Impurities in feces: types, causes and methods of treatment. White mucus in the stool: symptoms and danger signs, possible diseases

The color of the feces can vary and have a brown, light brown and yellow-brown tint. The consistency may change when eating any foods or after using medications. In more serious cases, this is a sign of the development of some kind.

Particles of mucus in the feces are necessarily present. If a person is healthy, then these whitish discharges in the feces may not be noticed. White streaks may indicate the development of some abnormalities and pathologies. These secretions consist of leukocytes and epithelial cells.

The appearance of white streaks may be associated with the use of large quantities of bananas, oatmeal, cottage cheese.In infants, this may be due to the immaturity of the fermentation system. If white grains look like cottage cheese or sour milk, then this is a sign of overeating the baby. The remains of undigested food are passed out with feces.White lumps without any impurities may indicate lactose intolerance.

In adults, white streaks and mucus, enveloping the feces, indicate damage to the distal parts - while constipation is often observed.

If mucous secretions are observed along with small white grains, then it indicates pathology and.

Possible diseases that are caused by white plaque in the feces:

intestinal candidiasis
Pararectal fistula
Dysbacteriosis
Colitis

With intestinal candidiasis, white patches are an accumulation of fungi.Whitish dots in combination with mucus can be observed with mucous colitis or while taking antibacterial drugs.In many cases, dead worms - pinworms - can be mistaken for white streaks.

Signs of the appearance of veins in the feces

White streaks in feces - a sign of an intestinal infection or helminthic invasion

White blotches in the feces, which resemble grains, lumps or grains, are the remnants of undigested food. If a person feels good at the same time, there are no other signs, then treatment in this case is not required.

If white streaks are associated with a fungal disease, then the patient may feel discomfort and heaviness in the abdomen, the consistency of the stool changes, diarrhea appears, and health worsens.

Also, against the background of changes in feces, the following symptoms can be observed:

Nausea
Pain and bloating
Slight increase in body temperature
Light yellow diarrhea

When a helminthic invasion appears, the child becomes restless and capricious, sleep is interrupted. If the child, along with white lumps in the feces, has mucus, foam and impurities, then you need to contact your pediatrician.

If an infection is present in the body, then the child looks unhealthy. At the same time, the complexion changes, during defecation, the baby bends its legs and cries. With symptoms of an intestinal infection, the child is hospitalized in a hospital.

Diagnostics

To identify the inflammatory process in and establish the cause of whitish blotches, an instrumental is carried out.

The patient must pass and where the increase can be detected.Of great importance in children is the study of feces, which is divided into several groups: macroscopic, microscopic, bacteriological and chemical.

Or a general analysis of feces allows you to determine the state of the digestive system, large and small intestines.

After receiving the results, the doctor will be able to accurately determine the cause of the disease and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

It is necessary to carefully prepare for the analysis, as this directly affects the result:

Before collecting feces, you should urinate and carry out hygiene procedures. The perineum must be thoroughly wiped so that urine and water do not get into the feces. After all, all this can lead to an erroneous result.
To collect feces, a special container can be purchased at the pharmacy. It must be clean and dry. Pull a cling film over the toilet seat and, after defecation, collect the feces in a prepared container.
The amount of material collected for research should be 5 g. It should be delivered to the laboratory within two hours. It is not recommended to store feces for a long time.
If the feces were collected in the evening, then the container with the contents must be placed in the refrigerator or in another cool place.

Treatment: basic drugs

Depending on the cause of this symptom, treatment is prescribed:

If the presence of white patches in the feces is associated with fungal, then antibacterial and antifungal drugs are prescribed, which include substances such as Clotrimazole and Fluconazole. In addition, the doctor will prescribe medicines against intestinal dysbiosis.
If the white lumps in the feces are worms, then anthelmintic drugs are used for treatment. To avoid possible infection with worms, the hygiene of the infant should be improved. It is important to iron the baby's underwear on both sides, after each bowel movement wash the ass with soap and grease with baby cream.
If the baby has white lumps against the background of lactose intolerance, then the doctor will prescribe lactose-free mixtures and recommend products that reduce the amount of this enzyme in mother's milk.
To restore normal function, drugs are used to eliminate the inflammatory process. With mucous colitis, antiseptics are used to improve the patient's condition. To normalize the enzyme environment of the intestinal mucosa, drugs such as Festal, Pancreatin, Mezim, etc. are used.
Against the background of treatment, the patient must comply. The diet should contain a large amount of fiber: vegetables, fruits, dried fruits, bran, etc. For a while, you should limit the use of butter, strong tea, coffee, sparkling water.

Useful video - Intestinal dysbacteriosis.

Of course, not everyone scrupulously analyzes their excrement. And the design of the current toilet bowls does not encourage such research. However, the appearance of uncharacteristic impurities and inclusions in the feces can be the first “alarm signal” indicating the occurrence of serious problems in the body. Some of them are a weight reason for going to the clinic and examination.

Usually our feces is a fairly homogeneous mass. The appearance of impurities or foreign inclusions in it can be due to both the nature of the diet and the development of diseases. Any sane person should be wary of the appearance of visible in the fecal masses:

blood;
pus;
mucus;
food leftovers;
foreign inclusions.

Blood

The detection of blood in the stool is always a serious symptom that requires immediate medical attention. It can be a manifestation (often the first):

inflammatory bowel (ulcerative colitis, );
large benign neoplasms (for example, polyps);
and anus (fissures, ulcers, hemorrhoids, proctitis, etc.)
ischemic colitis (due to the pathology of the vessels that feed the intestines);
intestinal angiodysplasia;
pathology of blood coagulation;
infectious lesions of the intestine (for example, dysentery, amoebiasis, intestinal tuberculosis, etc.);
drug damage to the intestine (due to taking antipyretics, etc.);
helminthic diseases (ascariasis, trichuriasis, etc.).

The amount of blood can be different: from barely noticeable streaks to several glasses. Sometimes, instead of stool, when the patient has a bowel movement, only blood or blood with mucus comes out. The color of the blood reflects the location of the source of blood loss. Scarlet fresh blood is characteristic of a "low" location (anus, rectum, sigmoid colon, or descending colon). Often it is located on top of the feces. Dark blood (especially if it is mixed with fecal matter) or blood clots indicate a "high" localization, that is, the pathological process is located in the right side of the colon or in the small intestine.

Pus

The admixture of greenish or yellowish pus in the excrement is always a sign of a serious inflammatory process. She appears when:

infectious colitis;
proctitis;
autoimmune inflammatory processes in the colon (ulcerative colitis, Crohn's colitis);
diverticulitis;
breakthrough of abscesses into the intestine;
the decay of a malignant tumor (this happens in the advanced stages of the disease).

Therefore, pus in the stool is also considered an alarm. Self-medication for these diseases is ineffective and can result in dire consequences.

Slime

In a healthy intestine, there are always cells that produce mucus. It is necessary for the timely passage of feces through the intestines. Therefore, a small amount of clear mucus in the feces can also be normal. In addition, small inclusions or lumps of mucus are characteristic of the stool of infants who are breastfed. They are associated with the excessive fat content of mother's milk, which the still weak digestive enzymes of the child's body are not able to cope with. However, a large amount of mucus, its yellowish or brownish color are often manifestations of:

increased motor activity of the intestine;
infectious diseases (, typhoid fever, dysentery, etc.);
inflammatory processes in the intestines of non-infectious origin (diverticulitis, etc.);
helminthic diseases;
neoplasms;

In addition, mucus is a companion and a harbinger of exacerbation of chronic autoimmune intestinal diseases (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis).

leftover food

Some types of food cannot be completely digested, so the presence of seeds, poppy seeds, bones, fragments of a dense peel, veins and cartilage of meat, fish bones should not be a cause for concern. Digestive enzymes are not able to cope with such coarse fiber and connective tissue.

You should be wary if the remains of meat, eggs, cottage cheese, fat are visible in the stool. Their presence reflects a severe deficiency in the formation of enzymes necessary for digestion. This happens when:

common and severe;
inhibition of the production of pancreatic juice (a consequence of pancreatitis or removal of a part);
insufficiency of intestinal enzymes.

Also, food residues in feces are observed with accelerated intestinal motility ().

Foreign inclusions

Sometimes, when examining feces, one can see rounded or oblong white or light yellow dense inclusions in them. These can be fragments of worms (tapeworms) or the worms themselves (pinworms, whipworm, roundworms, etc.). It is highly desirable to collect such feces with all foreign bodies and take them to the laboratory of the infectious diseases clinic. After all, treatment largely depends not only on the very fact of the presence, but also on the type of worms detected.

Films in the stool can appear with a serious lesion of the intestine: pseudomembranous colitis associated with antibiotic treatment. Sometimes suspicious patients take dense lumps of mucus for films or worms. In addition, in some cases, excrement may contain residues of drug shells (usually granular) or the drugs themselves (for example, grains of activated charcoal).

Thus, the appearance of certain impurities in the fecal masses should alert patients. Most of these inclusions require a comprehensive examination and active medical action.

Which doctor to contact

If you have impurities in your stool, see a gastroenterologist. If this is not possible, the primary diagnosis will be carried out by a therapist or family doctor. After clarifying the diagnosis, the patient may be assigned an examination by a proctologist, oncologist, surgeon, hematologist, infectious disease specialist. For diagnosis, the qualification of the endoscopist and the equipment used by him is very important.

Video version of the article:

When black dots appear in the feces in an adult or a child, a reasonable question arises - is it not the pathology of the internal organs that caused such a strange phenomenon? Find out what it is, you need to immediately.

Reasons for the appearance

A person's normal stool will vary depending on age and diet. Its color ranges from light yellow to dark brown, and all this is the norm if there are no impurities in the feces. Stools with white or dark spots are worrisome, but don't panic right away.

There are two main groups of causes that cause dark spots in the stool of any person:

natural causes, which are not a pathology of the body and do not require specific treatment with medicines. Black grains in the feces will not constantly disturb a person, but only occur from time to time, depending on the factors provoking them. The inclusions in the stool are usually small and may look like sand, peas, small sticks or veins. The stool remains of a normal consistency (loose stools are typical for a child, and dense, formed feces are for adults). The poop should be brown or yellowish, and black grains will only occasionally stand out against this background. This category includes the use of certain foods and drugs.
Pathological causes that are a consequence disorders of the gastrointestinal tract, expressed as black grains of various sizes in the feces. Dark-colored balls can be of very different sizes, even almost completely dot the feces. The poop itself can be light, green, red or black. All this indicates a malfunction in the body, and treatment should begin immediately. The consistency of feces in pathology can be unpredictable - diarrhea will be accompanied by very liquid or watery feces, and constipation may look like a hard fecal lump with small black pebbles in the form of inclusions. The pathological causes of the appearance of black dots in the feces include bleeding, infectious diseases, and enzyme pathologies.

Consider the main causes of the appearance of feces with black patches in more detail.

Photo of a chair with black splashes:

Food

Black grains in the feces are very noticeable in infants, since the stool itself is yellow and such changes are very scary for parents. If small specks of black or dark brown color begin to appear in the baby's poop, you should not immediately sound the alarm.

It is necessary to remember if the baby did not use such products:

Banana- is not completely digested in the intestines of the child and comes out with feces like black threads.
Persimmon- comes out with feces as black grains of small size, as it is poorly digested by the child's body.
Small grains from kiwi may also not be digested and leave the body in its original form.

Feces with black dots in an adult and a child can also cause the use of raspberries, currants, grapes. Black grains like poppies will be found in a person's stool after eating food and immediately pass.

The use of pears and apples leads to the appearance of the same effect as when bananas are included in the diet - feces with black streaks appear.

If a person loves seeds, but does not cleanse them well and eats them with husks, then black-speckled feces will constantly be noted every time you go to the toilet “by and large”.

The use of blood products (sausage, heart, liver, stomach) may cause the stool to become very dark in color, or cause the stool to come out with red streaks, or there will be black pieces of overcooked meat.

You should not worry about black dots in the feces if the person's diet is "teeming" with the above products. If the problem worries a person and I would like to make sure that the reason is exclusively food, then it is worth changing the menu for a few days. The disappearance of black dots in the feces will be proof of the correct theory.

Taking medications

Black lines, small crumbs, or pebbles in dark-colored stools can be caused by certain medications. The instructions for the use of medicines always indicate such a side effect as black staining of feces. People taking these drugs should not be surprised if the stools are completely black, after the end of the course of treatment, everything will return to normal.

Drugs that change the color of feces include:

Activated carbon.
Bismuth-containing preparations.
Paracetamol.
Ibuprofen.
Certain antibacterial drugs.

If, after discontinuation of the drugs, black dots in the feces continue to bother a person, then you should contact a specialist to find out why the problem has not disappeared.

Bleeding of the digestive tract

Light bleeding in the stomach or small intestines may show up as black spots in the stool.

In addition to such a small symptom, a person will have other signs of the disease, which will help to make a diagnosis in total:

Weakness.
Fast fatiguability.
Pallor.
Loss of appetite.
Nausea after eating.
Frequent dizziness.

If the bleeding intensifies, this can seriously affect a person’s health, so this pathology cannot be ignored, you should immediately contact the hospital for help before it’s too late.

infectious diseases

Bacteria and viruses that infect the intestines and even the entire gastrointestinal tract can provoke not only black sand in the feces, but also cause other unpleasant symptoms:

Stool color change -, yellow,.
Change in the consistency of the stool - watery, frothy, liquid, mushy.
The appearance of an uncharacteristic fetid odor.
Occurring abdominal pain.
Bloating.
Nausea and vomiting (with black feces, vomiting resembles coffee grounds).

Problems with enzyme production

The liver, gallbladder and pancreas are responsible for producing enzymes for proper digestion.

Hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis - these diseases can lead to improper supply of enzymes (excess or lack) and then black dots will begin to appear in the human stool.

Also, a gray coating may appear on the feces, which will indicate a serious disease of the pancreas. The consistency and color of the feces may change in total. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to absolutely all the symptoms that disturb a person, in addition to black dots, so that a presumptive diagnosis can be made and confirmed by laboratory or instrumental.

One of the main causes of constipation and diarrhea is use of various drugs. To improve bowel function after taking the drugs, you need every day drink a simple remedy ...

How to make a diagnosis?

It is always better to entrust the diagnosis to a specialist, especially if the person is sure that the problem lies not in nutrition or medication.

The algorithm of the doctor's actions will be as follows:

Collecting an anamnesis and clarifying all disturbing symptoms.
Conducting laboratory diagnostics (delivery of feces for a coprogram and occult blood, if it is not visible in the feces).
Conducting instrumental diagnostics (colonoscopy or X-ray) - is carried out if intestinal bleeding is suspected in order to establish and remove the source of blood loss.

Treatment will be based on the cause of black dots in human feces. The age of the patient will also be an important point - for young children, often many treatments are not applicable and you will have to look for other ways to solve the problem.

The main principles of treatment will be:

Establishing a diagnosis with the exact cause of the disease.
Selection of drugs for symptomatic treatment (analgesics, laxatives, tonics).
Selection of etiotropic agents to eliminate the cause of the appearance of black patches (antibacterial, antiviral, vasoconstrictor).
Use of supportive and supportive therapy (probiotics, enzymes, immunostimulants).
The appointment of a certain diet, if necessary, is at least not the first period of recovery after an illness.

Video

Black dots in the feces can be the first symptom of a serious pathology of the digestive tract. It is always worth immediately discarding the most banal and safe reasons, and if they do not fit, then go for diagnostics. You should not wait for new symptoms, the prognosis of any disease primarily depends on the speed of diagnosis, and the latest diagnostic methods allow you to identify the cause of any disease at a very early stage.

Normal stool color from yellow-brown to dark brown, closer to black. The color is determined by the digested bile and the remnants of food consumed within 3 days.

Frequent possible stool disorders: white or black grains in stool , black stool and others.

Let's take it in order.

Black stool

1.1. Normal stool is black when eating beets, grapes, prunes.

1.2. Possible black color of feces when taking medication: iron preparations, multivitamins, activated charcoal.

1.3. Available black color of feces in pathology: with gastrointestinal bleeding. In this case, you need to urgently consult a doctor.

Feces with black grains

2.1. Black patches in stool - these are partially undigested food fragments (bones, seeds, medicines). If found black grains in baby's stool, then we remember what the child ate for 3 days. Grains in the stool in an adult have the same reasons as the child: they ate something, and it was not digested.

2.2. Inclusions in feces that look like black threads (black threads in stool) These are the fibers from the banana.

Black loose stools (black diarrhea)

3.1. Black liquid stool- more often it is a manifestation of internal bleeding from the esophagus, stomach or intestines, against the background of ulcers, cancer, polyps or varicose veins of the gastrointestinal tract.

In the digestive tract, blood is processed by enzymes and microflora. This causes the color of the blood to change to black. With internal bleeding, in addition to black liquid stools, other clinical manifestations are also characteristic: weakness, pallor, dizziness, anemia.

In patients with epilepsy while taking anticonvulsants , which can cause side effects in the form of thrombocytopenia, a rare and severe complication may be gastric or intestinal bleeding, which is manifested liquid black stool or appearance black specks in stool.

Most often, in patients with epilepsy, when taking antiepileptic drugs, such a serious complication as bleeding occurs under the following conditions:

4.1. If these patients have hereditary predisposition to hematological disorders.

4.2. If there is a concomitant pathology in the form peptic ulcer of the stomach or 12 duodenal ulcer.

4.3. In the treatment of comorbidities with drugs with similar adverse events ( e.g. non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs: indomethacin, aspirin).

When in the feces of black granules in patients with epilepsy an urgent need to contact a therapist and an epileptologist (article:) for a possible change in antiepileptic therapy.

May meet white streaks in stool in adults or children.

White streaks in stool caused by inflammation in any of the departments in the intestines. The reason is infectious microflora, candidiasis, intestinal dysbacteriosis. Candida fungus forms on the surface of the intestinal mucosa curdled white coating , which enters the feces. You need to consult a gastroenterologist.

6. White grains in feces (granules, inclusions, inclusions).

6.1. - usually these are particles of undigested food. White patches in stool may consist of fragments of plant foods (grains, seeds, peel). In case of appearance white inclusions in the stool no need for therapy.

6.2. In patients with epilepsy while taking depakine chronosphere white granules are found in the feces.

This is due to the fact that in this form of release, depakine is located on the surface of small paraffin granules of white or light yellow color.

How to take Depakine Chronosphere?

It is recommended to take depakine chronosphere with food. Foods that are most suitable for this are yogurt, fruit puree, porridge at room temperature (not hot), and juice. Pour the powder from a paper bag similar to a bag of salt into a small amount of yogurt; mix with a spoon; the contents are eaten without chewing.

Getting into the gastrointestinal tract along with food, depakine is gradually released from the surface of the paraffin granules and enters the bloodstream. This creates a constant therapeutic concentration of the drug in the blood, without a sharp increase and a sharp drop in the content of depakine in the blood. A stable sufficient concentration of antiepileptic drugs is the key to the success of the treatment of epilepsy.

After passing through the gastrointestinal tract white granules of paraffin are passed out with feces unchanged. These ones white grains and found in feces, and patients and suggest that depakine is not absorbed. But it's not! Depakine was just absorbed from the intestines and entered the bloodstream, as it should be in these cases.

From the letters of patients with epilepsy:

“They transferred the child to the depakin chronosphere, but we have problems with the stool - I noticed these very white granules in the child's feces, there are a lot of them. I can not understand, it turns out that depakine is not absorbed? Or do we need a special one?

Or from the complaints of parents of patients with epilepsy at the reception:

“We tried to give depakine chronosphere, but the drug did not work for us!

- What do you mean, depakin did not go? What was it?

- He is not digested, he is all Excreted in feces as a white powder . We discoveredwhite specks in baby's stool a lot. We don't know now.

"But that's the way it should be!" Depakine is absorbed, and only white granules of paraffin are found in the feces, on the surface of which depakine was applied.

“So, do you mean we should continue taking Depakine Chronosphere?”

- Certainly!"

So, from the article we learned that black or white patches may be found in the stool. This may be the remnants of undigested food or a manifestation of diseases, including stomach or intestinal bleeding. If white granules appear in patients taking Depakine Chronosphere, do not worry - it should be so.

White lumps in the feces of the baby make inexperienced parents panic. However, in some cases, the phenomenon can be considered the norm. Let's figure out why white grains appear in the stool of a newborn, and when it is worth contacting a doctor with a problem.

Causes of white patches in stool

Small white lumps that look like grains of cottage cheese are a signal of problems in the digestive system. They may be accompanied by restlessness and crying of the child. But don't worry too much! It is worth remembering that a child is born with a "sterile" gastrointestinal tract, so the appearance of digestive problems in the first three to four months of life in most cases is the norm.

When to See a Doctor

First of all, you need to determine the reason for their appearance. If the child behaves normally, then you should not worry too much. After two or three days, all symptoms should pass. Another thing is if after a few days the symptoms have not disappeared. In this case, you need to urgently consult a doctor. Remember that an increase in white lumps may be a consequence of dysbacteriosis.

If the pediatrician, after you passed the tests, confirmed your guess and this is really a dysbacteriosis, then you need to start treatment immediately. In most cases, certain medications are prescribed to help stop the problem. Attention! In this case, you should not choose the drug yourself. Remember that most medications intended for the treatment of dysbacteriosis are not suitable for infants.

Therefore, a trip to the doctor is mandatory:

It is recommended to postpone the introduction of complementary foods;
Mom must adjust her own menu if she resorts to breastfeeding. Down with fried and fatty foods, alcohol;
It is recommended to feed the baby more often, but reducing the volume, since the cause of the pathology can be banal overeating;
If nausea and vomiting are observed, diarrhea, immediately call a doctor or an ambulance team.

The same applies to the selection of soothing herbal infusions and decoctions. Remember that you cannot know all the indications and contraindications for the use of a particular plant. Yes, and you still do not have information about how your baby will tolerate this decoction, whether he has allergies. Therefore, treatment options for such diseases associated with the work of the digestive tract should be discussed with your doctor.

White lumps in feces: prevention of appearance

First of all, it is worth noting that the appearance of white streaks, inclusions or lumps in the feces of both an infant and an adult appears due to a disruption in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, it is important to prevent such diseases.

As for the appearance of white streaks, blotches and lumps in the child's feces, the following rules must be observed:

Do not forget about the features of complementary foods. In order to prevent white lumps from appearing in the feces of the baby, we recommend that you pay attention to the dosage when introducing complementary foods. If you buy a new mixture, then you need to introduce it into the baby's diet little by little. After all, not all mixtures are suitable for your baby.

Also, when introducing complementary foods for infants, it is advisable to give it to the child already at the end of feeding. So you mix the usual food with the new and the likelihood of a negative reaction from the digestive system is minimized. Remember that to get used to a new type of food, the baby needs a period of at least one week.

And one more rule for the introduction of complementary foods: you can introduce no more than one product into the diet at a time. If this rule is neglected, then disturbances in the intestinal microflora, the appearance of mucus with white grains is a normal situation. In addition, an allergic reaction may develop.

As you can see, the appearance of white lumps or streaks in the feces of a newborn baby may not always mean the presence of a serious illness. Remember that most often such a reaction in a baby is caused by an improper nutrition system. Therefore, before you panic, it is better to make sure that you are doing everything right, whether the baby is overeating. It is also not recommended to break the diet for young mothers.

Remember, everything you eat will enter the baby's body and cause a negative reaction. Therefore, follow all the rules of feeding and do not get sick! Health to you and your baby!

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