Changes in stool colour or texture is quiet
normal. Most changes can be evaluated at times. The colour of normal stool is
usually light brown or dark brown. The brown colour of the excreta is a left
over mix of dead red blood cells and all the waste from the bacteria in your
bowels. Most likely, the poop is another colour because the food isn’t spending
enough time in the digestive tract. The colour of the stool can be dark, green,
black and various reasons are contributed for the colour changes. This change
in colour is a result of not properly absorbing the food in the body.
What
does green poop mean?
seem scary but causes vary. This change may
happen due to bile pigment in the stool because diarrhoea moves food quickly
through the intestines. Due to which the chemicals can’t break down. At times
the green colour of the poop is contributed to certain food intakes mostly
green leafy vegetables or green food colouring.
Green poop is commonly seen in new
born babies, infants who are fed formula milk. Babies pass on stool meconium
which is usually green in colour and this colour changes slowly to brown once
they are introduced to breast milk.
How
does the stool get normal brown colour?
The liver secrets a bright green fluid
which is called as bile. This bile is secreted into the intestines and stored
in the gallbladder. Bile plays a very important role in absorption,
emulsification and digestion of fat and the fat soluble vitamins. Bile also
helps to soften stools and is responsible for giving the brown colour
characteristic. It helps to alkalinise all the contents present in the
intestines. As bile makes it way from the small intestine to large intestine
via the ducts called as bile ducts it is then that it changes colour from green
to yellow and then brown due to the acting bacteria in the large intestine on
the bile salts.
Causes
of green poop
Various conditions are contributed to the
stool colour showing green. Few of those are mentioned below:
- Current medical condition
- Intake of antibiotics for any current or ongoing illness. Especially strong antibiotics for major infections. These lower the population of brown straining intestinal bacteria. At times medications can also cause side effects resulting in change in stool colour.
- Any recent medical procedure or surgery. If the body rejects the surgery or transplant undertaken it can develop and cause serious gastrointestinal upset which can lead to green stool or diarrhoea.
- Bacterial or parasitic infection. If there are infections caused due to air borne, food or water borne diseases it can also upset the stomach leading to green poop.
- Dietary changes or intake of high – chlorophyll plants
- Some foods contain food colouring agent which do not get processed properly. This in turn upsets the tummy.
- Intake of unprocessed food leading to food poisoning.
- Intake of laxatives
- Traveller’s diarrhea
- Crohn’s disease
- Cancer
- Consumption of alcohol. Ethanol present in alcohol stimulates the bowel motility.
- Stress is also a factor causing green poop. When the body reacts to stress, the bowel movement gets released much quickly without giving time to pick up additional waste and bacteria thus it making it green in colour.
Diagnosis of green poop
If
one has frequent green poop over several days, then go in for immediate
doctor’s consultation. Also when you
notice mucus or blood in the stool or experience nausea, vomiting, rectal pain
and sudden fever then it’s time to inform the doctor.
The
doctor will conduct stool culture analysis, blood tests and colonoscopy.
These tests would be carried to rule out any abnormalities which results in
green stool.
Complications of green
poop
Passing
green stool is not sign of any danger however frequent passing of green poop is
definitely not a good sign. It is a sign of certain complications in the body
which must be mentioned to your doctor.
Green poop during
pregnancy
During
pregnancy it is quiet common for women to pass on green stool. There is variety
of reasons for this which includes prenatal vitamins, antibiotics started
during prenatal stage, changes in diet wherein women are advised to have food
rich in vitamins and minerals and decreased colon transit time.
Treatment
for green poop
Based on the cause of green poop, the
doctor would prescribe or go in for certain treatments. If the cause of concern
for green stool is dehydration,
the doctor would suggest increasing fluid intake. If the cause of green poop
was food poisoning the doctor would suggest going in for bland food for few
days until the stool colour normalises. If the cause of concern is intake of
iron supplements, the doctor would suggest proper dosages.
The next time you visit the toilet don’t
just flush it off ensure to check your stool. Since the colour, smell, shape
and consistency of your faecal matter says a lot about your health and
digestive tract. It is not something to be ignored.
