What is a sign of what is black calla lilies in an adult? Why is stool black, and for what diseases does a change in stool color signal an emergency call for medical help?

Normal stool in an adult is always brown. The color of the stool is due to the presence of stercobilin, which enters the duodenum along with bile. With various diseases, stool can change color from bright yellow to green. The color, smell and consistency of stool reflect the general condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Black feces are always alarming and force us to analyze the reasons that could cause this condition.

Nutritional and drug causes

Why does stool turn black? What could this indicate? The factors causing dark-colored stools can be very commonplace.

This may be due to the consumption of certain foods or certain medications that turn the stool dark. If you stop using the dye, the color of the stool will normalize after a few days.

Darkening of feces can occur from eating prunes, beets, black currants, pomegranates, dark grapes, red wine, bloodwort, liver, tomatoes and blueberries. Even concentrated coffee can color your stool if you drink it in large quantities.

Dark-colored feces often occur when taking De-Nol, activated carbon, multivitamins (Elevit Pronatal, Pregnavit) and iron supplements (Maltofer, Tardiferron, Fenyuls).

When treating anemia with iron supplements, the doctor should warn the patient that, for example, Sorbifer or Maltofer tablets may cause black stool.

Most antibiotics (Ceftriaxone, Augmentin, Azithromycin) themselves do not cause dark stools in an adult. Antibiotic-associated diarrhea occurs more often with the use of these medications. However, very dark-colored stool may occur after taking antibacterial drugs such as Metronidazole or Levofloxacin.

Dark stools may be a result of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. To identify this bacterium, a breath test, PCR analysis of excrement, and a urease test during FGDS are performed. Helicobacter therapy includes proton pump inhibitors (omez), antibiotics and bismuth compounds, which cause darkening of stool.

If you are not sure whether a drug can cause a change in stool color in an adult, you need to clarify this fact in the instructions for the drug.

Blackened stool due to disease

Bleeding from the esophagus, stomach, duodenum is a common cause of black liquid stool in adults. Quite often, such stool is accompanied by symptoms of anemia, which causes dizziness and pallor. Up to 200 causes of formation (gastrointestinal tract) have been identified. Diseases that can cause them:

• stomach ulcer;
• cirrhosis of the liver;
• gastritis;
• hepatitis;
• stomach cancer;
• ulcerative lesions of the intestine (Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis);
• varicose veins of the esophagus.

Bleeding from the vessels of the esophagus can occur in people who abuse alcohol. To exclude dangerous gastrointestinal diseases, in medicine there are symptoms of “red flags”:

• rapid weight loss;
• constant severe abdominal pain;
• onset of the disease in an elderly person;
• temperature;
• leukocytosis and increased ESR in the blood test;
• anemia;
• deterioration of biochemical blood parameters (AST, ALT, bilirubin, protein and others).

These manifestations in combination with dark stool are a reason to immediately consult your doctor! When taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, and Aspirin) for a long time, it is necessary to periodically perform fibrogastroduodenoscopy in order to detect the formation of ulcers of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum in time.

Types of black stool

The stool may be completely black or have dark inclusions such as strings and black spots (large, like grain, or smaller, like sand). Several types of dark feces should be separately distinguished.

Tarry stool (melena) is very dark, liquid stool that occurs when bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract. The stomach is the most common location of bleeding. There, the blood turns black under the influence of hydrochloric acid. In this case, loose stool turns charcoal in color, becomes sticky and smelly.

If there is bleeding from the lower gastrointestinal tract (hemorrhoids, anal fissure), the feces will not take the form of melena, and the main symptom will be streaks of scarlet blood in brown stool.

Black dots in an adult's stool may look like grains or be in the form of grains of sand. They arise due to the consumption of berries with small grains (blackberries, mulberries).

Black-green stool may appear due to poisoning. At the same time, the temperature rises and signs of intoxication appear. It can also be observed due to undigested food particles.

Dark stool after surgery can occur during surgical interventions in the esophagus, stomach and intestines. If black stool appears after other operations, this may indicate internal bleeding. Black strings in stool may be a result of eating bananas. Such rods disappear from human feces after 2-3 days.

Black feces after alcohol occur as a result of bleeding from damaged veins of the esophagus. This occurs after severe vomiting (Mallory-Weiss syndrome). This syndrome occurs more often in men. The formation of hematemesis or melena after drinking alcohol requires emergency medical attention.

Dark stool due to constipation

Constipation is more common in women, bedridden patients and the elderly due to decreased intestinal tone. They can also occur due to poor nutrition, when taking medications, and after removal of the gallbladder. Constipation causes stools to become hard, dry, and dark because it takes longer for water to be absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract. If there is mucus on the stool, this is a sign of an inflammatory disease of the sigmoid or rectum.

The reasons for the appearance may be: slow, difficult bowel movements, taking multivitamin preparations and iron compounds.

If constipation continues for a long time, it can cause anal fissure. In this case, scarlet blood may appear in the stool or on toilet paper.

Additional examination methods

What to do if black stool appears without an objective reason? If you are sure that the reason for the change in the color of your feces is not due to food or medication, then you should consult a doctor. To determine the causes and treatment, the following tests are prescribed:

• Coprogram. The naked eye evaluates the color of the stool, mucus and pieces of undigested food. Small inclusions in the stool, such as villi or strings, can also be detected. This method allows you to detect altered red blood cells in the stool using a microscopic examination - a sign of bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract.
• Analysis of stool for dysentery group with determination of sensitivity to antibiotics. If black or dark green feces appear, diarrhea, fever and stomach pain, these are symptoms of an infectious disease (shigellosis, salmonellosis).
• Stool test for occult blood (Gregersen test or ICA). Prescribed when the color of the stool is normal, if there is a sign of internal bleeding. A week before the test, you must follow a special diet, which means excluding meat, liver, fish and tomatoes. Avoid the use of oral medications (bismuth, iron). Do not brush your teeth for 3 days before the test.
• Complete blood count with leukocyte formula. Tarry stool indicates heavy bleeding, which is accompanied by clinical signs of anemia (pallor, shortness of breath) and changes in blood tests: the level of hemoglobin and hematocrit becomes less than normal.

Dark stool is not always a sign of any disease. But this symptom cannot be ignored. In an adult, the causes can vary widely: from completely harmless to life-threatening. Treatment with folk remedies is often used in the treatment of diseases of the stomach (gastritis, ulcers) and liver. However, if there are complications (especially bleeding), the patient must be treated with medications or even surgical methods.

Stool staining black does not always become a dangerous symptom, although normally the stool of a healthy person is brown in various shades. Almost every person notices the slightest changes in the color and consistency of stool, because they know the characteristics of their own stool.

The brown color of stool is due to the fact that they contain particles of undigested food eaten over the last 2-3 days, and bile that participated in the processing of the food bolus.

Possible causes of black stool may be pathologies of the stomach and intestines, complications of serious diseases.

What to do if an adult or child has black stool:

Analyze a set of foods eaten over the past few days;

Over the course of several days, observe changes in the color, consistency and frequency of stool.

The list of products should include all drinks, vitamins, and medications taken by a person. If the reason for the change in the color of feces is certain foods or medications, there is no need to fear that negative changes have occurred in the body.

It could be:

• Grape,

  Prunes,

  Activated carbon,

  Medicines containing iron.

It is important to carefully study the instructions for use of the medicine in order to anticipate such side effects as a black tint of feces.

If the set of foods consumed has not changed recently, and there is no need to take medications, if black stool appears, you should urgently seek medical help. A possible reason for such changes is that it arose due to taking drugs that reduce blood clotting. They do not change the color of feces, but provoke bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, which is extremely dangerous if the patient is not given medical assistance in a timely manner.

If the normal color of stool changes to black due to the suspected use of foods or medications that stain feces, it is worth observing your stool. If, after removing a product from the diet or removing a medicine, the color of feces returns to normal after a few days, there is no need to worry about pathological changes in the body.

If after these measures changes in the color of the stool are periodically observed, and its consistency becomes liquid, you should undergo an examination to determine the cause of such changes.

General symptoms in the presence of black stools

A person whose stool has changed color may experience changes in appearance, mood, and well-being. Looking from the outside at an adult or child with such a symptom, it is easy to see whether his appearance remains the same or has become painful. The absence of discomfort and good health due to the use of certain foods or medications that provoke the appearance of a black tint of feces confirms the normal state of health.

The following manifestations indicate that the patient needs the help of a doctor:

Ankylostomiasis,

Histoplasmosis.

When bleeding in the lower intestines, the blood does not undergo transformation and ends up in the feces, maintaining a red color. With weak intestinal motility, blood from the bleeding site, even located at the beginning of the colon, turns the stool black. In this case, hemoglobin in the blood is converted into hemin, which has a dark color.

If black stool appears immediately after surgery, dark stool indicates internal bleeding and the need for immediate medical attention. If the stool is black in color in combination with an elevated body temperature, the symptoms indicate a possible intestinal infection and the need for intervention by an infectious disease specialist.

Pregnancy is not a reason for changes in stool color and disturbances in the gastrointestinal tract, therefore a similar symptom of a change in stool color in a woman expecting a child has the same reasons as in the normal state.

What to do if children have black stool?

Serious pathologies, symptoms of which may include internal bleeding and dark-colored feces, are very rare in children. When black feces appear in a child, parents should pay attention to the children's diet and the foods that fill it.

The original stool, or meconium, released in newborns is very dark in color. This is a natural phenomenon, so there is no need to worry when it occurs. After 2-3 days, the baby’s stool becomes light yellow during breastfeeding and has a liquid consistency.

Feeding an infant with formula containing vitamins and iron supplements can give the stool a dark tint. If the baby has a normal appetite, he is not capricious, sleeps peacefully, and dark-colored stool will not harm the child’s body. If you experience fever, restless behavior and other negative symptoms, you should consult a doctor, regardless of the age of the children.

If feces of atypical color and consistency appear in a child, you should contact your pediatrician to determine treatment tactics and diagnose the cause of the pathology. Symptoms such as pain, high temperature in a child against the background of black stool are a reason to call an emergency ambulance. They indicate poisoning or internal bleeding, therefore, the sooner professional medical assistance is provided, the better the future prognosis of the child’s condition.

Education: Moscow State Medical and Dental University (1996). In 2003, he received a diploma from the educational and scientific medical center for the administration of the President of the Russian Federation.

Black feces can appear either from harmless reasons or as a result of dangerous processes occurring in the body that require immediate treatment. Normally, human stool should be brownish-yellow or dark brown in color. These shades are due to the admixture of bile in excrement.

There are many reasons why black feces are suddenly observed in a person. The most common are the consumption of foods, including prunes, taking certain medications and bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. This feature of discharge is often observed in pregnant women - this is due to the fact that the body does not receive large quantities of vitamins or nutrients.

In rare cases, black stool is a serious symptom, if detected, you should immediately consult a doctor, because in medicine there are a number of chronic disorders in which just such a change in the color of the discharge appears.

Etiology

There are several groups of reasons why black feces occur. So-called harmless factors include food or drinks that turn the bowel movements dark. If you refrain from taking them for several days, the discharge will return to normal color. Such products include:

• prunes;
• pomegranate and black currant;
• blueberries and dark grapes;
• blood and liver;
• tomatoes and beets;
• juices from the listed fruits and vegetables;
• high-calorie dishes;
• strong black tea and coffee.

The second group of factors consists of medications:

• black activated carbon;
• medications containing large amounts of iron;
• vitamin complexes;
• heartburn remedies;
• some anti-inflammatory drugs.

Instructions for medications usually indicate that they can lead to a change in the color of stool. This means that before using it, you need to familiarize yourself with it and the side effects, and if this is the problem, you don’t have to consult a doctor - after completing the course of treatment, the feces will return to their normal color. But if during therapy the black stool has a liquid consistency, you should immediately contact a specialist for help.

Sometimes black feces are the first symptom of serious illnesses, such as:

• internal bleeding;
• formation of ulcers;
• oncological neoplasms;
• dilation of veins in the esophagus;
• , localized in the large intestine;
• and hookworm disease;
• lymphoblastic leukemia.

Often, black feces occur in a child, but unlike adults, in very rare cases it is a sign of a disease. Basically, the reasons for the appearance lie in what foods the child was given to eat the day before. These include some fruits and vegetables, as well as prunes. All parents are frightened by the color and consistency of the stool of a newly born baby (in the first few days of life), since the child’s first stool, meconium, is most often of a liquid consistency and black, but this is quite normal. But a little time will pass and the discharge will take on a light brown tint.

If black feces appear in an older child, parents should not panic, but need to remember what foods he ate or what medications he took. If the child is healthy and mobile, then there is no need to worry, but if weakness, nausea and intense abdominal pain also appear, he should be shown to a doctor. It must be remembered that pathological processes develop much faster in a child than in adults.

Black stool most often occurs during pregnancy, as women try to take more vitamins, supplements containing iron, and eat rationally, i.e., eat plenty of fruits, vegetables and prunes, which will also lead to colored stool. This means that if such a feature is not accompanied by deterioration in health, there is no reason to worry about the course of pregnancy and the health of the child.

Symptoms

The appearance of black feces, if the causes are food, prunes or medications, is not accompanied by specific symptoms. But if additional symptoms appear, you should not delay visiting a medical facility. These include:

• nausea and vomiting, and the vomit will be dark or red in color;
• general weakness of the body;
• increased body temperature;
• acute and intense pain in the abdomen;
• the appearance of bleeding from the anus;
• dyspnea;
• change in heart rate;
• loss of consciousness is extremely rare and only in children.

Diagnostics

It is necessary to undergo diagnostics if black feces are detected only if you yourself have not been able to find out why the color of the feces has changed, and additional symptoms indicated above have appeared. Then the patient urgently needs to undergo examinations of the internal organs of the gastrointestinal tract using CT, MRI, swallowing a probe with a camera at the end, radiography, and should also be taken. These methods will help determine what pathological processes are occurring in the body and identify internal bleeding.

If the cause of darkening of the stool is high calorie foods, fruits, vegetables, prunes or medications, you must refrain from eating them for several days, and the discharge will return to its normal color.

Treatment

Before carrying out therapy, it is necessary to determine why the stool has turned black. If harmless circumstances lead to this, there is no need for therapy. But you should not completely exclude such foods, fruits, prunes and vegetables from the diet - you just need to reduce their quantity and monitor the calorie content of food consumed per day. Then the color of stool will gradually return to normal. Medicines should be handled in the same way. A change in the color of the discharge in these cases does not pose a threat to the health of the child or adult.

In the case where the darkening of the feces was caused by internal processes of the body and bleeding, it is necessary to immediately call an ambulance, especially if a child was injured, and go to a medical facility as soon as possible. If the child’s condition worsens before the doctors arrive, it is necessary to provide him with rest and not allow him to eat or drink (with the exception of purified cold water). In any case, the doctor can prescribe two methods of treatment, depending on the factors of occurrence - surgery or medication. With any therapy, it is necessary to adhere to a low-calorie diet and bed rest.

Prevention

Prevention of black stool is:

• consuming small amounts of foods such as black pudding, grapes, prunes, blueberries, tea and coffee, as well as medications that can color the discharge;
• maintaining a balanced diet - meals should not be high in calories;
• At the first symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction, seek advice from specialists. This should be done as soon as possible if this feature of the color of feces was discovered in children, because pathological processes in a child’s body proceed much faster than in an adult;
• regular visits by a pregnant woman;
• undergoing examination at the clinic at least twice a year.

Should you sound the alarm if you discover the presence of black feces? Let's look into this issue. We will talk about why stool may be black, and in which cases it is necessary to consult a doctor.

Where does black poop come from?

The color and smell of your stool can tell a lot about your health. All shades of brown are considered normal. But stool can come in a variety of colors, from all shades of brown and yellow to white, green and even black.

There are two main reasons for the appearance of black stool. First, it can be caused by eating darkly colored foods. Secondly, black stool may indicate the presence of blood in the stool. If your stool resembles tar, this is a sign of bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. This condition is called melena and requires emergency medical attention. Let's take a closer look at the main causes of black feces.

1. Dark colored products

If the color of the food consumed is dark, the chances of seeing black stool are quite high. The list of these products can include:

• Licorice or licorice
• Blueberries
• Baking with dark chocolate
• Fruit punch
• Blood sausage
• Prunes
• Beetroot
• cranberries

2. Dietary supplements containing iron and some medications

You may have black stool if you take iron supplements. For this reason, pregnant women (who take iron tablets and prenatal vitamins) and people with anemia (who take iron supplements) may have black stool.

Another cause of black stool is taking certain medications, such as anticoagulants, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and medications containing bismuth.

3. Stomach and duodenal ulcer or peptic ulcer

Stomach and duodenal ulcers are a common problem. It occurs in the lining of the stomach and small intestine, and can be caused by bacteria, alcohol abuse, smoking, or frequent use of certain medications. The main cause of melena, as research shows, is most often a peptic ulcer.

4. Gastritis

Gastritis is a painful condition in which the stomach lining becomes inflamed. Without treatment, inflammation can last for years, causing pain and discomfort in the stomach area. Black feces are a typical symptom of erosive gastritis, a type of gastritis in which erosions form on the gastric mucosa.

5. Varicose veins of the esophagus

Tarry stool may be a symptom of esophageal varicose veins. If the outflow of blood from the veins of the esophagus is disrupted, they become deformed - they expand and protrude - and can be damaged. Bleeding occurs from them, which can be either minor or massive. Acute bleeding is manifested by black liquid stool, which, as mentioned above, is called melena.

6. Cancer

Sometimes the cause of black stool can be malignant tumors. These tumors are usually found in the esophagus and stomach.

Symptoms to look out for with black stool:

• Pain in the epigastric region
• Nausea
• Diarrhea
• Heat
• Pain during bowel movements
• Weight loss.

If the color of your stool suddenly changes and you have not eaten dark-colored foods or iron supplements, contact your doctor immediately. In this case, it is caused by a medical problem that, if left untreated, can have serious consequences.

Sometimes it happens that human feces are not painted in standard brown shades, but become deep black. Not many people may notice this change, but the most attentive ones notice it and begin to worry. We hasten to note that the concern is justified, since sometimes black stool indicates the presence of various pathological processes in the body. However, this is not at all necessary; sometimes drugs previously taken by a person can give such a non-standard color to feces. In this material, we will take a closer look at why black feces are formed in humans, and what color of feces is normal.

Many people, when asked by a doctor about the color of their stool, are often embarrassed and answer that they do not look at their own stool. Society has established its own rules, making everything that concerns human natural fluids and other masses indecent. However, experts do not ask the desired question out of idle curiosity. In fact, using the characteristics of feces, many different conclusions can be drawn about the state of the human gastrointestinal tract, as well as other organs of the body.

You should pay attention to the following parameters of bowel movements:

• color;
• shape;
• consistency.

Normally, all these three parameters can be very diverse, because they are influenced by a great many different factors.

The standard shade of stool in an adult person can vary from a yellowish-brown hue to brown and almost brown. However, the color of feces is also directly dependent on the food eaten by a person in the several days preceding the moment of consideration of the masses.

In addition, it affects the color and functioning of the gallbladder. So, if for any reason the constant flow of bile in the body is disrupted, the stool will be several times lighter than usual.

Regarding the panic about the color black, it must be said that many people sometimes invent unnecessary problems for themselves. In fact, sometimes the stool turns a dark brown color, and this is completely normal, however, due to poor lighting in the bathroom or the patient’s particularly wild imagination, it may appear black.

If you are not sure that the color of your stool is normal and you think it is black, use the following instructions for a more accurate check. Let us warn you right away that there is little pleasant in it, but remember, feces are a natural element produced by the human body, and there is nothing disgusting in their study. Particularly sensitive citizens may want to wear a mask or fill their nostrils with cotton wool to block out the smell. However, it is better to carry out the examination with gloves, so as not to accidentally stain your hands and then surrounding household items.

So, let's look at the instructions.

Step No. 1 - prepare inventory

To examine your stool in detail to determine its exact shade, prepare the following items:

• a sheet of white paper, best intended for printing, since notebook sheets or notebook pages most often do not match the shade;
• the gloves you will wear for hygiene purposes;
• a stick with a spade-shaped end or an unnecessary spatula;
• If you wish, you can take an apron or other protective clothing to avoid getting dirty.

Step No. 2 - take out the feces

Of course, it is best to defecate into a jar for the sake of research, however, this is hardly possible, therefore, it is necessary to obtain a small amount of feces defecated into the toilet. There is no need to take out large pieces; for this study you really only need a small amount of material.

Step No. 3 - apply feces to paper

Next, you need to apply the collected feces onto a white sheet of paper. Using the spatula used to remove the feces, spread the mixture over the surface of the sheet, distributing it evenly. Now carefully examine the results obtained. On a white sheet, the color of the stool will be clearly visible.

Note! It is important to distribute the feces evenly over the sheet so that in some places it does not clump together and appear darker than it actually is. If you have taken an excess of biological material, it is better to throw away the excess in order to maintain the purity of the experiment.

Now you can tell if the stool looks black to you. Distributed over the paper, it will not lose its color if it really was originally charcoal. If you find that you initially correctly noted the color of the stool, proceed to reading the next section of the article.

Reasons why human stool turns black

The reasons for the change in the color of stool have different etiologies. If you discover such a deviation from the norm, you need to think carefully about each of them in order to exclude pathological processes. If no clue appears, you will have to undergo a medical examination.

Coloring products

First of all, try to remember what food you ate over the past three days. There is a specific list of foods that can cause stools to turn black. This process is completely natural, since the pigment was not formed as a reaction to some unfavorable process in the body, but was simply excreted with the remains of consumed products.

Such foods include:

• prunes;
• beet;
• colored wine;
• liver;
• chokeberry;
• blueberry;
• black currant;
• red grapes.

In large quantities, these plant products, if eaten by you, can easily color your stool. If you eat a small amount of beets, the stool is more likely to appear red or crimson, which also sometimes frightens people who think it is blood. However, when consumed in large quantities, the vegetable turns stool not into a pink, but a black mass.

The same goes for prunes. This very useful product not only cleanses the digestive tract, but also supplies the body with a large amount of useful vitamins. However, if you overeat it, you can get black stools.

Red grapes can also cause unexpected coloration of stool, which many people do not know. Therefore, if you have not eaten beets or prunes, try to remember if you have eaten large quantities of red grapes.

Berries like chokeberries and blueberries, as their name suggests, can darken your stool while turning your mouth, tongue, and hands a wine color. There is nothing wrong with trying these plant-based delicacies in large quantities once. If their stool turns black, nothing bad will happen.

As for wine, dyes are added to some varieties to improve color, which, like all substances that are not absorbed by the body, are removed from the body through the intestines. In addition, some wines contain a higher concentration of stone fruit. As a result of drinking such a drink, blackening of the stool is almost guaranteed.

The presented list of products is far from complete, however, it is the items listed in it that are most likely to cause you anxiety by turning your stool black.

However, a similar effect can also be observed from other elements of the daily diet of a modern person, for example, from sweets colored with black food pigment, coffee and other items.

If you did eat the foods mentioned earlier, and less than three days have passed since you ate them, you most likely have nothing to worry about. The action plan in this situation is as follows:

• exclude the desired foods from your diet;
• wait about 5 days, during which observe the color of the masses that come out during bowel movements.

If, after the specified period, the feces remain true to the acquired shade, you will need to look for another reason for the trouble.

Medications

The second reason for black stools may be the medications a person is taking.

First of all, we are talking about drugs that relieve anemia - anemia, as a result of which the number of red blood cells in the blood is seriously reduced. To combat this pathology, a person must take medications containing iron, which the body can absorb. Most often, domestic doctors recommend medications such as:

• "Sorbifer Durules";
• "Ferrum-lek";
• "Actiferrin";
• "Maltofer"
• other drugs with similar effects.

Why does stool turn black when taking iron? The thing is that when taken orally, iron in the body begins to undergo a series of biochemical transformations in order to ultimately be absorbed by the body. As a result of these transformations, it oxidizes and becomes the so-called hemin, a black substance. The desired iron compound ultimately settles inside the intestinal lumen, and when feces are formed, the substance is mixed with the stool during the act of defecation. This happens so actively that as a result, the entire feces are “saturated” with black color.

Not only do the drugs in question give the stool a black tint, they also affect the appearance of a specific odor from stool. However, there is nothing to be afraid of, since in this case all changes associated with feces are an absolutely normal physiological reaction of your body. Therefore, you should not stop taking medications or start taking additional medications due to blackening of the stool in this case. Once you stop taking iron, the stool will clear up and after a while will return to its normal color.

Regular activated carbon, which is completely harmless to our body, can have a similar effect on the color of stool. Usually its use is associated with poisoning, however, many today use it to cleanse the body of toxins. According to the instructions for the drug, it is supposed to be consumed in the following proportion: one tablet is taken per ten kilograms of a person’s body weight. In other words, if your weight is approximately 60 kilograms, therefore, you need to take six tablets, if 65 - six and a half tablets.

It is not surprising that after consuming such an amount of coal, you will see black feces in the toilet. This is also completely natural and normal, because charcoal is eliminated from your body, at the same time taking with it toxins and other harmful substances, ending up in the feces.

Another category of medications that provokes the appearance of black stool are drugs that contain bismuth, a heavy metal, which is prescribed to people who have problems with the occurrence of various ulcers and erosions within the gastrointestinal tract. In an oxidizing environment, it forms a protective film on the damaged tissue, which helps in scarring ulcers, and at the same time protects the mucous membranes from aggressive fluids produced in the gastrointestinal tract.

Most often, patients who are indicated to use bismuth take the following medications:

• "Bismofalk."

As a result of a series of biochemical transformations within the body, as in the case of iron-containing preparations, residual bismuth compounds are oxidized, acquiring a black tint. This mass is excreted in the same way, with feces, therefore, in this case there is no reason to panic.

If you suspect that there may be reasons unrelated to taking the listed medications due to which your stool has acquired a black tint, do not, under any circumstances, stop taking the medications yourself. Only a doctor who has been monitoring the progress of your illness from the very beginning can change the treatment regimen.

Decisions made on your own can have an extremely negative impact on your life, and lead to consequences much more serious than black feces. For example, stopping taking medications containing bismuth leads to the fact that the ulcers begin to hurt and bleed again, but it will be quite difficult for the body to stop these consequences again.

Bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract

The next category of reasons for stool turning black belongs to pathological processes. If you have not eaten foods that stain your stool, and do not take the medications listed above, then it is quite possible that bleeding has opened inside your gastrointestinal tract.

There is also a special name “melena”, which refers to black stool resulting from bleeding from:

• stomach;
• esophagus.

In the first case, it can be provoked by such pathological processes in the body as:

• open, bleeding ulcer;
• cancer processes inside the organ.

The esophagus can also bleed for a variety of reasons, for example:

• blood may come from dilated varicose veins inside the esophagus;
• due to a banal injury to this organ;
• after the formation of a longitudinal rupture in the mucous membrane of the organ, which occurred as a result of the urge to vomit or in the process of regurgitation of stomach contents, the so-called “Malory-Weiss” syndrome.

Typically, the occurrence of melena is accompanied by other symptoms, with the help of which it becomes possible to determine whether your guess about the etiology of the charcoal color of stool is correct. These include such manifestations as:

• painful sensations in the epigastric region, located directly under the xiphoid process;
• constant weakness and apathy of the patient is also an important signal;
• Melena is also accompanied by nausea, turning into vomiting.

The vomit coming out of the patient is also dark in color, more coffee than black, and often its consistency also corresponds to the thickness left after drinking coffee.

However, when the bleeding inside the stomach or intestines is small, its presence can be determined by the black tint of the stool that comes out.

Sometimes stool acquires the desired shade due to the use of medications, which in themselves do not color it in the color of interest to us, however, they influence the opening or intensification of bleeding in the elements of the system used to digest food.

Such drugs are called “antiplatelet agents.” They are designed to prevent the formation of blood clots, preventing blood clotting, as a result of which these deadly elements are formed. This group includes such well-known drugs as:

• "Aspirin";
• "Cardiomagnyl".

"Aspirin"

In addition, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can have the same effect, for example:

• "Ibuprofen";
• other medicines with similar effects.

Most often, the listed medications provoke bleeding of ulcers formed on the walls:

• inside the stomach;
• or duodenum.

If you have a possible thought that the stool has changed its color after bleeding has started, you should immediately go to see your doctor. It is quite possible that the pathological process is progressing, and it will be possible to cope with it only in a situation where you managed to catch yourself in time.

Table 1. Causes of black stool

Eating large amounts of coloring foods	Taking specific medications	Causes associated with gastrointestinal diseases
prunes; beet; colored wine; blood sausage and other products containing blood; liver; chokeberry; blueberry; black currant; red grapes.	Taking iron supplements: "Sorbifer Durules"; "Ferrum-lek"; "Actiferrin"; and a similar effect of the drug. Taking bismuth-containing medications: "Bismofalk"; similar medications. Taking adsorbent drugs: "Activated carbon".	Bleeding in the esophagus: longitudinal gap; varicose veins; injury. Bleeding inside the stomach: ulcer. Bleeding in the intestines: erosion; ulcers; other pathological processes.

Video - Black feces in an adult: causes

How to determine the nature of the dark color of stool

To understand what reason caused the change in the color of the stool, you need to track some of the most important aspects of your own condition. This needs to be done calmly, preferably alone. Remember the most important thing: do not invent additional symptoms for yourself. If you find any manifestation from the list below, do not rush to panic, pull yourself together, analyze your own condition and go to the doctor.

First of all, it is necessary to monitor the general condition. If the cause of your charcoal-colored stool is bleeding inside the gastrointestinal tract, you will certainly experience symptoms associated with the loss of some amount of blood, such as:

• weakness;
• pale skin tone;
• apathy;
• drowsiness;
• cool clammy sweat;
• discomfort in the epigastric region.

When the reason for the appearance of a black tint is the use of specific coloring nutrients or the ingestion of medications, your overall health will remain at your usual level. If this is your case, try to study the composition and purpose of the medications you are taking. Having found iron, bismuth, and toxin-absorbing charcoal in them, calm down and stop panicking: the reasons for coloring the stool are absolutely natural, no harm is done to the body. As for food, if it is the cause of blackening of the stool, exclude the coloring elements from your menu and wait 4-5 days. Soon the normal color of the stool will be restored.

Sometimes it happens that the reasons for the appearance of a coal-colored stool are mixed. For example, you experienced slight bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, and at the same time you took medications against duodenal ulcers. If the course of the drug has ended and the color of the stool has not changed, you will have to seek help from a doctor, as this means that you may need an additional stage of treatment.

What symptoms are accompanied by black stools?

Sometimes black feces are accompanied by some other manifestations and features, which people also often pay attention to and begin to panic.

For example, many doctors receive the following complaint: “Doctor, I have black stool with large inclusions.” Subsequently, a medical interview reveals that the patient consumed large quantities of red grapes directly with the seeds, which, in fact, turned out to be the desired inclusions. Such lumps can occur without black feces, for example, after eating other berries with small seeds. The same can be said about grains, for example, flax, which many people eat raw with spoons for its benefits. However, they forget about an important fact: if the grains are not ground, chewed or soaked beforehand, our digestive system may not be able to digest them, and they will pass through the anus in a completely natural way, frightening people who find this impurity in their own feces.

Bleeding that opens inside any component of the gastrointestinal tract is most often accompanied by the release of stool of a charcoal hue, but not of a dense, but of a liquid consistency. Gastric juice and other digestive fluids secreted by our organs turn the red color of the blood entering the feces to black, contributing to the coloring of feces in this unusual shade. If bleeding opens in the colon, the feces will not be black, but pink-red, jelly-like.

Charcoal stools interspersed with bloody discharge can occur as a result of various pathological processes that occur inside the colon. If you see such a picture in the toilet, immediately seek qualified help from a doctor.

After surgery, the stool may also acquire the shade of interest to us, however, this will still be a negative symptom. It usually appears after surgery on:

• stomach;
• esophagus;
• upper intestines.

Dark green stools are often accompanied by elevated body temperature. Both of these symptoms indicate the occurrence of various processes of infectious etiology inside the intestine, which must be treated in a hospital setting.

Why does pregnant women's stool turn black?

Very often, pregnant women notice an unusual color change in their stool and begin to panic. It should be noted that this panic is generally quite justified, since, despite the fact that the interesting position and subsequent childbirth have some effect on the motility of the intestinal system, however, they do not in any way affect the color of the stool.

For pregnant women, all the same reasons are relevant as for other adults. However, most often fears turn out to be groundless, since modern women very often suffer from anemia, therefore, during pregnancy they constantly use iron supplements. Hence the unusual color of stool.

Black feces in children

Babies may also pass black stools, potentially occurring within the first few days of birth.

The fact is that after birth, the child defecates the so-called meconium - a mass that has a wide variety of colors: yellow, green, and even so dark that it may seem black. However, by the third day of the baby's existence, masses of standard colors are observed after defecation. Depending on which nutrient element becomes the basis of the child’s diet, a specific shade is formed. Usually the range starts from a light yellow tint and ends with darkened green, mustard colors. The consistency is usually liquid.

As children get a little older, their stool may become darker due to:

• nutrition with mixtures;
• eating cow's milk (not allowed immediately before reaching two years of age);
• when using drugs with colibacterin.

However, in these situations, the feces become not charcoal, but brown, and may only appear darker than they actually are.

To determine the exact color of your baby's poop, you will have to do the test described earlier in this resource. To carry it out you need to prepare:

• paper;
• gloves;
• stick;
• protective clothing.

Apply the mixture evenly onto the sheet and see what color it is. If you find black, consider whether your child exhibited the following symptoms:

• anxiety;
• poor appetite.

If the answer is positive, you should immediately go to the hospital, because at an early age, children also experience various pathological processes within the gastrointestinal tract.

Blood oozing from damaged mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract in the early stages may not lead to dangerous consequences, however, as a result, this process provokes anemia and progresses.

Let's sum it up

Black feces have always scared people, since this shade is a deviation from the norm. This is true, however, the deviation is not always caused by any pathological processes. Perhaps you simply overate food that stains or are taking medications that stain your stool as prescribed by your doctor.

You should go to the hospital immediately if no favorable reasons for the change in stool color are found. You should be especially careful if defecation with black substance is accompanied by symptoms such as vomiting, weakness, dizziness or fever.

If your relatives have a history of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, serious or not, if this dangerous symptom is detected, it is better to immediately contact a specialist to find out the causes and determine a further plan of action.