A change in the color of the stool may be due to changes in diet, but if nothing of the kind has been done over the past few days, you should be concerned. Very often this is a symptom that cannot be ignored. Feces in an adult often indicate problems with the functioning of the liver, pancreas, and intestines. You should definitely consult a doctor for diagnostics of the gastrointestinal tract.

List of common reasons: why stool is light brown

To confirm with certainty the presence of a particular diagnosis, you should undergo a full examination (biochemical blood test, FGDS, ultrasound, and in some cases MRI). The causes described below are hypothetical, and even if the full range of symptoms listed is present, the actual diagnosis and causes of light brown stool may vary. You should not self-medicate - you cannot do without the help of an experienced gastroenterologist and the prescription of special medications.

• physiological reasons (changes in diet);
• taking certain medications (list provided below);
• liver diseases - toxic hepatitis, cirrhosis, viral hepatitis;
• chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic necrosis;
• chronic cholelithiasis or cholecystitis and other disorders of the outflow of bile;
• problems with the production of enzymes in sufficient quantities to digest food.

List of possible physiological causes

Light brown feces may appear if the patient has overeaten a particular product, or as a reaction of the digestive system to an unusual ingredient in a dish. Therefore, first of all, you need to remember what you ate last week and not panic.

Here is a list of foods that in some cases can cause light brown stool in an adult:

• white unpolished rice (and dishes made from it: rolls, sushi, pilaf, porridge);
• fermented milk products and milk more than a liter per day;
• baked goods made from white flour;
• boiled peas (more than a kilogram per day);
• barley and dishes made from it.

Nutritional habits and stool color

As you can see, the list of products is not so long, and in order to eat such a large amount you will have to make some effort. Depending on the individual characteristics of the body, sometimes it is enough to drink just 500 ml of milk in one gulp to make the stool lighten.

In some cases, it becomes not just light brown, but literally milky. This comes as a shock to some patients - but it was just a matter of excessive milk consumption. The light brown color of a child's stool can be caused by a malabsorption of lactose - the necessary tests should be taken to make sure that this substance is normally absorbed by the baby's body.

What medications can cause discoloration?

In some cases, the cause of lightening lies in the regular use of certain pharmaceutical drugs. The dosage may need to be reduced. Or taking medications has a toxic effect on liver cells, resulting in toxic hepatitis.

List of medications, the use of which can cause light brown stool in an adult or child:

• calcium preparations - it doesn’t matter, single (“Calcium gluconate”) or any other multivitamin complexes in which the mineral is combined with other substances beneficial to the body;
• antacids, which are taken for certain diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, can also cause a change in the color of stool when taken regularly in high doses;
• fixative medications taken for diarrhea can cause a greenish or light brown tint;
• some anticonvulsants are quite toxic to the liver, so they inevitably lead to lightening of the stool;
• paracetamol, in case of significant overdose, causes the development of acute damage to liver tissue - accordingly, the stool becomes lighter;
• barium sulfate, which is used as a contrast agent when performing x-rays (for example, when diagnosing stomach diseases).

Liver diseases: causes, symptoms and treatments

It is not for nothing that liver diseases were repeated several times above: they are in most cases the cause of a change in the shade of stool to the light side. Why does toxic hepatitis develop? Here are the most common ways to acquire this chronic disease:

• regular abuse of drinks containing ethyl alcohol;
• regular consumption of fast food, fatty foods, simple carbohydrates in large quantities;
• overdose of certain medications (anticonvulsants, mood stabilizers, paracetamol, antidepressants, sedatives);
• chemotherapy for oncology;
• exposure to radiation;
• other sources of radiation that have been consistently present in human life for many years.

Toxic hepatitis is accompanied not only by light brown stool. The photo of the affected organ is located just below: hepatitis inevitably leads to the development of cirrhosis, and then to death. The disease is accompanied by constant weakness, nagging pain in the right hypochondrium, yellow discoloration of the skin and sclera, indigestion, and nausea after eating.

Chronic pancreatitis, its manifestations and directions in therapy

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas tissue. Rarely does anyone think about the health of this organ. Meanwhile, it is he who produces the enzymes necessary for the digestion process. It synthesizes the most important hormone in the human body - insulin. The pancreas determines how well the food will be digested, because if not enough enzymes are released, pieces of undigested food may remain in the stool and it will be light in color.

In order to diagnose pancreatitis, it is necessary to undergo an ultrasound. The organ will be enlarged, or the doctor will notice areas of inflammation in the tissues. Treatment methods involve taking enzymes from outside in order to neutralize their production by the gland. Reviews about this treatment are positive. It is especially effective if you adhere to a therapeutic diet: exclude fatty foods, heavy meat, fast food and alcoholic drinks. You should follow the drinking regime and drink as much clean liquid as possible.

Intestinal diseases and their effect on the color of stool

In order to accurately diagnose the reason why stool is light brown in color in an adult, you should undergo an examination of the intestines - a colonoscopy. In some cases, even a simple ultrasound is enough, but most often it does not allow you to examine every bend of the intestine. Therefore, when examining this organ, ultrasound is not always effective. Depending on the area of ​​the intestine and the degree of damage, treatment methods will vary.

Chronic cholecystitis and cholelithiasis

It usually occurs after the formation of sediment or stones in the gall bladder. In some cases, the disease can be triggered by an abnormal physiological shape of the organ - if there are bends on it, then cholecystitis is regarded as a normal condition. To avoid pain and problems with digestion, you need to take a course of choleretic drugs from time to time.

"Urossan" has proven itself to be excellent in such a situation - it has a mild choleretic effect, and the hepatoprotective effect supports the functioning of the body. Already in the second week of taking the capsules, the color of the stool will normalize and the patient will feel more alert and efficient.

Enzymopathy as a cause of light-colored stool

If the amount of enzymes produced by the pancreas is insufficient, pancreatitis does not always develop. Sometimes gastroenterologists diagnose so-called fermentopathy, the symptoms of which resemble a state of severe intoxication. Only in parallel with weakness, indigestion and light brown feces are also observed.

For fermentopathy, tableted enzymes and a special therapeutic diet are prescribed. "Festal", "Pancreatin", "Creon" are affordable and effective drugs, the use of which will restore normal digestion in the second week of use. A prerequisite is normalization of nutrition and complete abstinence from alcohol consumption. If you continue to lead an incorrect lifestyle, the condition will worsen and pancreatitis will be diagnosed. This, in turn, can progress to pancreatic necrosis, which is a fatal, incurable disease.

In order to avoid problems with digestion and stool color, you should follow simple rules:

• always wash your hands before eating;
• observe moderation in food;
• take medications only when absolutely necessary;
• Avoid taking vitamins with calcium unless you are sure you need them;
• undergo a routine examination of the gastrointestinal tract once a year;
• do not abuse alcoholic beverages;
• reduce your intake of fast food and fatty foods to a minimum;
• quit smoking.

If the patient notices that the stool has become lighter in color and does not restore its normal color, this is a serious reason to contact a gastroenterologist. It is not advisable to self-medicate at home, especially when there are accompanying symptoms. Timely examination in some cases can save the patient's life.

Information about stool (human feces) is perhaps the most important indicator of the condition gastrointestinal tract.

For many, talking about feces can cause laughter or embarrassment. But seriously, you can tell a lot about your gut health and, for that matter, your overall health by looking at the appearance of your stool.

Everything from shape, size, smell, color, can indicate illness, poor nutrition, or other gastrointestinal (GI) problems. Even the color and smell of your stool can give you clues about your overall health.

I found the best infographic on the Internet (see below) and translated it into Russian for you. It will help you better understand the health of your digestive system.

And since the average person produces 7,000-8,000kg of waste over the course of their lifetime, this should help everyone.

What your stool tells you

Feces(stool, faeces, excrement) – contents of the distal part of the large intestine, released during defecation. In a healthy person, feces is a mixture consisting of approximately 1/3 from the remains of food taken, 1/3 from the remains of the secretions of the digestive organs and 1/3 from microbes, 95% of which are dead.

The amount of feces depends on the quantity and quality of food taken. With a mixed diet that quantitatively corresponds to the body's needs, the weight of feces excreted per day is 200-300g, and according to some data, up to 900g.

The weight of feces largely depends on the water content in it, therefore, with constipation, when water absorption is increased, the weight of daily feces decreases, and with diarrhea, it increases.

A significant increase in feces is observed in diseases accompanied by the absorption of food (gastric achylia, lesions of the pancreas, etc.). A particular abundance of feces occurs with lesions of the pancreas, in which its weight can reach 1 kg.

Shape of feces

Shape of feces depends on the consistency, content of water, mucus and fat. Normal feces contain about 70-75% water, have a sausage shape and a uniform, dense composition. Dense, even hard feces, observed with constipation, lose their normal shape and usually consist of separate lumps from its long stay in the large intestines. With spastic colitis, “sheep feces” is often observed, which is small round lumps of dense consistency. Such dense feces contain about 60% water.

Changes in the shape of feces (ribbon-shaped, pencil-shaped) may depend on both organic stenosis and spastic narrowing of the sphincters. Unformed, mushy and especially liquid feces are a pathological phenomenon; they contain 90-92% water. The bowel movements may also be heterogeneous; dense lumps may float in liquid or mucus, which occurs during inflammatory processes in the large intestine.

Consistency of stool depends on a number of reasons, the main one of which is the time they remain in the large intestine. Acceleration of peristalsis leads to insufficient absorption of water, slowdown leads to excess absorption. Feces acquire a more liquid consistency than normal when the intestinal wall secretes abundant inflammatory exudate and mucus when taking saline laxatives. Feces, containing a lot of fat, have a pasty consistency.

Stool color

Stool color in a healthy person it may vary somewhat depending on the food taken. Most often there are different shades of brown - dairy foods give a light brown, even yellow color, meat foods give a dark brown color. Plant products give stool its color, beets - red, blueberries, black currants, coffee, cocoa - dark brown to black. Some medicinal substances taken orally (for example, bismuth - black, iron preparations - greenish-black, etc.) also have a significant effect on the color of stool.

Stool color changes and in case of pathological processes in the digestive organs, there are many of these options; for example, we will give a few. If bile does not enter the intestines, the stool becomes grayish-white, clayey or sandy in color. Pancreatitis (disease of the pancreas) - also produces almost white stool. Fatty stool may be gray in color. The presence of blood in the stool gives the stool a different color depending on the location of the bleeding; if in the stomach, it is dark brown, almost black. The lower along the intestine the bleeding site is located, the less dark the color and the more red it is.

Stool smell

Stool smell depends on the presence in it of breakdown products of food residues, mainly protein, therefore, with an abundance of proteins in food, the smell intensifies. When putrefactive processes predominate in the intestines (putrefactive dyspepsia, tumor decay), feces acquire a fetid odor; during fermentation processes, it becomes sour. If food is poorly chewed, or even more so if digestion is poor, the feces may contain undigested food residues in the form of whitish or grayish lumps.

With a significant content of fat in feces, the surface of the stool acquires a peculiar slightly matte sheen and a paste-like consistency. Mucus in normal stool is present in minimal quantities in the form of a thin shiny coating covering the surface of the stool. During inflammatory processes, it may appear in the stool in the form of whitish or yellow lumps on the surface of the stool or between its fragments.

Cala color palette

Normal indicators

Feces have their own generally accepted characteristics, which indicate that everything is in order with health. This may not be the most pleasant topic, but everyone should know the parameters of a chair.

1. Color. In healthy people whose menu includes a variety of foods, stool has a color ranging from yellowish to dark brown. Of course, this parameter varies depending on the type of food consumed at one time or another, but in general there should not be any unusual color.

Stool consistency and shape scale

Number of bowel movements

The daily norm of feces is from 120 to 500 g

Attention! Some people have individual fecal characteristics associated with congenital anomalies, pathologies, or lifestyle (for example, vegetarians). If in general nothing worries you, then there is no need to fear for your health.

Deviations from the norms and their causes

Comparative characteristics of the color of feces and the reasons that cause it.

Red or burgundy

Diagnosis of the condition with changed stool color

If feces continue to be colored in an unnatural color for several days, which is not associated with the use of drugs or food, you should consult a specialist to find out the nature of this phenomenon.

If blood is found in the stool, this is an indication to immediately consult a doctor, because this may be a sign of the onset of internal bleeding.

What is a colonoscopy

Ultrasound of the intestine, rectum

What diseases cause staining of stool?

If the cause of abnormal color of feces does not depend on diet and medications, then most likely the problem is in the following organs:

The most common diseases that change the color of stool.

1. Hepatitis and cirrhosis of the liver. The accumulation of toxic substances in the liver tissue leads to its inflammation and inability to perform its functions: produce proteins and enzymes, regulate cholesterol levels.
2. Diverticulitis is an inflammation of the intestinal tissue, with the formation of small growths in which food remains and bacteria multiply.

Schematic representation of the pathogenesis of gastric ulcer

Symptoms of spleen pathology

Duodenum. The initial part of the duodenum is expanded - this is the ampulla or bulb

The diagram shows the duodenal bulb

For reference! Stool coloring can occur constantly or occasionally during exacerbation of diseases. In some cases, changes in stool color occur throughout a person's life if the diagnosis does not respond to treatment.

Treatment

In order to return stool to normal consistency and color, it is necessary to identify the cause of the changes and begin treatment.

First of all, the diet is normalized and bad habits are eliminated.

Get rid of bad habits

If the cause of atypical green stool is infection, poisoning, or dysentery, absorbent drugs, agents that restore water-salt balance, probiotics and prebiotics are prescribed to help normalize the microflora of the stomach and intestines.

Prebiotics and probiotics: classification, preparations

According to indications for other diseases, the following can be used:

• painkillers;
• anti-inflammatory;
• antibiotics;
• enzymatic preparations;
• antispasmodics;
• venotonics;
• laxatives or, conversely, antidiarrheals;
• antacid drugs;
• anthelmintic drugs;
• anticoagulants;
• homeopathic remedies.

Sea buckthorn suppositories and Anestezol can be used for intestinal diseases

In some cases, surgical intervention is required, for example, to remove polyps, various tumors, and stop bleeding in internal organs.

With adequate treatment, the result comes quite quickly, the patient no longer suffers from diarrhea, constipation, pain and abnormal color of stool.

Feces are not just processed foods, but, like other body secretions, they are an indicator of human health. Therefore, carefully monitoring the color of your stool will help prevent many diseases.

What kind of stool should an adult have?

The most natural process in human life is daily self-emptying of the intestines. In the absence of any pathologies, this process does not cause any discomfort. To ensure that your stool is daily and painless, it is enough to eat right. Malfunctions in the intestinal tract occur for a number of reasons. For example, the presence of chronic diseases, previous surgical interventions, pregnancy, breastfeeding, dietary errors. In cases where deviations in the quantity and quality of feces are present without the reasons described above, this should be alarming. Further in the article, we will go into detail about what a normal stool should be like in an adult, when the color of stool or impurities in it may indicate health problems, be symptoms or signs of the development of various kinds of diseases.

Standard, normal stool in an adult

Each person's body is individual. What is considered a pathology for one is considered normal for another. Normal bowel movement in an adult depends not only on his eating habits, but also on metabolic processes in the body. Therefore, the color of stool and the consistency of stool in an adult may differ significantly from the type and quality of food consumed, the presence of diseases or other characteristics of the person’s health.

Most people have a bowel movement every day in the morning. For them this process is the norm. However, if this process is disrupted, these people begin to panic. Such people should remember that self-emptying their bowels once every 2 days or 2 times a day is also considered normal. Feces should be fairly thick in consistency and should not contain any impurities, such as mucous, blood, or foamy discharge. Even when an adult’s daily stool has changed slightly and the intestines are cleaned once every two to three days, there is no need to sound the alarm. The problem of irregular or frequent bowel movements may be due to a poor diet. In such cases, you first need to normalize your diet, and only if this measure does not bring relief should you consult a doctor.

Frequent bowel movements, frequent urge to go to the toilet, causes of diarrhea

Along with infrequent bowel movements (once every two to three days), a person may be worried about bowel movements, which are repeated up to five times a day. If the stool is quite dense in texture and does not cause any problems, then a possible reason for frequent bowel movements may be the consumption of foods that help speed up digestion. You need to worry only in cases where the stool becomes liquid during frequent bowel movements and contains foam, mucous or bloody discharge. At the same time, the stomach is quite painful and the body temperature is higher than usual. To prevent complications of health, urgent measures should be taken.

Liquid stool, loose stool in an adult

Cleansing of the gastrointestinal tract, accompanied by liquid stool, does not always indicate problems with the digestive tract. If the bowel movements are liquid, like diarrhea, not strong and do not cause pain in the abdominal area, then they may be of a natural nature. A factor influencing the liquefaction of stool and the onset of diarrhea may be the food eaten before. Eating kefirs, yoghurts, milk, certain vegetable products and fruits in large quantities contributes to the appearance of liquid stool masses. Also, such loose stools in an adult can be preceded by alcohol consumed in large portions, namely beer and wine. With the help of strong bowel movements, the body tries to free itself from alcohol poisoning.

Foamy stool in an adult

If you experience loose stools or diarrhea with foamy contents, do not panic. You should know that fermentation processes are caused by an excess of carbohydrates in the human body, which have accumulated over a long time. In this regard, it is recommended to exclude from your menu sweet fruits, certain types of vegetables, soda, and alcohol that causes gas formation. Liquid porridges should be included in the daily menu for foamy and frequent stools in adults. They help strengthen the contents of the stomach and improve its functioning.

Stool with mucus in an adult, causes of stool with mucus

In adults, stool may contain small amounts of mucus due to eating foods that promote mucus formation. Therefore, stool mixed with mucous discharge is not surprising if a person’s daily diet consists of mucous porridges, fermented milk products, fruits, and berries. In this case, additional discomfort in the form of bloating, diarrhea, and pain in the abdominal area is also possible.

Quite often, liquid stools containing mucus appear during long-term use of antibacterial therapy. Also, liquid stool with foam is characteristic of gastrointestinal microflora disorders, chronic inflammatory processes in the stomach, ulcerative colitis, cracks in the intestines, the presence of E. coli and other infections.

Bloody stool, causes of bloody stool, causes

Many people in vain do not pay attention to stool with isolated blood spots. Changes in the color of stool and the presence of blood impurities are evidence of quite serious pathologies. If the blood in the stool is bright scarlet and is located on top of the stool, then the reason most likely lies in the fact that there are anal fissures.

Black stool indicates bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The black color of stool is explained by the fact that in the process of moving through the intestines, the blood has already coagulated. A sign of the opening of an ulcer is considered to be a small amount of feces with a fairly large amount of blood discharge. If you notice dangerous symptoms such as bloody stool, you should immediately consult a doctor.

How to understand that the color of the stool indicates disease?

Other shades of feces also indicate the presence of pathologies. Light gray or white stool indicates the presence of Crohn's disease, rotavirus infection, malignant or benign neoplasms, kidney stones, and dysbiosis. The color of stool depends on changes in diet and the stage of chronic diseases.

Black stool in an adult

Black coloring of stool is possible in cases where the day before a person consumed foods that contribute to the color of stool, as well as in the presence of internal bleeding of the upper intestine. After or while taking certain medications, your stool may also turn black. For example, medications for anemia, activated carbon and a number of other medications that contribute to the appearance of black stool.

Green stool and its causes

The green tint of stool indicates that there are fermentation processes in the body, the causes of which can be either overeating foods containing large amounts of carbohydrates, or the development of bacterial infections. Quite often, green feces are associated with large admixtures of mucous secretions. Along with the unusual green color of the stool, mild pain, flatulence, and bloating appear.

Yellow stool, causes of yellow stool

A bright yellow tint to stool means that there are pathologies with the gallbladder in the human body. If, with this color of stool, there is also a bitter taste on the lips and in the mouth, then there is no doubt that there are problems with the bile ducts. Disorders of the pancreas, due to which a large amount of bile secretion simply does not have time to be broken down, are the cause of the yellow color of stool. Also, yellow stool in an adult may indicate diseases of the digestive tract and the presence of kidney stones. With urolithiasis, yellow stools will be observed for quite a long time.

Causes of gray stool in adults

Grayish stool with a very pungent, nasty odor indicates a clear sign of malabsorption. When a person abuses fatty foods, his pancreas does not have time to cope with it, which leads to colorless feces.

White feces, causes of white stool

A light shade of feces in an adult may indicate hepatitis or pancreatitis. White stool in an adult generally indicates obvious pathologies of the bile ducts, or the impossibility of the outflow of bile secretions. In such situations, certain difficulties may be hidden in the appearance of stones or the presence of neoplasms in the form of tumors. White stool in an adult is also possible as a result of dysbacteriosis, which causes constant discomfort.

Throughout the life of an adult, stool can undergo significant changes. In this regard, what is considered normal at fifteen to twenty years old, after the age of forty may be the first “beacon” to the appearance of pathology. Therefore, experts recommend being more careful about your health, monitoring the slightest changes in your body, and if you suspect any disease, do not self-medicate, but be sure to consult a doctor.

How many times a day should a person walk?

There is no specific norm for how many times a day and in what quantities an adult should defecate. However, a certain standard is the amount from three times a day to once for three days. On average, a person walks approximately once every 24 hours and produces 28.35 g of feces per 5,443 kg of body weight. Based on this norm, the bowel movements of a man or woman weighing 72.6 kg are equivalent to 454 g of feces daily.

Frequent stools (more than four times a day) that are loose and watery are called diarrhea. This definition is appropriate when it is not a symptom of any more serious illness (the exception is circumstances in which fluid leaves the body only with diarrhea). There are three types of diarrhea: acute, persistent and chronic. The first category occurs after infection and quickly resolves. Prolonged diarrhea may not go away for more than two weeks, but chronic diarrhea lasts for months. The causes of diarrhea are usually infections, medications (particularly antibiotics), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and nutritional problems (failure to digest certain foods, which may be due to physiological characteristics).

Different people have different bowel movements. As noted earlier, the norm is to have three bowel movements a day to one bowel movement in three days. There are many factors that have a certain effect on intestinal motility (gastrointestinal movements), which you should not worry about. The motility of the gastrointestinal tract is affected by: changes in diet, medications, moving and traveling, sleep, sports, hormonal surges, tension and stress, diseases, operations, childbirth and much more. It is also necessary to monitor how the processes of emptying the rectum and bladder occur. A clear signal of the existence of problems with the human body is excessively strong efforts during bowel movements and urination.

What should be the daily amount of feces?

With a varied diet, the daily norm for defecation is considered to be the amount of feces within 100 g. If plant foods predominate in a person’s diet, the abundance of stool increases. In the case of dominance of food of animal origin, the frequency of bowel movements is much less.

Too much and active elimination of waste from the body for three days or more (polyfecality) may be a harbinger of ailments of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, gallbladder and its tracts, pancreas, or the loss of one or many nutrients entering the digestive tract due to their insufficiency absorption in the small intestine (malabsorption). Constipation can sometimes result from a decrease in the amount of stool and the frequency of bowel movements. This occurs due to prolonged retention of body waste in the colon and excessive absorption of fluid, due to which the volume of bowel movements decreases. This may also be due to the predominance of food that is digested too quickly.

What should be the density of stool?

The normal composition of stool is 70% water and 30% food, which has been processed by the body, dead bacteria, and exfoliated particles of the gastrointestinal tract. The product of defecation most often has a cylindrical shape, and its structure resembles a soft round sausage. However, a high content of plant components in the diet contributes to the thickening of stool. A favorable indicator is the absence of bloody clots, mucus, pus and parts of incompletely digested food.

Deviation from the standard is mushy feces. This occurs with increased contraction of the walls of the small intestine, as well as with increased secretion of intestinal juice. Too thick bowel movements occur with difficulty in emptying, inflammatory infections and convulsive contractions of the colon mucosa. Ointment-like waste occurs when there are complications in the functioning of the pancreas, a rapid decrease in the flow of bile into the intestines. More rare bowel movements occur when food is difficult to process in the small intestine, improper absorption and extremely rapid passage of feces. Foamy stools occur when fermentative dyspepsia develops. With this disease, fermentation processes in the digestive tract occur more often and longer than any other. Banded stool occurs when a patient has a persistent narrowing of the lumen or a prolonged spasm of the colon, as well as with cancer of the final part of the digestive tract. Loose and frequent bowel movements are called diarrhea. Pasty, excessively runny stool occurs when consuming large quantities of liquids. Foamy stools are a sign that the food or drink you consumed was high in yeast. Thin stool can signal ailments of the colon, namely neoplasms or polyposis.

What should the stool smell like?

The standard is considered to be a not very pleasant, but not too irritating odor. This is influenced by the food that enters the body. The cause of a strong odor may be meat, while a sour odor may be due to foods of dairy origin. Also, the smell directly depends on the manifestation of fermentation and decay processes in the organs. Acid is felt in fermentative dyspepsia. It is caused by frequent consumption of carbohydrates (baked goods, sugar) and carbonated liquids in large volumes. Pronounced stench occurs in case of problems in the functioning of the pancreas (its inflammation), decreased flow of bile into the intestines (cholecystitis), hypersecretion of ions and any liquid into the intestinal lumen. This also occurs due to an excessive amount of bacteria. Some of them produce hydrogen sulfide, which has a characteristic rotten odor. Feces smell rotten due to problems in the process of digesting food, putrefactive dyspepsia, which is associated with frequent consumption of protein and its slow absorption. Also, the causes of such a smell may be granulomatous enteritis or ulcerative colitis. A weak aroma is characteristic of difficult emptying of the gastrointestinal tract or too rapid evacuation of food through it.

What shape should an adult's stool have?

Thin stools (pencil stools) indicate obstruction in the lower half of the digestive tract or an external pressure on the large intestine. If these symptoms occur, a colonoscopy should be done to rule out the development of cancer. Small and hard stools are clear signs of difficult bowel movements, namely constipation. This may be due to missing fiber in a person's diet. It is necessary to increase the content of dietary fiber in the diet, perform more sports exercises, eat plantain and flaxseeds to improve intestinal motility.

Stool that is too soft and sticks to the toilet means your body is not absorbing the oils as well as it should. Sometimes essential drops actually float in the toilet. With these symptoms, there are also disturbances in the functioning of the pancreas, so it is very important to immediately consult a medical specialist for diagnosis. The presence of mucous clots in stool is a common occurrence. However, if excessive mucus content is noticed in the stool, there may be some kind of inflammation in the body, granulomatous enteritis or ulcerative colitis.

Gases in the intestines, what is the norm for an adult?

Gases are produced due to the functioning of microorganisms located in the gastrointestinal tract. During defecation and in a calm state, from 0.2 to 0.5 liters of gas are removed from the body of an adult during the day. The standard is to fart about once a day (preferably less). More frequent emissions may result from the presence of the following foods in the diet: carbonated drinks, foods containing carbohydrates, fiber, yeast and lactose.

The color of stool is an indicator that can depend on many factors. Among these are the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, the composition of microflora, nutrition and human lifestyle. The appearance of an incomprehensible shade of stool usually occurs for physiological reasons, but may also indicate the development of gastrointestinal pathology.

The concept of norm

Very light, milky, light green, clayey, straw

Constipation, loose stools

Consumption of fatty foods, liver disease, gall bladder, intestinal dysfunction, malabsorption, hepatitis, rotavirus

Change of diet, cleansing of the liver and gastrointestinal tract

Black, sometimes purple with blue streaks

Abdominal pain, diarrhea, weakness

Consumption of dark-colored foods (prunes, blueberries), medications (activated carbon), vitamins, and large amounts of alcohol.

Quit alcohol, reduce iron intake, consult a specialist

Burgundy, brick, raspberry

Dark green, gray-green or olive color indicates colitis, irritable bowel syndrome. Feces turn yellow or yellow-brown if there is a malabsorption of fats in the body, or pancreatic cancer. A sandy tint is a common occurrence for vegetarians. If the feces are red, this most often indicates the presence of hemorrhoids and anal fissures. The color of stool in colorectal cancer varies from bright red to beet red. In this case, the patient experiences constipation and severe pain during bowel movements. Scarlet, heterogeneous bowel movements may indicate the presence of diverticulitis, intestinal infection, or inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. If you experience such symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor and undergo a full medical examination. Orange coloring of feces is an indicator of biliary tract diseases.

Causes of changes in the color of feces

Despite the fact that the normal color of stool in children and adults is considered brown, temporary changes in shade should not be a concern if there are no symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders. The reasons for changes in the color of stool in men, women and children can be varied, from harmless to dangerous to health:

• insufficient secretory activity of the pancreas;
• cholelithiasis, inflammation of the bile ducts;
• oncology, HIV, diabetes;
• dysbacteriosis;
• pancreatitis, chronic cholecystitis, gastritis;
• cholera, rotavirus infection;
• appendicitis;
• allergies, poisoning with toxic substances;
• biliary dyskinesia;
• jaundice.

The color is also affected by the consumption of alcohol, medications and products containing dyes. Stress can also change the color of stool in a healthy adult at any age.

Physiological causes: food, medications

Taking vitamins or pills can change the color of feces to an unusual and uneven color. The most common drug that affects this indicator is activated carbon. Medicines that can color stool include iron preparations (Sorbifer, Creon).

Darkening of feces is also possible under the influence of bismuth derivatives. Blackening of stool also occurs after eating foods such as blueberries, cherries, carrot juice, coffee drinks, and in rare cases, tomatoes or tomato paste.

It is worth considering that staining of the stool or the presence of multi-colored inclusions in its composition should not be accompanied by pain, mucus, diarrhea, constipation, or fever.

If you have such symptoms, you should urgently consult a doctor who will prescribe tests and make a diagnosis.

Symptoms of diseases based on the color of stool

The reason for the discharge of feces, whose color resembles potassium permanganate, is most often due to blood streaks in their composition. This indicates hemorrhoids, anal sphincter fissures. Such injuries appear after difficult childbirth, sexual intercourse, or operations to remove hemorrhoids.

Black (hypercholic) stool may indicate bleeding. This is a sign of a stomach or duodenal ulcer. The most dangerous diagnosis in this case is colon cancer. With it, the patient experiences:

• blood in the stool;
• change in shape - the stool is as thin as a thread;
• feeling of unemptied bowels.

Hypocholic, i.e. pale feces appear after eating large amounts of rice and potatoes. The cause may also be tumors of the bile ducts. With pancreatitis, the shade of stool also becomes pale. Absolutely white stool (acholic) occurs when the bile ducts are blocked.

When the stool turns ocher, then the cause lies in pancreatic insufficiency. If the stool turns green, earthy, mustard, or clay in color, this indicates hepatitis.

If a change in the color of stool is accompanied by pain, it is important to seek medical help as soon as possible; based on the diagnostic results, the doctor will prescribe the optimal treatment. Taking medications such as Almagel, Bifidumbacterin, Omez, Pancreatin, Allohol, Nemozol and Papaverine, Enterofuril will help eliminate the symptoms.

Change in stool color during pregnancy

Deviations in the properties of feces from the norm in pregnant women, especially in the early stages, are not uncommon. Usually the cause is not a disease, but physiological factors. During pregnancy, women take a lot of iron-containing medications and multivitamins (for example, Elevit), so the usual color of stool may change to black or green. Sometimes this phenomenon is facilitated by the consumption of blueberries, currants, cranberries, buckwheat, and blood sausage. If a woman has not eaten such foods or taken vitamins, she should immediately undergo a stool test to determine hidden blood in it and undergo other diagnostic procedures as prescribed by the doctor.

The reason for the greenish tint of stool lies either in the consumption of large quantities of leafy vegetables, or in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, for example, rotavirus, dysbacteriosis. In the case of pathology, additional symptoms such as unpleasant stool odor and persistent diarrhea appear. For treatment, the doctor prescribes medications such as Enterosgel, Mezim, Enterol, Smecta, Phosphalugel.

Normal stool in a child

In newborns, in the first two days of life, feces are black, dark green or green in color. With breastfeeding (breastfeeding), the stool has a golden, yellow hue, sometimes pearlescent. By 4–5 months this phenomenon disappears. If a baby is formula-fed, his stool becomes thicker, the smell is stronger, and the color becomes lighter.

If a nursing mother notices that the baby's feces have become watery and yellow (red or lemon), then there is no need to worry, because... this is affected by changes in the fat content of breast milk. When feeding with poorly diluted cow's milk, the feces begin to turn silver and air bubbles are observed. If a child is malnourished, the stool becomes dark and earthy. This is also observed in children under one year of age when complementary foods consisting of green fruits and vegetables are introduced. In this case, it is necessary to consult a pediatrician and adjust the child’s diet. For dysbacteriosis or other gastrointestinal problems, the doctor prescribes the drug Enterofuril or Essential Forte.

Diet and prevention of possible pathologies

If the stool begins to darken or lighten, a person must figure out what influenced this. To accurately determine the reasons, research and the help of qualified specialists will be required.

To prevent the development of pathologies, it is important to follow the principles of proper nutrition.

To do this, you need to avoid foods that are too fatty and spicy. Another contraindication is alcohol and fast food abuse. Vegetables and fruits must be washed well, and the milk must be boiled. In addition, it is important to take general tests every six months and conduct an ultrasound of the abdominal organs and genitourinary system. The functioning of the gastrointestinal tract is improved by constant physical activity, including performing various gymnastic exercises, running, and Nordic walking.

Adult stool color

The natural secretions of our body are a litmus test that reflects its condition.

Stool can also tell you about your well-being; its frequency, structure, smell and color determine the condition of the intestines and other organs of the digestive tract. But in order to talk about possible pathological conditions, you need to know what is normal.

What should a healthy person's stool look like?

Normal stool in an adult is a complete bowel movement once a day. It is also considered natural to go to the toilet “in a big way” up to three times a day, provided that the feces meet generally accepted standards. Such frequent bowel movements indicate that a person has very fast metabolic processes. Some people can go to the toilet once every three to three days. This, of course, cannot be considered a normal process, but they cannot be classified as pathological either if there are no other abnormalities (color, shape, smell).

Now about the feces themselves. And so, feces are nothing more than the removal from the body of toxins, digested food, partially the internal contents of the intestines, as well as microorganisms. In a healthy person, stool has a clearly defined structure, a homogeneous dense mass. The normal color of stool is light brown. The amount of feces excreted depends on the food a person eats. On average, about one hundred and fifty to four hundred grams of calla lilies are excreted from the body per day. It is a “sausage” with a length of ten to twenty centimeters. At the same time, defecation itself should not cause discomfort.

If the stool differs from what is described, then this may be symptoms of disturbances in the functioning of the digestive tract or even indicate serious pathological conditions.

Changes in the amount of stool passed

Fluctuations within the normal range can quite naturally arise as a reaction of the body to the foods consumed; the more plant food, the more feces; animal food, the less mass of excreted feces.

But if the deviations differ significantly from the norm, then this may indicate serious violations.

And so, a large amount of feces (polyfecal matter) is a sign of one of the following disorders:

• problems with the absorption of nutrients in the small intestine;
• violation of peristalsis, in which food moves too quickly through the intestines and does not have time to be fully absorbed;
• dysfunction of the pancreas, as a result of which fats and proteins are not properly digested, thus developing chronic pancreatitis;
• lack of bile in the intestines, occurs with cholecystitis, cholelithiasis.

A small amount of feces is usually released when people have a lot of easily digestible food in their diet, a small amount of it, and also when there is constipation. The latter should also cause alarm and be a reason to seek medical help.

Stool color

The normal color of stool in an adult can be light brown or brown. Coloring it in other colors occurs as a result of eating certain foods, as a result of taking certain medications, or with the development of pathological changes in the body.

Human stool can change color during treatment with antibiotics and taking vitamin complexes and activated carbon.

The color of stool also changes when food colorings (natural or artificially synthesized) enter the body. For example, when eating black currants, it is likely that the stool the next day will be black, and beets will be red, carrots and citrus fruits will be yellow, and greens will be green. But, if the change in stool color was not preceded by taking the indicated products, then you need to consult a doctor, since these can be very serious symptoms, even indicating a critical condition of the person.

Red stool can occur when there is bleeding in the lower intestine, while black stool indicates internal bleeding in the stomach or intestines and requires immediate medical attention.

The rapid movement of feces sometimes does not allow the bile to go through all the altered states and turn brown, then the discharge is colored green. It also appears when taking antibiotics. But a particular danger lies in Crohn's disease and celiac disease, which are characterized by green coloration of stool.

Yellow stool most often indicates an infection in the body or problems with the gallbladder, in which there is a lack of bile and a large amount of fat accumulates, which ends up in the stool.

White feces appear when the body experiences a lack of bile, so this color indicates pathology of the bile ducts. It occurs when stones form in them, hepatitis, bacterial infections, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, as well as cancerous tumors.

But it should be understood that it is impossible to make a diagnosis only by the color of the stool; this requires more in-depth examinations, but changes in their color should alert you and become a reason to check your health.

Shape and smell of stool

In a healthy person, feces are cylindrical or sausage-shaped. It gives off an unpleasant odor, but not foul.

If stool comes out in the form of dense balls or a thin ribbon, then this indicates problems with the large intestine and a lack of fluid in the body, so first of all you should reconsider your drinking regime.

Other stool structures also indicate disturbances. Feces in a mushy state indicate inflammatory processes in the intestines and its increased secretion.

A pasty-like structure is a symptom of disorders in the pancreas, and a putty-like or clayey structure is a sign of inability to absorb fat.

Liquid bowel movements occur when there is insufficient absorption and assimilation of food in the small intestine, and if they are accompanied by frequent bowel movements, then in this case we are talking about diarrhea, which can be caused by a huge number of reasons.

A large amount of foam in the stool indicates excessive unnatural fermentation processes in the intestines.

The smell of stool can also tell you a lot. It depends not only on the food that a person ate the day before, but also on the natural processes of fermentation and putrefaction that occur in the intestines. If they are violated, the smell of the waste products removed also changes.

And so, if food remains in the intestines for a long time and is not digested, then it rots and is a favorable environment for bacteria, so the feces in this case have a rotten, unpleasant odor.

During fermentation processes, it is usually sour; for problems with the pancreas, it is foul.

A person suffering from constipation, colitis or stomach problems develops putrefactive dyspepsia and therefore a corresponding smell occurs.

You should also be wary of blood or mucous inclusions in the stool, which are not typical.

Of course, you shouldn’t panic right away; you need to analyze all the symptoms detected, and also remember what food was consumed the day before. If there were no foods that provoke changes in stool in the diet, then you should consult a doctor, who, based on the symptoms and additional examination, will determine the cause and prescribe adequate treatment.

Changes in the color of stool: differences between normal and pathological

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

Causes of changes in stool color

The color or shade of stool may change due to:

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

However, a change in the color and shade of feces may also indicate the development of certain 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;
• gastric erosion;
• bleeding from hemorrhoids:
• bleeding from the rectum.

If the color of stool changes for no reason, that is, it was not preceded by taking certain medications and foods, you should immediately seek medical help. After all, a timely diagnosis will help eliminate the problem in the early stages of its development, which will lead to a successful and rapid cure of the disease. In such situations, it is recommended to contact specialists in the field:

Light-colored stool

Faeces that have a pale tint (white, gray) in most cases indicate that the person ate a large amount the day before:

• potatoes
• tapioca;
• rice

If a person has had a barium sulfate x-ray, they will also experience discolored stool for several days.

Taking certain medications meant to relieve diarrhea can also cause gray stools. The fact is that these drugs contain additives such as calcium and antacids.

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

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

Thus, we can conclude that if a person has white stool, it means that he has problems with the gallbladder. Perhaps he suffers from cholecystitis.

Red stool

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

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

Also, red stool may indicate that a person took certain antibiotics, which contributed to the formation of ulcers in the intestines. And this already caused bleeding. After taking potassium tablets and some other medications, you may also experience blood in your stool.

If you notice the appearance of bloody stools and did not eat red foods the day before, this may indicate the presence of fissures in the anus, as well as hemorrhoids. These problems could arise for the following reasons:

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

Also, red stool can be a consequence of a disease such as intestinal inflammation. This disease, in addition to bloody stool, is characterized by the presence of diarrhea and severe cramps.

In addition to the problems listed above, red feces can be a harbinger of some other diseases of the digestive system. 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, for example, diverticulitis, when small areas of the rectum become inflamed due to the presence of infection. This condition is characterized by the presence of acute pain in the lower abdomen.

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

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

Bloody stool is sometimes the only symptomatic manifestation of colon cancer, as well as the presence of polyps. These polyps can be either malignant or benign.

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

• attacks 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 disturbance in the digestion of carbohydrates. This pathology may cause disturbances in the functioning of the digestive organs in terms of insufficient digestion of the connective tissue membranes of plant fibers. Thus, the carbohydrates present in plant foods become inaccessible to the enzymes of the pancreas and small intestine.

Often yellow stool in adults occurs due to poor digestion of food in the large intestine, as well as due to pancreatic insufficiency.

It is worth noting that in children who are breastfed, the color of stool can vary from pale yellow or even green-yellow to rich yellow with a golden tint.

Green stool

The green color of stool 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 about the development of dysbiosis, which provokes the processes of fermentation and rotting of consumed food.

The stool may turn green due to certain antibiotics. This color is due to the fact that the intestines contain a large number of dead leukocytes, which accumulate in it against the background of emerging foci of inflammation.

Green feces are also characteristic of a disease such as dysentery, which is an intestinal infection. Along with such stool, a person usually experiences:

• significant increase in body temperature:
• abdominal pain;
• attacks of nausea and profuse vomiting;
• aches and weakness throughout the body.

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

Another cause of green stool is 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 entering the intestines, gives the stool a greenish tint.

In children aged 6-8 months, the color of the stool may also be green. This occurs due to the fact that unchanged bilirubin enters the child’s intestines. And if no other symptoms are observed (fever, abdominal pain, blood in the stool), there is no need to worry.

Dark-colored stool

In most cases, stool that is black in color produces a more shocking and even ominous impression on a person than bloody stool.

However, not everything is as sad as it might seem at first glance. After all, a common reason for stool turning black is:

• taking activated carbon;
• taking various nutritional supplements that contain iron;
• taking medications that contain bismuth;
• consumption of black licorice;
• eating blueberries.

But if you find dark stool (almost black), which will have a viscous consistency (tarry), rush to consult a competent doctor. After all, this may signal the presence of blood in the stool, which, in the process of entering from the esophagus into the lower parts of the gastrointestinal tract, undergoes changes - it becomes thick, viscous, and also acquires a dark color.

A common cause of black stool is alcohol abuse, as well as taking certain medications and drugs that contribute to the development of esophageal bleeding. Such medications include:

• ibuprofen:
• acetaminophen;
• aspirin;
• other non-steroidal drugs, the action of which is aimed at relieving inflammatory processes.

As for diseases that may have black stool as a symptom, these include:

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

In conclusion, it is necessary to recall once again that if changes in the color of stool 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!

What should stool look like normally and what do its changes indicate?

Stool or feces is the contents of the lower parts of the large intestine, which is the end product of digestion and is eliminated from the body during bowel movements.

Individual stool characteristics can tell a lot about a person's health and help in making a diagnosis.

Below are interpretations of stool quality in normal and pathological conditions.

Norm: regularly, 1-2 times a day, but at least 1 time per hour, without prolonged strong straining, painless. After defecation, the urge disappears, a feeling of comfort and complete bowel movement occurs. External circumstances can increase or inhibit the frequency of the urge to defecate. This is a change in the usual environment, a forced position in bed, the need to use a bedpan, being in the company of other people, etc.

Changes: Lack of bowel movements for several days (constipation) or too frequent bowel movements - up to 5 times or more (diarrhea).

2. Daily amount of feces

Normal: With a mixed diet, the daily amount of feces fluctuates within a fairly wide range and averages Thus, when eating predominantly plant foods, the amount of feces increases, while in animals that are poor in “ballast” substances, the amount of feces decreases.

Changes: Significant increase (more than 600 g) or decrease in the amount of feces.

Reasons for increasing the amount of feces (polyfecal):

• Consuming large amounts of plant fiber.
• Increased intestinal peristalsis, in which food is poorly absorbed due to its too rapid movement through the intestinal tract.
• Disruption of digestive processes (digestion or absorption of food and water) in the small intestine (malabsorption, enteritis).
• Decreased exocrine function of the pancreas in chronic pancreatitis (insufficient digestion of fats and proteins).
• Insufficient amount of bile entering the intestines (cholecystitis, cholelithiasis).

Reasons for reducing the amount of feces:

• Constipation, in which due to prolonged retention of feces in the large intestine and maximum absorption of water, the volume of feces decreases.
• Reducing the amount of food eaten or predominantly digestible foods in the diet.

3. Passing feces and floating in water.

Normal: feces should be released easily, and in water it should sink gently to the bottom.

• If there is insufficient amount of dietary fiber in food (less than 30 grams per day), feces are released quickly and splash into the water of the toilet.
• If the stool floats, this indicates that it has an increased amount of gas or contains too much undigested fat (malabsorption). Also, stool may float if you eat a lot of fiber.
• If the stool is difficult to wash off with cold water from the walls of the toilet, it means it contains a large amount of undigested fat, which happens with pancreatitis.

Normal: With a mixed diet, the stool is brown. Breastfed babies have golden-yellow or yellow stools.

Change in stool color:

• Dark brown - for a meat diet, constipation, impaired digestion in the stomach, colitis, putrefactive dyspepsia.
• Light brown - with a dairy-vegetable diet, increased intestinal motility.
• Light yellow - indicates too rapid passage of feces through the intestines, which do not have time to change color (diarrhea) or impaired bile secretion (cholecystitis).
• Reddish - when eating beets, when bleeding from the lower intestines, for example. for hemorrhoids, anal fissures, ulcerative colitis.
• Orange – when consuming the vitamin beta-carotene, as well as foods high in beta-carotene (carrots, pumpkin, etc.).
• Green - with a large amount of spinach, lettuce, sorrel in food, with dysbacteriosis, increased intestinal motility.
• Tarry or black - when eating currants, blueberries, as well as bismuth preparations (Vikalin, Vikair, De-Nol); with bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract (peptic ulcer, cirrhosis, colon cancer), with ingestion of blood during nosebleeds or pulmonary bleeding.
• Greenish-black - when taking iron supplements.
• Grayish-white stool means that bile is not entering the intestines (bile duct blockage, acute pancreatitis, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver).

5. Consistency (density) of feces.

Normal: shaped and soft. Normally, stool consists of 70% water, 30% from the remains of processed food, dead bacteria and desquamated intestinal cells.

Pathology: mushy, dense, liquid, semi-liquid, putty-like.

Change in stool consistency.

• Very dense feces (sheep) - for constipation, spasms and stenosis of the colon.
• Mushy feces - with increased intestinal motility, increased secretion in the intestines during inflammation.
• Ointment-like - for diseases of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis), a sharp decrease in the flow of bile into the intestines (cholelithiasis, cholecystitis).
• Clay or putty-like feces are gray in color - with a significant amount of undigested fat, which is observed when there is difficulty in the outflow of bile from the liver and gallbladder (hepatitis, blockage of the bile duct).
• Liquid – in case of impaired digestion of food in the small intestine, impaired absorption and accelerated passage of feces.
• Foamy - with fermentative dyspepsia, when fermentation processes in the intestines prevail over all others.
• Loose stools like pea puree - with typhoid fever.
• Liquid, colorless stools like rice water - with cholera.
• When the stool has a liquid consistency and frequent bowel movements, one speaks of diarrhea.
• Liquid-mushy or watery stools can occur with high water consumption.
• Yeasty stool - indicates the presence of yeast and may have the following characteristics: curdled, foamy stools like rising sourdough, may have strings like melted cheese, or have a yeasty odor.

Standard: cylindrical, sausage-shaped. The stool should come out continuously, like toothpaste, and be about the length of a banana.

Changes: ribbon-shaped or in the form of dense balls (sheep feces) is observed with insufficient daily water intake, as well as spasms or narrowing of the large intestine.

Normal: fecal, unpleasant, but not harsh. It is due to the presence of substances in it that are formed as a result of bacterial breakdown of proteins and volatile fatty acids. Depends on the composition of the food and the severity of the processes of fermentation and decay. Meat food gives off a strong smell, dairy food gives off a sour smell.

If digestion is poor, undigested food simply rots in the intestines or becomes food for pathogenic bacteria. Some bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide, which has a characteristic rotten odor.

Changes in stool odor.

• Sour – for fermentative dyspepsia, which occurs with excessive consumption of carbohydrates (sugar, flour products, fruits, peas, etc.) and fermented drinks, such as kvass.
• Fetid - with impaired pancreatic function (pancreatitis), decreased flow of bile into the intestines (cholecystitis), hypersecretion of the large intestine. Very foul-smelling stool may be due to bacterial overgrowth
• Putrefactive – in case of indigestion in the stomach, putrefactive dyspepsia associated with excessive consumption of protein products that are slowly digested in the intestines, colitis, constipation.
• The smell of rancid oil is due to bacterial decomposition of fats in the intestines.
• Faint odor - with constipation or accelerated evacuation from the small intestine.

Normal: Gases are a natural by-product of the digestion and fermentation of food as it moves through the gastrointestinal tract. During and outside of bowel movements, 0.2-0.5 liters of gas are removed from the intestines of an adult per day.

The formation of gas in the intestines occurs as a result of the vital activity of microorganisms inhabiting the intestines. They decompose various nutrients, releasing methane, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide. The more undigested food enters the colon, the more active the bacteria are and the more gases are produced.

An increase in the amount of gases is normal.

• when eating large amounts of carbohydrates (sugar, baked goods);
• when eating foods that contain a lot of fiber (cabbage, apples, legumes, etc.);
• when consuming foods that stimulate fermentation processes (brown bread, kvass, beer);
• when consuming dairy products if you are lactose intolerant;
• when swallowing large amounts of air while eating and drinking;
• when drinking large amounts of carbonated drinks

An increase in the amount of gases in pathology.

• Enzyme deficiency of the pancreas, in which food digestion is impaired (chronic pancreatitis).
• Intestinal dysbiosis.
• Irritable bowel syndrome.
• Gastritis, peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.
• Chronic liver diseases: cholecystitis, hepatitis, cirrhosis.
• Chronic intestinal diseases – enteritis, colitis
• Malabsorption.
• Celiac disease.

Difficulty in passing gases.

• intestinal obstruction;
• intestinal atony with peritonitis;
• some acute inflammatory processes in the intestines.

Normal: with a mixed diet, acidity is 6.8–7.6 pH and is due to the vital activity of the colon microflora.

Changes in stool acidity:

• sharply acidic (pH less than 5.5) – with fermentative dyspepsia.
• acidic (pH 5.5 - 6.7) - if the absorption of fatty acids in the small intestine is impaired.
• alkaline (pH 8.0 - 8.5) - with rotting of undigested food proteins and activation of putrefactive microflora with the formation of ammonia and other alkaline substances in the colon, with impaired pancreatic secretion, colitis.
• sharply alkaline (pH more than 8.5) - for putrefactive dyspepsia.

Normally, feces should not contain blood, mucus, pus, or undigested food residues.

Blood, feces and urine are the main components of the initial diagnosis of any disease. It is their indicators that indicate the direction of the diagnostic search. The “root” of pathological processes is determined.

Other diagnostic methods - bacterial analysis, morphological studies, instrumental methods, etc., are aimed at determining the genesis of the disease, its localization and severity, helping the doctor select an effective treatment plan.

What, for example, does light-colored feces in adults and children indicate, what changes in the body does it indicate?

Processes of changing the color scheme of human feces always indicate intestinal problems. Examination of feces gives specialists the opportunity to identify any pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract.

Light-colored feces in an adult can occur due to dietary habits and excessive consumption of:

• potato and rice dishes;
• sweets, juices and confectionery products based on starch and juice of the tropical fruit tapioca;
• dairy and fermented milk products;
• dairy cream, full fat sour cream and butter
• alcoholic drinks of dubious quality.

Lightening of feces can be caused by:

• medicinal calcium containing medications;
• drugs for acid-dependent diseases (antacids);
• means that relieve diarrhea;
• X-ray contrast agent – ​​barium sulfate;
• antibiotics and drugs used in the treatment of heterogeneous diseases.

Usually, the effect of such provocative factors does not cause significant concerns or changes in well-being. After 5-6 days, having adjusted the diet and eliminated provoking factors, the stool returns to normal and acquires its usual color.

What should attract attention?

If the feces become light and dark urine appears along with it, signs of intoxication, fever or elevated temperature, the stomach swells from the accumulation of gases and there is a sharp weight loss - this cannot be ignored, since these symptoms indicate serious problems in the digestive organs.

In particular, the development of pathological processes in the liver, infectious intestinal lesions or functional disorders of the gallbladder.

Diseases that cause the appearance of light-colored stool

A number of diseases cause pathological disorders in the gastrointestinal tract as a result of which discoloration of feces occurs. These include:

1. Diffuse inflammatory diseases of the liver, due to infection with specific viruses of various hepatitis genotypes.
2. Bacterial and viral damage to the gallbladder (cholecystitis), causing impaired bile secretion.
3. Obstruction of the openings of the pancreatic ducts during pancreatitis, which can completely disrupt intrasecretory functions.
4. Enzymopathy is a violation or complete absence of the production of enzymes by the pancreas.
5. Inflammatory processes of the entire digestive tract (Crohn's disease) and intestinal flu, disrupting normal digestion.
6. Malignant formations in the gastrointestinal tract.

All this is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms:

• Formation of suppurative foci and fistulas in the intestines;
• Violation of body thermoregulation;
• Nausea and dizziness.

Sometimes bile stagnation causes abdominal pain and light-colored stools.

1) Very light color of stool can appear both due to completely harmless reasons (excess dairy and plant foods), and during various pathological processes. Usually these are problems of the liver and gallbladder.

The pathology is caused by a lack of bile secretion and its insufficient separation due to the formation of stones in the intestines. Promote its formation - dysfunction of the digestive system and disruption of the processes of natural bowel cleansing.

Very light-colored stool accompanied by unpleasant odors is evidence of a functional disorder caused by the inability of the gastrointestinal tract to completely digest fats and absorb them against the background of obstruction of the pancreatic ducts, malignant formations in the gallbladder or pancreas.

Caution should be shown when the problem is periodic or permanent. A single manifestation is most likely related to diet.

2) Light green stool In addition to a green vegetable diet or vegetarian diet, congestion in the small intestine caused by neoplasms or ulcerative lesions in its cavity contributes.

Acute inflammatory processes in the intestines lead to massive death and accumulation of white blood cells in its lumen, which acquire a light green color and smell of rot.

Feces acquire a pathological light green color due to a microbial imbalance in the large intestine or with general infectious intoxication of the gastrointestinal tract (dysbacteriosis and dysentery).

The frequent occurrence of such symptoms requires a serious examination to avoid further complications.

3) Light yellow stool. The cause of the pathology lies in pathological functional disorders in the pancreas. This is expressed in a lack of secretion of digestive enzymes, designed to ensure uninterrupted absorption and digestion of fats.

The general processes of digestion are disrupted, leading to a change in the color of normal light brown stool to a light yellow color.

Pathologies of the gallbladder and liver diseases also lead to a change in the color of feces. Failures in the processes of bile secretion are caused by bilirubin entering the gastrointestinal tract in its natural, non-oxidized form, which gives the stool a light yellow color.

This is accompanied by a more saturated color of urine and severe gas formation in the intestines caused by fermentation of its contents.

One of the reasons for the change in normal color is excess milk intake. This phenomenon can occur in children fed breast milk. Light yellow feces in a child after a year often appear after eating milk porridges and dry milk formulas.

This is not a pathology, but a normal physiological manifestation of a still incompetent pediatric gastrointestinal system.

Gray feces - when is a disease possible?

With normal light brown stool, its color is due to processed bile pigment, but its strong discoloration to a light gray color indicates a lack of bile in the intestines.

Violation of its entry into the organ is evidence of the presence of pathological changes caused by:

1. Inflammatory narrowing of the bile ducts.
2. Blockage of ducts by tumor formations.
3. Inflammatory processes in the gallbladder (with cholecystitis).
4. Inflammatory foci in the pancreas (mainly with pancreatitis).
5. Inflammatory processes affecting the entire gastrointestinal tract (Crohn's disease).
6. Tumors in the liver, gallbladder or pancreas.

The formation of light gray feces can be caused by:

• addiction to foods high in fat;
• use of barium X-ray contrast agents;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics;
• anticoagulants and antimycotics
• some oral contraceptives.

In pregnant women, this color of stool may be the result of allergic reactions.

In most cases, the appearance of discolored feces in children is due to a not fully formed digestive system. This fact is considered a physiological property of the child’s body and should not cause concern.

In other cases, the following may serve as a provocative factor:

• improper diet of the child - fatty milk and fermented milk foods;
• excess sweets;
• long-term treatment with antibiotics, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drugs;
• Quite often, color changes occur during the eruption of the first teeth.

Having eliminated all causative factors, the child’s bowel movements return to normal. The little man is unable to explain to his parents what is bothering him and where it hurts.

It is necessary to closely monitor the child's natural waste and pay attention to possible changes in the color of the urine. With internal problems, the urine usually becomes dark.

In children one year of age and older, light-colored stool may appear due to:

1) Rotavirus gastroenteritis. A change in the color of feces is accompanied by diarrhea, a general deterioration in health, symptoms of intoxication and fever.

In subsequent days, the color of the stool takes on a light yellow color, and on days 2-3 it becomes pale gray. Respiratory symptoms, signs of polyarthritis and enlarged lymph nodes appear.

2) Dysbacteriosis. The provoking factor is antibiotics, which cause a bacterial imbalance in the gastrointestinal tract towards an increase in pathogenic microorganisms.

A child's stool is manifested by a series of diarrhea and constipation, with the inclusion of mucus and undigested food fragments. Possible symptoms include apathy towards food, poor sleep, weight loss.

3) Focal inflammation of the liver(hepatitis). The disease can be suspected by the color of the urine; it resembles a dark beer. Symptoms include:

• light-colored stool, abdominal pain (in the upper part) and bloating;
• yellowing of the skin and outer membrane of the eye;
• apathy towards food and high temperatures;
• signs of intoxication.

The clinical picture can manifest itself in a mild form, when severe fatigue and pain in the hypochondrium are the only symptoms.

If not detected in a timely manner, the disease becomes chronic, increasing the risk of developing cirrhosis.

4) Gastrointestinal pathologies- dyskinesia of the bile ducts, bending and inflammatory pathologies of the gallbladder and pancreas. They appear as a consequence of ENT infections, scarlet fever and influenza, gastritis, as a reaction to helminthic infestation or as a consequence of an improper diet.

As a complication of the inflammatory processes of cholecystitis, a deformation of the gallbladder (kink) is formed, causing accumulation and stagnation of bile, contributing to the disruption of metabolic processes. It is complicated by the development of diabetes, decreased vascular and muscle tone, and decreased visual function.

At the slightest suspicion of internal problems, you should immediately contact a specialist. It is important to eliminate the cause in time and prevent the development of pathology.

What to do when to go to the doctor?

If there is a prolonged change in feces to a light color and there are obvious symptoms of poor health, it is imperative to go to the doctor for a consultation. As prescribed by your doctor, take the appropriate tests and undergo the necessary diagnostic examination.

Monitor the dynamics of the development of pathological processes - if the manifestation of light-colored stool in adults and children for a long time is accompanied by signs of internal diseases - the need for urgent treatment is obvious.

The color of human stool depends on many factors. This includes diet, gastrointestinal tract activity, and the use of medications. Normal stool color ranges from light brown to dark brown. It is the brown tint that indicates the health of the gastrointestinal tract. In particular, we are talking about the normal secretion of bile in an adult.

Getting from the gallbladder into the duodenum, bilirubin and stercobilin, which are in the bile masses, give the intestinal contents a brown tint. The saturation of the hue may vary depending on many reasons. The simplest of them is diet diversity. In addition, light stool in an adult can be caused by diseases of the pancreas, liver, gallbladder and inflammation of various parts of the digestive tract. Let's look at all these reasons for light-colored stool in more detail.

Why is stool light in color: causes

Food significantly influences the color of excrement. Sudden light color of stool can be caused by heavy consumption of fatty foods (butter, sour cream). Potatoes and white rice can have the same properties if you eat a lot of them the day before and without adding other foods.

If the diet consisted more of meat foods, and you suddenly ate a large amount of plant foods, then the feces will become much lighter. When changing shade, first of all, remember your diet in previous days. It was probably nutrition that caused this phenomenon.

There are a number of medications that can cause lightening of excrement. These include:

• antibiotics;
• anti-inflammatory drugs;
• antipyretics (aspirin, ibuprofen, paracetamol);
• antifungal agents;
• drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis;
• gout medications;
• drugs for the treatment of epilepsy.

If you have undergone an examination such as an X-ray of the gastrointestinal tract or other procedures in which it is necessary to take barium sulfate, then 2-3 days after the stool will very sharply lighten. When the barium is completely removed from the body, the excrement will return to its normal color.

Diseases that lead to the appearance of light-colored stool

For some serious diseases of the liver and gallbladder, the lightening of excrement is an important sign for their diagnosis. Light-colored stool is a symptom of many diseases, but the most likely causes are problems with the gallbladder, biliary tract and liver. Tumors and inflammations in different parts of the digestive tract are less likely.

• Biliary dyskinesia. With this disease, the secretion of bile from the gallbladder becomes difficult due to a decrease in its contractility. Accordingly, bile enters the duodenum in smaller quantities, and the color of the stool becomes lighter.
• Bend of the gallbladder. This problem is accompanied by decreased motility of the gallbladder and ducts. As a result, the organ, important for good digestion, works less productively, bile acids are supplied to a minimum, causing a light color like an adult.
• Gallstones. The presence of stones changes the way the bladder produces and secretes bile. As in the previous case, the secretion of bile in humans decreases. Along with acute symptoms, light-colored stools appear.
• Blockage of the bile ducts. The delivery of bile from the gallbladder to the duodenum is partially or completely stopped.
• Cholecystitis. With cholecystitis, inflammation of the gallbladder occurs, which significantly reduces the amount of bile secreted.
• Hepatitis. This inflammatory liver disease significantly affects the quality of digestion, worsening the general condition of the body and the lightening of feces.
• Pancreatitis. Inflammation of the pancreas threatens the gastrointestinal tract with digestive problems, since this organ secretes important food enzymes.
• Crohn's disease. This is inflammation of any part of the gastrointestinal tract, which is characterized by a disorder of the digestive processes.
• Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. Tumors and similar cancerous processes in the intestines can appear almost asymptomatically. Light-colored stool may be the only symptom that you can pay attention to.
• Infection with helminths. In this case, white particles and larvae can be observed in the feces. Their number depends on the degree of intestinal infection.

Symptoms

If, in addition to lightening the stool, you feel unwell and a deterioration in your general condition, you should seek medical advice. Especially if you eat, the malaise does not go away within a day. Symptoms to watch out for:

• persistent increase in temperature;
• stool disorder;
• nausea, vomiting;
• pain in the abdomen, left hypochondrium, girdle pain;
• yellowed sclera of the eyes and skin;
• lack of appetite;
• sudden weight loss;
• dark urine;
• flatulence, abdominal enlargement;
• stool with mucus.

If there are at least two additional signs with light-colored stool, it is necessary to undergo a medical examination to determine the diagnosis. With some problems, for example, with advanced pancreatitis, the count is not days, but hours. Be attentive to symptoms and do not ignore serious ailments.

What can you eat if your stool is white?

If you have light-colored stool, first of all, you need to eliminate fatty, fried, spicy and salty foods to facilitate the functioning of the liver and gallbladder. You need to refrain from alcoholic beverages, strong coffee and tea, as all this puts a lot of strain on the human digestive system.

To normalize the gastrointestinal tract, add more vegetables and fruits to the menu. Consume herbal teas from mint, chamomile, and sage. Small meals have a beneficial effect on all digestive organs: eat small portions 5-6 times a day. This especially facilitates the work of the pancreas in chronic pancreatitis.

If the menu consists only of products of plant origin, then light feces are considered normal.

If the stool is light green

Light green stool can be caused by taking antibiotics. Due to specific processes that occur in the small intestine when taking these drugs, the excrement becomes light or dark green.

If the green tint of the stool is combined with other signs, such as fever, vomiting, nausea, then the cause of this phenomenon may be dysentery. Urgent medical attention is required.

Green stool may indicate ulcers and tumors in the gastrointestinal tract. Also, in combination with diarrhea and vomiting, this symptom indicates an intestinal infection.

If the stool is yellow

Large amounts of plant foods can cause yellow or light yellow stools. There is a disease in which plant carbohydrates (plant fibers) are not digested due to disruption of processes in the gastrointestinal tract. This disease - fermentative dyspepsia - can be manifested by the yellow color of excrement.

Malfunctions of the pancreas can contribute to the lightening of feces. This process is a natural periodic phenomenon.

If the stool is dark in color

The reason for the dark color of the stool may be black foods (for example, blueberries), and those that contain a lot of iron. If you took activated charcoal the day before, you should not be surprised by darkened stool in the following days.

But if you have not consumed anything suspicious, and the stool has darkened and has a viscous, stretchy structure, this is a serious signal to undergo an examination. Sudden darkening of feces to a black color may indicate internal bleeding in the upper digestive tract. Blood entering the large intestine darkens and changes, thereby changing the color and structure of human feces.

If the stool is red in color

Some foods can give stool a red tint: red beets, tomatoes, tomato sauce in large quantities, fruit juices.

The presence of a red tint in the stool may indicate bleeding in the lower intestines, in which case the blood does not darken to black. If, in addition to this symptom, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, loss of appetite appear, you must urgently seek medical help.

The presence of blood in human feces may indicate anal fissures, hemorrhoids, and bleeding in the rectum.

Changes in the color of stool can be caused by a variety of reasons. If light-colored stool appears, analyze your diet the day before. If your condition worsens, your temperature rises, and other symptoms of gastrointestinal distress occur, do not hesitate to seek medical help.