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Quick Facts About Black Stool Most cases of black stools are from eating black foods or iron supplements. Stool that is black due to blood indicates a problem in the upper GI tract. Blood in the stool can be detected through a stool test. See your healthcare provider right away if you have black stool along with pain, vomiting, or diarrhea. If you suspect there is blood in your stool, contact your healthcare provider as soon as possible. Recap Common reasons you may have dark bowel movements include eating dark foods, taking certain types of supplements or medications, especially iron, consuming lead, or having blood in your stool.
Aside from an esophagogastroduodenoscopy EGD , other tests that might be done include: X-rays Blood tests Colonoscopy an internal examination of your large intestine Stool culture a test that looks for bacteria in a sample of your stool Barium studies X-rays taken after a chalky liquid is ingested. What Is Peptic Ulcer Disease? Symptoms of Gastritis. An Overview of Esophageal Varices. Recap Blood in the stool can be a serious concern. Blood in your bowel movements is usually caused by one of these conditions: Bleeding ulcers in the stomach lining Inflammation of the stomach usually related to diet or medications Bursting of enlarged veins in the wall of the lower esophagus Tears in the membrane that separates the stomach from the esophagus Doctors may need to examine a sample of your stool or may need to insert a camera into your GI track to determine where the blood is coming from.
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In truth, almost any color that deviates from the normal brown can be cause for concern. The digestive process begins, of course, with the consumption of food. As food is chewed, the combination of teeth and saliva mash it into an easily-swallowable pulp that is then pushed into the esophagus by the tongue. After the masticated food moves down your esophagus and into the stomach, powerful stomach muscles work with digestive juices to break down the food into a semi-fluid substance called chyme.
This chyme enters then enters the small intestine, where it mixes with additional digestive juices from the liver, pancreas, and intestines; these juices contain enzymes that aid in digestion and the absorption of nutrients.
As the chyme is pushed along the small intestine a distance of 20 feet! The final stage of digestion happens when the resulting semi-fluid waste materials from the small intestine enter the large intestine otherwise known as the colon. This waste material includes fluid, undigested food, and discarded cells that are either damaged or degraded. In the colon, most of the water is absorbed as solid stool is formed. The stool makes its way through the colon through a series of autonomic muscle contractions called peristalsis and then out through the rectum and anus.
It is because of the complexity involved in all the digestive steps described above that many different factors come into play when stool is formed. Those factors all contribute to the overall health of the digestive system and the resulting stools. Color, along with texture, size, shape, and solidness, is one way of determining digestive health. Much of the time, the color comes from dietary content; what and how much you eat, what you drink, etc.
Yet different stool colors can also come about because of disease or as a side effect of some underlying condition. While there are no hard and fast rules about stool color and the precise cause, there are some common connections that doctors have identified. Here are some of the possible stool colors that people can experience and their possible related causes:.
But what about black stool? The color of the blood in the stools can indicate the source of bleeding. Black or tarry stools may be due to bleeding in the upper part of the GI gastrointestinal tract, such as the esophagus, stomach, or the first part of the small intestine.
In this case, blood is darker because it gets digested on its way through the GI tract. Red or fresh blood in the stools rectal bleeding , is a sign of bleeding from the lower GI tract rectum and anus. Black and tarry stools may also occur due to: Abnormal blood vessels A tear in the esophagus from violent vomiting Mallory-Weiss tear Blood supply being cut off to part of the intestines Inflammation of the stomach lining gastritis Trauma or foreign body Widened, overgrown veins called varices in the esophagus and stomach, commonly caused by liver cirrhosis Cancer of the esophagus, stomach, or duodenum or ampulla.
When to Contact a Medical Professional. Contact your health care provider right away if: You notice blood or changes in the color of your stool You vomit blood You feel dizzy or lightheaded In children, a small amount of blood in the stool is most often not serious. What to Expect at Your Office Visit. You may be asked the following questions: Are you taking blood thinners, such as aspirin, warfarin, Eliquis, Pradaxa, Xarelto, or clopidogrel, or similar medicines?
Have you had any trauma or swallowed a foreign object accidentally? Have you eaten black licorice, lead, Pepto-Bismol, or blueberries? Have you had more than one episode of blood in your stool?
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