in an adult may indicate the development diabetes with pancreatic damage. It is important to diagnose the manifestations of an intestinal infection in a timely manner. The progression of rotavirus infection will result in liquid stool white with a yellowish tint. In this condition, the stomach hurts, vomiting appears, the temperature rises, general weakness. If you start taking smecta during this period, the stools will become even more discolored. Infectious etiology white plaque on feces is the most dangerous for infecting others.

You should urgently find out from the doctor why the feces have changed their properties, and undergo a series of tests (biochemical blood test for lipase, amylase, trypsin, glucose, glucose tolerance test, determination of glycated hemoglobin, as well as bacteriological and biochemical analysis feces, extended coprogram).

In hepatitis, it is important to know the liver parameters (ALT, AST, LDH, alkaline phosphatase, GGTP), as well as to conduct instrumental studies to determine the state of the tissues of the organ. As a result, it will be clear what kind of disease stool disorders appeared. Soon after the start of therapy, the symptoms disappear, general state normalizes, which means a favorable course of the disease, and is a prerequisite for an early remission.

Physiologically clear feces

The causes of white feces are diverse, sometimes it can be a physiological process. For example, when using butter, sour cream, meat, lard and other products with high content animal fats. A large number of herbal products in the diet leads to an excess of fiber. As a result of the acceleration of the transport of fecal matter through the intestines, the stools become light in color. Acholia stool is very likely after alcohol. In these cases, clarified feces appear once, no symptoms accompany it. However, dietary disorders can also provoke an exacerbation of the chronic course of the disease.

Discolored stools may appear after taking certain medications. antibiotics, acetylsalicylic acid, taking smecta after poisoning, anti-inflammatory and antifungal drugs, treatment of gout, epilepsy, tuberculosis can provoke the appearance of white feces in an adult. X-ray examinations are often performed using white barium sulfate as a contrast agent. At the same time, feces with a white coating also appear, or it completely discolors. In such a situation, people should not be afraid if white feces persist for several days. If the white stool does not return to normal within 3-5 days, you need to go to the doctor.

If a white coating on feces is the only symptom, then self-correction of power supply is permissible. In order for an adult to no longer have white feces, it is necessary to follow a diet: do not eat animal fats, fried, smoked, products that activate fermentation (dairy and bakery products, legumes, cabbage), exclude alcohol. Adding protein foods to the diet, fractional nutrition, a sufficient amount of non-carbonated water will be able to establish digestive function gastrointestinal tract and eliminate acholic feces. With absence positive effect need specialist help. If white stools appear due to medication or are accompanied by additional complaints, then you should immediately contact a therapist. Need to adjust or assign effective treatment, and if necessary, resort to additional diagnostic methods (laboratory and instrumental research). And the feces will quickly acquire a normal color.

To prevent exacerbation of alcoholic hepatitis and pancreatitis, alcohol should be strictly excluded from your life. Decomposition products of alcohols except gastric tract affect absolutely all organs and systems. Quitting alcohol will help keep you healthy for years to come. It is important not to ignore the recommendations for diagnostic manipulations. Then the diagnosis and treatment will be timely, and health will be able to fully recover. Treatment must be prescribed only by a doctor; taking medications at your own discretion is unacceptable.

From the stomach, food masses enter the duodenum, where they are mixed with bile produced by the liver and digestive enzymes of the pancreas. In the process of digestion of proteins, fats and carbohydrates, a suspension is formed, which moves through the small intestine. AT small intestine absorption occurs nutrients into the blood, and the remaining liquid wastes enter the large intestine. In the large intestine, the remaining water is absorbed and feces are formed, which are excreted into environment through the distal part of the digestive tract - the rectum.

Normal stool consists of water, animal food residues, undigested plant fibers, bacteria (up to 1/3 of the dry mass of feces), bile, dead cells of the mucous membrane lining digestive tract. The composition, consistency, quantity and color of feces depend on many factors and are one of the indicators of the health of the body in general and the gastrointestinal tract in particular.

normal stool color

Usually the stool is brown in color and significant changes in color can be a health concern. Color stool It is determined by the presence of bilirubin (a breakdown product of hemoglobin) and other bile pigments in them. Changes in the amount of bilirubin in the bile can change the color of the stool from light yellow to dark brown.

In most cases, discoloration of feces is associated with dietary characteristics and is not a symptom of certain health problems. However, in some cases, for example, if the color of the stool has changed radically and these changes persist for a long time, this may be important. diagnostic sign dangerous diseases and severe conditions life threatening.

When should a color change alert?

A cause for concern should be those cases when a change in the color of the stool is accompanied by other symptoms:

• Green and foul-smelling stools accompanied by diarrhea, abdominal pain, high fever, nausea and vomiting possible symptoms some infectious diseases, such as salmonellosis.
• Discolored feces are accompanied by pain in the abdomen, back, yellowness of the sclera and skin, darkening of the urine - signs of problems with the liver and biliary tract.
• Staining feces black is accompanied by pain in the abdomen, weakness, pallor of the skin, increased heart rate, cold sweat - symptoms of bleeding in the stomach or duodenum.
• Red feces accompanied by pain in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting - may be signs of intestinal bleeding.

Green stool is a sign of what?

As already mentioned, the brown color of feces is due to the presence of bilirubin in it. Bilirubin enters the lumen of the duodenum with bile, the shade of which, depending on the concentration of this substance, can vary from greenish-yellow to dark brown. Passing through the intestines chemical composition bile changes and it darkens. If the movement of feces through the intestinal lumen becomes too fast, then the bile retains its original color and the stool becomes green. This may be due to diarrhea food poisoning, salmonellosis, rotavirus infection, giardiasis, Crohn's disease, autoimmune and endocrine diseases.

Green stools can be caused by eating a lot of green vegetables.

Green feces in an adult may be due to intestinal dysbacteriosis. In this case, a detailed scatological examination for dysbiosis will help establish the diagnosis.

Green stool accompanied cutting pains in the abdomen, diarrhea, an admixture of mucus and pus in the stool - signs of acute infectious enterocolitis. Treatment in this case is prescribed by an infectious disease specialist based on the results. bacteriological research feces and establishing sensitivity pathogenic microflora to one group or another antibacterial drugs. Except antibacterial treatment, with enterocolitis, replenishment of fluid losses is required, up to parenteral administration solutions of electrolytes.

Green feces can also have a completely normal explanation that is not related to the disease, for example, after eating a large amount of green leafy vegetables (especially spinach), foods with appropriate food coloring, some dietary supplements. Sometimes a change in color is provoked by taking iron preparations, but most often the stool in this case does not turn green, but turns black.

Green feces in children can be caused by the same diseases as in adults. In newborns in the first days of life green chair- This is a variant of the norm, which is called meconium.

What does the black stool mean?

Kal can turn completely black healthy person in the following cases:

• When eating blueberries, prunes, pomegranates, black currants, bird cherry, red wine, red beets.
• After eating dishes and products based on blood or containing it, for example, meat with blood, black pudding, etc.
• While taking iron supplements for treatment iron deficiency anemia, bismuth preparations, multivitamins, activated carbon.

In these cases, the help of doctors is not required, and the color of the stool returns to normal within a few days after changing the menu and stopping treatment.

Black stool is a symptom dangerous bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract

The sudden and inexplicable appearance of black stools (melena) is one of the formidable symptoms internal bleeding into the stomach or duodenum. The black color is due to the interaction of blood hemoglobin with hydrochloric acid gastric juice, resulting in the formation of black hemin. may be caused peptic ulcer, tumor, trauma, bleeding disorder, varicose veins veins of the esophagus in diseases of the liver, infectious process and other reasons.

If the appearance of melena is accompanied by weakness, cold sweat, increased breathing and pulse, pale skin, then you should immediately call an ambulance, since massive blood loss poses a serious threat to life.

Feces can turn black when blood is swallowed during severe nosebleeds, after a tooth extraction, or after an oral injury.

Black feces during pregnancy can be the result of all of the above conditions, but most often it is caused by a woman taking multivitamins and iron-containing preparations.

Red stool - is there a reason to worry?

Red stool appears when bleeding into the intestinal cavity

There is no reason to worry if the day before you ate beetroot dishes or consumed drinks and confectionery products colored with red food dyes.

Among the pathological conditions, the most common cause red stool is bleeding out hemorrhoids. More dangerous reasons bleeding into the intestinal cavity and redness of the feces is Crohn's disease, nonspecific, intestinal diverticulosis, malignant tumors, arteriovenous malformations.

Heavy bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract can also lead to red-colored stools. In this case, hemoglobin does not have time to react with hydrochloric acid, so the blood in the feces does not turn black, but remains red.

Is it dangerous when the stool is white?

White stool is one of characteristic symptoms diseases of the liver and biliary tract. Discoloration of the stool is due to the absence of bilirubin in it, which ceases to flow with bile as a result of impaired liver function or obstruction biliary tract. But it becomes very much in the blood, and this can be seen with the naked eye, since it turns yellow skin and eyes - this condition is called jaundice. In addition, bilirubin begins to be intensively excreted by the kidneys, as a result, the urine becomes dark, as doctors say, the color of beer. Undoubtedly, this is a dangerous condition that requires immediate specialist intervention and proper treatment.

Yellow or white feces - a sign of diseases of the liver and pancreas

Light and loose stools with an unpleasant odor are a sign of a dysfunction of the pancreas. The lack or absence of a number of enzymes makes it impossible to digest fats, as a result of which the feces become light. Lightening of feces after ingestion of fatty foods may indicate chronic, celiac disease, cystic fibrosis, pancreatic cancer, gallbladder cancer, compression of the biliary tract or blockage during cholelithiasis. The consequences of these diseases are very serious, so you should not delay visiting a doctor.

White feces can also appear normally, for example, with errors in nutrition, in particular, with the abuse of fatty foods: lard, butter, fatty sour cream, etc.

Another variant of the norm is discoloration of feces while taking certain medicines: antibiotics, antifungals, anti-gout drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, oral contraceptives. A few days after the end of the course of treatment with such means, the color of the feces returns to normal. To avoid unnecessary worries, before taking medications, you must carefully read the instructions for the drug, especially the section on side effects and symptoms of overdose.

What if the stool turns yellow?

Yellow stool is one of the options for light stool, so the reasons for its appearance may be the same:, biliary tract, pancreatic diseases, conditions accompanied by blockage or compression bile ducts, excessive consumption of fatty foods, treatment with certain drugs.

What to do if the color of the stool changes?

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Light stools can appear in an adult for many reasons. The main ones are: errors in nutrition, taking certain medications, as well as the development of pathologies in the body.

For elimination unpleasant symptom first of all, it is necessary to adjust the diet, eliminating fatty, spicy, salty and fried foods. If this does not help eliminate the clarification of feces, then you need to visit a doctor.

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Causes

The color of a person's stool depends on the food consumed in the last few days.

AT healthy body the color of the feces varies from light brown to dark brown. The consistency of feces is dense, there are no impurities and a specific smell.

If light feces in an adult appeared for the first time and / or the phenomenon is of a one-time nature, then in most cases this is due to errors in nutrition.

Single situations of occurrence of light stools are most often not considered as a serious symptom.



Physiological causes

Lightening of the feces (acholic stool) does not always indicate the development of any pathological condition.In some cases, feces change their color due to non-compliance healthy eating, for example:

• from monotonous food;
• from a one-time intake of fatty foods (lard, sour cream, butter, cream, desserts, chocolate);
• after drinking alcohol.

Light yellow stools can appear when eating a large amount of plant foods. This is considered the norm.

If the appearance of light-colored feces is not accompanied by additional symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, pain, it is enough to reconsider your diet. In case of physiological failures in connection with nutrition during the normalization of food intake alarm symptom in the form of light feces should disappear.



Medicines that affect the color of feces

The color of feces can become light when using certain medications:

• antibiotics;
• anti-inflammatory drugs;
• gout medications.



Diseases

The manifestation of a change in the color of feces may be associated with the development of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and / or pancreas.



If the feces become light as a result of exposure to the body of any pathology, then the following characteristic symptoms occur:

• fever body;
• dark urine;
• nausea;
• vomit;
• flatulence;
• pain in the abdomen;
• general weakening of the body;
• yellowing of the eye sclera and skin;
• loss of appetite;
• weight loss;
• skin rashes;
• marked enlargement of the abdomen.

Hepatitis

Inflammatory liver disease that occurs as a result of toxic, alcoholic or infectious poisoning. Accompanied aching pains in the right side, indigestion, yellowing of the skin. Light feces and dark urine are signs of an acute form of hepatitis. Left untreated, the disease eventually causes cirrhosis of the liver.

Cholecystitis

Inflammatory process in the gallbladder, accompanied by acute painful sensations in the abdomen, lack of appetite, nausea and fever. In addition to clarification, with cholecystitis, loose stools appear with the remnants of undigested food.

Pancreatitis

Inflammation of the pancreas, which develops as a result of malnutrition, overuse alcohol, infectious diseases of organs, taking medications. acute form The disease is accompanied by diarrhea, cutting pains in the abdomen and vomiting.

Crohn's disease

Chronic pathology digestive system caused by allergic reactions, psychosomatic and/or infectious diseases. Simultaneously with the acholic stool, vomiting, fever, blood in the feces appear. The stool becomes yellowish-gray or has gray blotches, accompanied by a sharp unpleasant odor.



Intestinal infection

The stools are accompanied by the secretion of white mucus or yellowish color. Characterized by fever, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.

Stones in the kidneys

This phenomenon can provoke clamping of the bile ducts, which leads to a violation of the release of bilirubin and clarification of the feces.

Fermentative dyspepsia

A disease in which plant fibers that enter the stomach are not digested, as the normal functioning of the organ is disrupted. This disease causes the appearance of light and light yellow stool.

Diabetes

With the appearance of weakness, frequent urination, dry mouth, itching of the genital organs, nausea and vomiting, the development of diabetes should be excluded.

Dysbacteriosis

A large number of harmful bacteria in the intestine leads to malfunctions of the gastrointestinal tract, which causes discoloration of feces. diseases, constriction bile ducts and / or malfunctions of the liver (cholangitis, biliary dyskinesia, inflection of the gallbladder, and others). With such pathologies, the production of bilirubin, a bile pigment, a product of hemoglobin catabolism, is disrupted. Such failures are evidenced by the appearance of beige-colored feces.

The color of a healthy person's stool can vary from light brown until dark brown. This color is due to the presence in the feces of a product that is produced as a result of pigment metabolism processes.

Causes of discoloration of feces

The color or shade of feces may change due to:

• taking certain medications, for example, hematogen, bismuth salts, calomel. In such cases, the stool may be black or green color;
• certain foodstuffs consumed. For example, after eating asparagus, lettuce, and sorrel, the feces acquire a greenish tint. And after eating blackcurrants, cherries and blueberries, it can turn black;
• predominance in the products of certain nutrients. For example, when drinking a lot of milk, the color of the feces can become golden yellow, when eating meat and sausage products - black-brown, and when eating plant foods - light brown.

However, a change in the color and shade of feces may also indicate the development of some pathological processes in the body and be one of the symptoms of the following diseases:

• cirrhosis of the liver;
• stomach ulcer;
• development of malignant and benign neoplasms;
• hepatitis;
• erosion of the stomach;
• bleeding from hemorrhoids:
• bleeding from the rectum.

If the color of the feces has changed for no reason, that is, this was not preceded by the intake of certain medications and food products, seek immediate medical attention. After all, a timely diagnosis will help eliminate the problem on early stages its development, which will lead to a successful and most rapid cure of the disease. AT similar situations It is recommended to contact specialists in the field:

• hepatology;
• gastroenterology;
• oncology.

Light color stool

Fecal masses that have a pale hue (white, gray) in most cases indicate that a person ate the day before a large number of:

• potatoes
• tapioca;
• rice.

If a person passed x-ray examination with the use of barium sulfate, he will also observe discolored stools for several days.
Some medicines that are used to treat diarrhea can also cause stools. gray color. The fact is that the composition of these drugs includes additives such as calcium and antacids.

If we consider the issue of the occurrence of pale feces on the other hand, it becomes clear that the bile secreted by the gallbladder does not enter the intestine for some reason. This may signal the development of certain diseases, including those associated with the closure of the bile ducts, namely:

• pancreatitis;
• bile duct tumors;
• hepatitis A;
• stones in the gallbladder and bile ducts;
• cancer or cirrhosis of the liver.

Thus, we can conclude that if a person has white feces, then he has problems with the gallbladder. He may be suffering from cholecystitis.

Red stool

Red or red-brown color of feces should alert. After all, it is a harbinger of the development of certain pathological processes in the body. Although in most cases, red stool indicates that you ate a fairly large amount the day before. following products supply:

• beets;
• red gelatin;
• tomatoes;
• fruit punches.

Also, red stools can also indicate that a person was taking certain antibiotics that contributed to the formation of ulcers in the intestines. And this has already caused bleeding. After taking potassium tablets and some other medicines, feces with the presence of blood may also be observed.

If you notice the appearance of bloody stools, and did not eat red foods the day before, this may be evidence of cracks in the anus as well as hemorrhoids. These problems could be due to the following reasons:

• after childbirth;
• after intercourse;
• the presence of foreign objects in the rectum;
• with frequent constipation.

Also, red stools can be the result of a disease such as intestinal inflammation. For this disease, in addition to blood feces, the presence of diarrhea and severe spasms is characteristic.

In addition to these problems, red feces can be a harbinger of some other diseases of the digestive system of organs. So, if the stool is bright red, the problem is most likely in the lower intestines. It is very likely that there are malfunctions of the large intestine, such as diverticulitis, when small areas of the rectum become inflamed due to the presence of an infection. This condition is characterized by acute pain syndrome in the lower abdomen.

As for stools that are dark red in color, the problem is most likely in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract, namely:

• in the small intestine;
• in the stomach;
• in the esophagus.

Bloody stools are sometimes the only symptomatic manifestation of colon cancer, as well as the presence of polyps in it. These polyps can be either malignant or benign.

However, in these cases, along with bloody stools, the presence of:

• bouts of nausea and vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• spasms;
• general weakness;
• significant weight loss.

Yellow stool

Light yellow (golden) feces can be observed with the development of a pathology such as fermentative dyspepsia, in other words, a violation of the processes of carbohydrate digestion. This pathology can cause disorders of the digestive organs in terms of insufficient digestion of the connective tissue membranes of the fibers plant origin. Thus, the carbohydrates present in vegetable food, become inaccessible to pancreatic enzymes, as well as the small intestine.

Often, the yellow color of feces in an adult occurs due to poor-quality digestion of food in the large intestine, as well as due to pancreatic insufficiency.

It should be noted that children who are on breastfeeding, the color of the stool can vary from pale yellow or even green-yellow to deep yellow color having a golden hue.

Green stool

The green color of feces may indicate the development of certain diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, about the course of pathological processes in the small intestine, as well as the development of dysbacteriosis, which provokes the processes of fermentation and decay of the food consumed.

The stool may turn green due to the use of certain antibiotics. This color is due to the fact that in the intestine there is a large number of dead leukocytes, which accumulate in it against the background of foci of inflammation that have arisen.

Also, green feces are characteristic of a disease such as dysentery, which is intestinal infection. Together with such a chair, a person usually has:

• a significant increase in body temperature:
• pain in the abdomen;
• bouts of nausea and profuse vomiting;
• aches and weakness all over the body.

Also, feces can acquire a green tint due to the oxidation of iron, which is present in the composition of red blood cells. This is due to the development of complications of ulcers or malignant tumors gastrointestinal tract.

Another cause of green feces are diseases of the hematopoietic organs. The fact is that due to the breakdown of red blood cells, hemoglobin is converted into a large amount of bilirubin. As a result, this substance, when it enters the intestines, gives the feces a greenish tint.

In children at 6-8 months of age, the color of the stool may also be green. This is due to the fact that unchanged bilirubin enters the intestines of the child. And if no other symptoms are observed (fever, abdominal pain, blood in the stool), you should not worry.

Dark colored stool

In most cases, feces that are black in color make a more shocking and even ominous impression on a person than bloody stools.

However, not everything is as sad as it might seem at first glance. After all, a common cause of staining feces in black is:

• receiving activated charcoal;
• reception of various food additives containing iron;
• taking medications that contain bismuth;
• the use of black licorice;
• eating blueberries.

But if you find yourself dark stool(almost black), which at the same time will have a viscous consistency (tarry), hurry to contact a competent doctor. After all, this can signal the presence of blood in the feces, which, in the process of getting from the esophagus into lower divisions gastrointestinal tract, undergoes changes - it becomes thick, viscous, and also acquires a dark color.

A common cause of black stools is the abuse alcoholic drinks as well as certain medications and narcotic substances that contribute to the development of bleeding in the esophagus. Such medicines include:

• ibuprofen:
• acetaminophen;
• aspirin;
• other nonsteroidal drugs, the action of which is aimed at removing inflammatory processes.

As for diseases, the symptom of which may be black stools, these include:

• gastritis;
• colon cancer;
• duodenal ulcer (in the small intestine);
• stomach ulcer;
• tumor neoplasms in the area upper divisions gastrointestinal tract;
• inflammation inner walls stomach.

In conclusion, it is necessary to remind once again that if changes in the color of feces are detected, it is recommended to immediately seek medical help. A qualified specialist will be able to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe competent treatment. Be healthy!