Black feces - reasons
We all go to the toilet every day. And although emptying the intestines is the same normal and normal physiological function of the body, like breathing, it is not customary to talk about this topic in society. But doctors believe that everyone should know how the stool should normally look, because changes in its shape, color, consistency are often symptoms of various diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. In this article, we will tell you about why black feces sometimes appear.
Black feces: causes
The food used is of great importance for the color of the feces. For example, a large amount of leafy green vegetables color the stool green; beets can give it different shades of red.
The reason for black feces is most often the intake of certain medications: activated carbon, iron or bismuth preparations, multivitamin complexes with minerals. Eating black liquorice, blueberries, blood sausage, or black currant also results in black stool.
But black feces can also appear with internal bleeding in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The source of bleeding is usually located in the esophagus, stomach, or small intestine. The hemoglobin of the blood that has entered the intestines is oxidized by the action of digestive enzymes, as a result of which a black substance is formed that stains the feces. Swallowing blood during nosebleeds can also cause black stool.
The most dangerous is the appearance of black feces similar to tar (tarry). Such stool is called melena. They appear with massive gastrointestinal bleeding.
Black color of feces is often one of the first symptoms of bleeding in gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer.
Therefore, if you have an unusual color of the stool, and even more so you notice black feces, then be sure to consult your doctor.
Black feces during pregnancy
Pregnant women are often deficient in vitamins and minerals necessary for the full and proper development of the fetus. They often, especially from the second trimester of pregnancy, develop iron deficiency anemia. Therefore, doctors prescribe all of them multivitamin preparations with minerals, among which iron is necessarily present.
Usually a woman is warned that she may have black feces. But in cases where this does not happen, the appearance of black feces during pregnancy becomes a real shock for the expectant mother. After all, all pregnant women become very suspicious and are very worried not only for their health, but also for the health of the unborn baby.
But in fact, you shouldn't panic. The black color of feces during pregnancy while taking multivitamin preparations indicates that the drug you are taking is of high quality and contains everything necessary for both you and the fetus. Iron is partially absorbed in the intestines, and its excess is excreted, changing the color of feces to black. But if you are still very worried and want to make sure that black feces appeared precisely as a result of taking the medicine, and not for any other reason, then just stop taking vitamins for a few days. And from the next day you will begin to notice that the feces become lighter, and after two or three days their color will become completely normal.
Black stool during pregnancy can also be a sign of gastrointestinal bleeding. In this regard, when it appears, especially if you suffer from gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer, you should definitely consult your doctor.
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