The poop is black and green?

Everyone knows that normal stool should be yellowish-brown. If the color of stool suddenly changes, it may be related to food, disease, or medication. If we usually eat more green leafy vegetables, half of the stool will be dark green. People who supplement iron may have black stool. Why do adults usually have dark green stool?

The reasons why adult stools are dark green are probably:

First, when the stool is acidic, the bile contained in it oxidizes into green when it comes into contact with air. Bilirubin in bile is a yellow pigment that makes feces yellow. After oxidation, bilirubin turns into biliverdin, which makes feces green.

In addition, due to the action of Lactobacillus bifidum, the intestines have become acidic, and the stool has been oxidized in the intestines, turning green and being excreted from the body. Therefore, dark green stool is not abnormal, but a normal phenomenon, and there is no need to worry about it. Dark green stools may usually be caused by indigestion. You can adjust your diet and then observe changes in your stool. Green stool that is watery or pasty, has a sour smell, and is foamy is often seen in diseases such as indigestion and intestinal dysfunction.

If the stool of infants and young children is green, it is diarrhea, accompanied by watery or pasty stools, foamy stools, and a sour and smelly smell.

Abnormal stool color is related to disease

The following is the relationship between abnormal stool color and disease.

Grayish white: If the color of the stool is white clay-like, it may be jaundice or bile duct obstruction caused by stones, tumors, ascaris, etc., which prevents bilirubin from being excreted with the stool.

Black: If you have not eaten pig blood and have not taken any medications that may cause black stools, black stools usually indicate upper gastrointestinal bleeding. When the stomach and duodenum bleed, the blood passes through several meters of intestine and undergoes various chemical changes, gradually turning black. Therefore, if there is bleeding in these places and the amount is not large, the stool should be black. Among patients with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, about half suffer from bleeding due to ulcer disease, most of which are duodenal ulcer bleeding. In addition to ulcer disease, gastritis, cirrhosis combined with ruptured esophageal or gastric varicose veins, and gastric cancer are also common causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

Red: Bloody stools are mostly caused by bleeding in the lower gastrointestinal tract. The lower gastrointestinal tract includes the jejunum, ileum, rectum, and colon. Due to its short distance and less chemical changes, if there is bleeding in these areas, the stool should be red. If the amount of upper gastrointestinal bleeding is heavy, the blood will not have time to stay in the intestines for too long, and the stool will also be red.