In what cases should you worry about clarification of feces?

What does light-colored stool mean?

The brown color of stool is given by the enzyme bilirubin, secreted by the liver. The coloring of feces is also affected by the gallbladder and pancreas. These three organs must work harmoniously and then an adult will have the usual brown feces.

If an adult’s stool becomes discolored and the stool becomes yellow, sandy, light green, beige, or white, then it is necessary to find out why such changes occurred.

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The color of a person's stool always indicates their state of health, but a change in stool to light colors is not always a cause for concern.

But acholic (completely discolored) feces in adults indicates serious problems in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and the reasons for this should be sought immediately. These are often serious illnesses and it is very important to identify them at an early stage.

White stool treatment

It is possible to quickly cure the disease and get rid of white stool staining only at the initial stages of the pathological process. In advanced cases, treatment is more complex and drawn out. You should not try to cure the disease on your own. Self-medication will only worsen the process. If, after several trips to the toilet, colorless feces are released, you should urgently make an appointment with a doctor. A consultation is especially useful if, in addition to disturbed stool color, there are other symptoms:

1. Soreness localized in the right side.
2. Nausea and urge to vomit.
3. Urine is dark in color.
4. High body temperature.

If only stool with a white coating is diagnosed, but there is no additional clinical picture. Then you can get rid of the symptom by following a strict diet for several days. It consists of completely avoiding fatty, fried, salty and peppery foods. It is prohibited to drink alcoholic and low-alcohol drinks and smoke. Drinking carbonated drinks, strong black tea and coffee is also undesirable. If light-colored stool was the cause of poor nutrition, then with the right diet it will normalize within 3 days . After the bowel movements acquire a normal color, you need to do a general urine and blood test, as well as a laboratory examination of the stool. This is done in order to accurately exclude the pathological process.

If white plaque on the stool is combined with other clinical manifestations, then it is imperative to send the patient to the laboratory for a biochemical blood test. A high level of bilirubin in the blood may indicate pathology of the liver or gallbladder. High erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), large amounts of protein and bilirubin are diagnosed in the urine. An accurate diagnosis cannot be made based on laboratory testing alone. If an increased concentration of the above substances is determined in biological materials, then an additional ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs is prescribed. Particular attention is paid to the liver and pancreas.

Causes of stool lightening

When an adult’s stool suddenly turns light, questions arise. There are fairly harmless reasons for stool becoming discolored:

• Eating cottage cheese, sour cream, milk and other fermented milk products (fecal matter will be yellow, light yellow or white).
• If the stool is yellow, this may be a consequence of eating melons, bananas, pears and apples, pumpkins and other yellow-orange foods.
• The stool may be light yellow due to the use of antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs.
• If a woman’s stool turns lighter, this is due to taking oral contraceptives.
• Drinking large amounts of alcohol can cause stool to become light, pale, or completely white.
• The rapid speed at which feces move through the intestinal tract means that the feces do not have time to color properly, and then light-colored poop comes out of the adult’s body.

Any of the above reasons for lightening the stool of an adult is not a big cause for concern, especially if such a sign as light or colorless stool is a one-time occurrence. You will only need to worry if pale yellow, sandy, or light green stool bothers an adult for more than a week in a row, and there are additional symptoms of improper functioning of the digestive tract.

What color should an adult's stool be?

The stool of a person who does not have health problems is always dark brown. Colors such as light brown, black-brown and yellowish may sometimes be the norm. In the first case, this happens if a person follows a strict diet and eats a lot of plant foods.

In the second case, it makes sense to say that meat products predominate in the diet. Light-colored feces often appear in people who prefer dairy and fermented milk products. In other cases, staining is considered an abnormal phenomenon, indicating possible internal bleeding, pathological disorders, and intestinal congestion.

What diseases affect the color of stool?

Lightening of stool in an adult can begin when certain organs of the body are not functioning correctly. This happens in the presence of diseases. An adult’s stool may become lighter in color if:

1. Crohn's disease – extensive damage to the intestinal tract, when the functioning of all parts of the intestine is disrupted, which manifests itself in severe disorder.

2. Hepatitis of various etiologies - inflammation of the liver does not go away without a trace and the first sign that helps to suspect pathology is light intestinal contents, plus dark urine is added and feces over time do not just lighten or turn white, but become completely discolored.
3. Pancreatitis - disturbances in the functioning of the pancreas affect the contents of the intestines, since the first enzymes that enter the intestinal tract are secreted by the pancreas. If they are deficient, serious digestive problems occur and the stool becomes very pale.
4. Cholecystitis - the stool becomes mushy and light-colored, and diarrhea is noted. There are other symptoms, but they appear a little later after the discharge of beige or white feces.
5. Fermentative dyspepsia - stool has a foul, sourish odor, often the stool is quite liquid and light, sometimes even completely uncolored.
6. Oncological diseases of the intestines , liver, pancreas or gall bladder - the poop of an adult quickly turns white, which means that the disease has reached the phase of active development, since the first period is asymptomatic. Whitish or light yellow stool will be accompanied by abdominal pain, since the tumor has already grown in size and can now block the ducts for secreting enzymes or even part of the intestine.

These diseases are dangerous for strong adults, and for an elderly person they can even become fatal. Therefore, if the stool changes to light-colored and other symptoms of pathology begin to appear, you should immediately seek help from a specialist.

If you carry out diagnosis and treatment on your own, you can worsen your situation, so it is better not to do anything at random, but to find out how to treat the disease from an experienced doctor.

Diseases

White liquid stool, associated with a foul odor and expressed for a long time, may indicate the development of a disease of the internal organs.

Hepatitis

The disease is characterized by yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes, dull painful sensations in the abdominal cavity, and a violation of the consistency of stool. Hepatitis, provoked by a viral irritant, often goes away with febrile symptoms and an increase in temperature.

Other forms of the disease are not so pronounced, they are mostly chronic, but at the time of exacerbation the symptoms are almost the same.

Cholecystitis

This pathology is characterized not only by frequent bowel movements, but also by severe pain in the right hypochondrium. When the disease is in an acute stage, hospitalization will be required.

Symptoms of cholecystitis: intense pain, high fever. The pulse rate is accelerated. In the chronic form, there are no pain sensations as such, however, the shade of the whites of the eyes and skin changes. A person experiences bloating, stool becomes white, and urine becomes dark and foamy.

Pancreatitis

The disease is accompanied by the following symptoms:

• white diarrhea;
• nausea, vomiting with a bitter taste;
• temperature increase to 37.5 °C;
• cloudy urine;
• feeling of pain in the upper abdomen.

Sometimes yellowness of the skin may be observed.

Gallstone pathology

At the first stage of development, gallstone disease passes without noticeable symptoms. After several days, the signs become most visible: loose white stools appear, pain in the area of ​​the shoulder blade, chest, and shoulder.

Oncology

Light-colored stools and their disorder can be a symptom of a cancerous tumor of the gallbladder or gland, stomach, or liver. Other signs depend on the stage of the disease and the location of the tumor.

Therefore, changes in stool and color of stool can indicate a dangerous pathology and lead to serious consequences.

Other factors

Other reasons can lead to white stool:

1. Dysbacteriosis - usually occurs in infants. Here, in addition to liquid diarrhea, particles of undigested food and mucus are noted. The child eats poorly, loses weight, and develops insomnia.
2. Rotavirus infection - the disease initially manifests itself with the appearance of diarrhea, first yellow, then gray, sometimes white. Vomiting and high body temperature occur. The patient develops rhinitis, sore throat, and migraine.
3. Whipple's disease is an intestinal disorder of an infectious nature. Develops rarely, mainly before 3 years of age. Symptoms: muscle pain, thirst, rapid heartbeat, inflamed gums.
4. Food poisoning – in adults and children, poisoning is caused by stale, expired food. Here you will need medical attention, since an infectious disease (salmonellosis, botulism) may occur.
5. Stress – “bear sickness” – often occurs among students during a session.

Such factors provoke light diarrhea in adults and children, spasm of the biliary tract. Vomiting occurs if the food has not been thoroughly processed with bile.

Associated signs of the disease

No doctor can say for sure what disease caused the stool to become lighter in color in an adult without the presence of additional symptoms and diagnostic procedures.

In diseases of the digestive system, the following may additionally be observed:

• Nausea and subsequent vomiting.
• After diarrhea there may be constipation or vice versa.
• Dehydration.
• Loose stools.
• Increased gas formation.
• Belching.
• Feeling sour in the mouth.
• Malaise.
• Temperature increase.
• Chills.
• Complete lack of appetite.
• Stomach ache.

Such symptoms, together with light-colored feces, require mandatory diagnosis and identification of the causes, as they may indicate the presence of serious diseases. There is no point in delaying a visit to the doctor, because the disease progresses every day.

Symptoms

Symptoms and signs of light-colored stool:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Yellowing of the skin
• Bloating
• Abdominal pain
• Temperatures above 39 degrees
• Loose stools containing undigested food
• Weight loss
• Flatulence
• Diarrhea

With an unpleasant odor

Problems with the digestive tract can cause pale stool with a foul odor. Problems may be accompanied by diarrhea (frequent trips to the toilet with diarrhea).

If the stench and diarrhea do not go away, then there may be problems with the gallbladder.

With impurities

If the light color of the stool is accompanied by grains, then there is nothing wrong with that. These are leftover food that have not had time to be digested. If the impurity is in the form of worms, then these are parasites and you should consult a doctor.

With white slime

Light-colored stool with mucus may be due to poor nutrition. For example, if you consume a lot of dairy products, bananas or melon.

A large amount of mucus in the stool may indicate intestinal diseases or food poisoning.

In pregnant women

Light-colored stool during pregnancy may be due to intestinal problems. May be accompanied by diarrhea, constipation or bloating. Most often, the failure is caused by a violation of the intestinal microflora. If this happens, the doctor will prescribe medications that will not harm the body, but will restore the intestines.

With dark urine

Gray stool and dark urine may indicate the phase of acute hepatitis. Inflammation of the liver interferes with bile production, causing the stool to turn white, and bilirubin is excreted through the kidneys, so the skin turns yellow and the urine darkens.

The relationship between stool color and cause

The concept of “light feces” is very vague, because there are several options for light.
The color of stool in an adult can indicate possible diseases, pathologies or other causes.

Depending on the color of stool, the following reasons are distinguished:

1. Light brown – unbalanced diet, rapid peristalsis, love of lactic acid products.
2. Light yellow – predominance of fruits in the diet.
3. Beige - narrowing of the bile ducts, insufficient production of bilirubin by the liver, hepatitis, cirrhosis.
4. White – hepatitis, tumor of the liver or intestines, less often of the gallbladder, fermentative dyspepsia.
5. Pale – diabetes and other pancreatic diseases.
6. Light green – dysbacteriosis, food toxic infections, acute enterocolitis.

The color of stool and its consistency are important diagnostic signs, so you should not remain silent at a doctor’s appointment, considering this an uncomfortable topic of conversation. It is better to immediately report all disturbing symptoms in order to quickly receive the necessary help in treatment.

Causes

The formation of white diarrhea in an adult is caused by numerous reasons. Each of them needs an individual approach, since the elimination of the problem will be determined precisely by the factor in the appearance of diarrhea.

Food

The color of stool often depends on the food eaten. The white tint of stool is caused by bile, enzymes that take part in the digestive process.

It is worth noting that this color of stool is observed for 1-2 days, then it becomes as before. After you stop eating fatty, dairy foods, the color of the excrement will return to normal.

The following foods cause changes in stool color:

• vegetable oils, including extra virgin olive oil;
• meat products (kebabs, lard, fatty jellied meat, meat, broth);
• dairy products with a high percentage of fat (cottage cheese, milk, sour cream, butter, cream).

White or beige stool occurs when undigested pieces of fat are present in the feces. The pancreas was unable to do its job because it did not produce the required number of enzymes to digest food.

However, if a problem does arise, to eliminate white diarrhea in an adult, you need to exclude the following foods from your diet:

• spicy foods, onions, garlic;
• fatty meat, dairy products;
• alcohol, coffee;
• sour drinks;
• various seasonings;
• ginger root.

By giving up these products, the problem will resolve on its own.

Medications

Why does it appear, and what other reasons can cause white stool? The medications used may be a factor:

1. Tetracycline antibiotic, antifungal agents (Augmentin).
2. NSAIDs that relieve inflammation (Ibuprofen, Paracetamol), if the dosage is exceeded.
3. Acetylsalicylic acid.
4. Steroid medications (Methotrexate) that affect the functioning of the endocrine system.
5. Medicines for gout (Allopurinol).
6. Medicines to combat epilepsy, which contain predominantly valproic acid.
7. A certain group of oral contraceptives.
8. Drugs against tuberculosis containing fats.

How to fix the problem?

If light-colored feces bother an adult for several days, then you need to find out what is causing this. First of all, you need to change your diet, introduce protein foods, vegetables and give up alcohol. If such actions helped, then you just need to stick to this diet.

If an adult is undergoing treatment with certain medications, you should consult with your doctor about possible side symptoms, one of which may be changes in the color of stool.

If the methods described above for eliminating the unpleasant symptom are not suitable, then you should go to the hospital to diagnose the functioning of the digestive organs, since only pathological conditions remain.

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After establishing the cause, the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment, including maintenance therapy (enzymes, painkillers, antibacterial agents) and etiotropic treatment that helps normalize the body’s functioning.

Why is the stool too light?

The appearance of light brown feces frightens many if the color becomes too light. There can be quite a few reasons for this phenomenon. Firstly, these are some nutritional features. The patient may have eaten too much fatty food the day before, especially foods such as butter or sour cream. In addition, if you eat large quantities of rice or potatoes without the use of additional additives and other foods, you will also experience light brown stool.

Also, sometimes the color of stool becomes lighter if, after a long period of eating predominantly meat foods, you suddenly eat a lot of plant foods. That is why, if you find feces of a different color, you need to remember what was eaten the day before; perhaps there is simply no reason to worry.

In addition, the reasons for the change in stool color to a lighter color may be the use of a number of medications:

• Antibacterial drugs;
• anti-inflammatory drugs;
• drugs aimed at reducing fever and temperature, for example, ibuprofen, aspirin, paracetamol;
• preparations for eliminating fungi;
• medications used in therapy for tuberculosis;
• gout remedies;
• drugs for epilepsy.

Feces can also become light-colored as a result of taking barium sulfate. Basically, this need arises when conducting a number of examinations. However, in this case you should not worry, because after 2-3 days the substance will leave the body, and the stool will return to its previous color.

Which doctor will help?

If there is light-colored stool, an adult can seek advice from a therapist, but it is better to immediately go to a gastroenterologist, since in 80% of cases the problem lies in improper functioning of the digestive tract.
It may not be superfluous to consult an endocrinologist if the problem lies in the pancreas, but you will need to contact him after a diagnosis carried out by a gastroenterologist.

In the worst case scenario, the patient will be referred to an oncologist if a tumor is detected during the examination.

An adult should look for the cause of the appearance of light-colored stool immediately, and not wait until other symptoms begin to appear. Any treatment should be started at an early stage of the disease, then the effect occurs faster and fewer drugs need to be taken. You should always worry about your health and pay attention to even such minor changes as the lightening of stool.

What does red-tinged stool mean?

The appearance of red-brown feces is an alarming sign and, as a rule, indicates the presence of pathologies in the body. However, it is still worth first finding out why the feces acquired such a shade. In this case, you also need to take into account the foods that were eaten the day before. For example, foods such as beets, tomatoes, and some fruit juices can turn stool red. Foods containing dyes and eaten in large quantities can also have an effect. Often, a child’s stool has a red tint after eating vegetables, since the intestines are just adapting to digest them.

If there was nothing like this in your diet, you should think about the presence of diseases in the intestines. As a rule, inclusions of blood in the stool indicate hemorrhoids, anal fissure or bleeding in the rectum.

Many patients wonder why poop is brown, and are very surprised if it suddenly changes color. In general, the color of the stool primarily depends on the secretion of bile, so special attention should be paid to this factor. Why the poop is brown, but at the same time too light or dark - this is already a matter of changes in the body. It is important to understand here that the color of stool does not simply change, and if there are other symptoms that cause concern, you should consult a specialist and undergo a full examination, which will help determine the cause and prescribe treatment.

What is the treatment

If nothing bothers you other than clearing up the diarrhea, then treatment can be done at home. In order to eliminate diarrhea and abdominal discomfort, you can try the following methods:

1. Drink more water and unsweetened tea.
2. Massage the abdomen in a clockwise circular motion.
3. Give an enema with chamomile infusion.
4. Take white coal.

If diarrhea persists for more than 2-3 days and home methods do not bring improvement, then you need to go to the hospital for qualified help.

Attention! Light-colored stool can be especially dangerous for young children and older adults. By causing dehydration, diarrhea greatly weakens the body, which can lead to the development of many unpleasant diseases.

In a hospital setting, treatment is carried out under the strict supervision of a doctor. Therapy will depend entirely on the cause that contributed to the stool disorder.

Let's look at the main treatment methods:

1. Diet. Lasts from 3 to 5 days. Food must be consumed pureed. Everything is crushed, even porridge. In addition, the patient will need to drink a lot of water and temporarily stop all medications he is taking.
2. Drugs. If light diarrhea is accompanied by fever, then you will need to take a course of antibiotics, antiviral or anti-inflammatory drugs (to be decided after the results of the blood test).
3. Enzyme preparations. Helps eliminate dysbiosis. The following medications can be prescribed: Linex, Hilak forte, Bifiform. The medicine helps normalize intestinal function.

In severe patients, the stomach is washed and water-electrolyte solutions are administered intravenously.

Classification

There are physiological changes in the coloring of feces, associated with certain dietary habits or the use of a number of medications, and pathological, caused by various inflammatory and destructive processes in the gastrointestinal tract and biliary system. To make a preliminary syndromological diagnosis, a classification is used taking into account the nature of stool coloring:

• The feces are grayish-white in color
  . Grayish, “clayey” feces are often passed for several days after oral administration of barium sulfate contrast agent. Pale coloration of stool can be associated with impaired flow of bile into the duodenum due to biliary pathology, hepatitis, and pancreatic neoplasia.
• The stool is yellow
  . Yellow coloration is usually observed when food digestion is impaired due to enzyme deficiency. This color is characteristic of pancreatic diseases, malabsorption syndrome, and celiac disease. A golden-yellow color often indicates an excess of unchanged bilirubin.
• Green stool
  . A change in color appears when there is a large amount of lettuce leaves and green vegetables in the diet; the greenish-black color is associated with taking iron supplements. The color changes to green with diarrhea of ​​various origins and severe dysbiosis, when the rate of transit of feces through the intestines is disrupted.
• The stool is red
  . The appearance of a brick-red color is normally associated with excess consumption of tomatoes, red berries and vegetables. A change in the color of stool to bright red usually occurs with heavy bleeding from the lower gastrointestinal tract, which occurs with anal fissures, hemorrhoids, and ulceration of neoplasms.
• Black feces
  . Stools become black when taking preparations of activated carbon and bismuth, blueberries and black currants. Black, tarry feces (melena) are a dangerous symptom that indicates profuse bleeding from the stomach and upper small intestine.

What to do if the stool is light?

If you notice light-colored stool, first of all you need to:

1. Establish a diet, eat at strictly defined hours, little by little, but often.
2. Eliminate fried and fatty foods from your diet, and you also need to reduce the amount of dairy products you consume.
3. In addition, you should completely abstain from alcohol.

If the desired effect is achieved, you need to reconsider your lifestyle, think about the fact that with disordered eating and alcohol abuse, all systems and organs suffer - liver, kidneys, pancreas, heart, etc.

If it has been noticed that a light-colored stool has appeared in an adult, and everything is accompanied by nausea, vomiting, high fever, weight loss, diarrhea, you need to consult a doctor as soon as possible. Only an experienced specialist will be able to determine the cause of this phenomenon and help get rid of disturbing symptoms.

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Diagnostics

For treatment of light diarrhea to be effective, the doctor must first conduct an examination to determine the root cause.

Diagnostics consists of the following tests and diagnostic procedures:

• you will need to donate feces and urine;
• the doctor will take a blood sample (needed for general and advanced analysis);
• in some cases, gastroscopy is performed (if gastric diseases are suspected);
• The specialist will perform a partial collection of enzymes from the gastric juice.

In addition, to rule out diseases of the endocrine system, the doctor will check the concentration of hormones that are synthesized by the pancreas and thyroid gland.