pale stool pictures

Common Causes

Stools that are pale, white, or look like clay or putty may be the result of many things, including: A lack of bile or a blockage in the bile ducts. Passing barium in the stool after a test of the colon (such as a barium enema) The inability of the digestive system to absorb fats properly. Verywell / Zoe Hansen.

Related Conditions

What Foods Cause Pale Stools. Certain foods can change the color of your stool. For example, beets can change the color of your poop to dark red and eating alots of veggies can give your stool a green hue. But are there foods that lighten stool color? Yes. Foods high in fat can lighten the color of your stool. Food coloring in foods can also ...

What does pale stool look like?

This can lead to bulky, yellow, and greasy stools. However, stool can be gray or clay-colored if it contains little or no bile. The pale color may signify a condition ( biliary obstruction) where the flow of bile to the intestine is obstructed, such as obstruction of the bile duct from a tumor or gallstone in the duct or nearby pancreas.

What foods cause pale stool?

Pale stool: Causes and treatments

• Causes of pale stool. Consuming fatty foods may make a person’s stools pale in color. ...
• Pale stool in children. Breastfed babies will generally have light-colored stools. ...
• Pale stool during pregnancy. ...
• When to see a doctor. ...
• Summary. ...

What is considered a pale colored stool?

What causes pale stools and how is it treated?

What is considered a pale colored stool?

Stools that are pale, white, or look like clay or putty may result from many things. Sometimes a lack of bile or a blockage in the bile ducts can result in light-colored stools. Bile is a thick fluid that the liver makes to break down fats and remove waste from your body. It turns your stools a brown color.

What does pale stool look like in adults?

If stools are white, gray, or pale, a person may have an issue with the liver or gallbladder as pale stools suggest a lack of bile. Some anti-diarrhea medications cause white stools. Spinach, kale, or other green foods can cause green poop.

What can cause light-colored stools?

If your liver is not producing enough bile, or if the flow of the bile is blocked and not draining from your liver, your stools may become pale or clay-colored. Having pale stools once in a while may not be a cause for concern. If it occurs frequently, you may have a serious illness.

How serious is pale stool?

Answer From Elizabeth Rajan, M.D. White stool isn't normal and should be evaluated promptly by a doctor. White or clay-like stool is caused by a lack of bile, which may indicate a serious underlying problem. Bile is a digestive fluid produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder.

Is peanut butter colored poop normal?

Lifestyle changes to improve stools include eating fiber, drinking water, or exercising. Stools should be brown, have a peanut-butter texture, and look like a sausage.

What causes a lack of bile?

Bile salts are stored in your gallbladder when they're not being used. If your gallbladder is removed, it can lead to a bile salt deficiency. This condition can also be caused by other diseases of the bowel. If you experience any of the symptoms of a bile salt deficiency, it's important that you see your doctor.

How do you treat lack of bile in stool?

A low-fat diet helps to reduce the symptoms of bile acid diarrhoea. Medicines that bind to bile acids in your gut (bowel) are usually very effective. Examples of bile acid binder medicines are colestyramine, colestipol or colesevelam. Colestyramine is the medicine most often used and is usually very effective.

Can dehydration cause white poop?

Symptoms of dehydration such as decreased urination, increased thirst, fatigue, and light-headedness, also require immediate medical care. Seek prompt medical care if you have white stool unless a specific cause, such as prolonged antacid use or a recent barium study, can be identified.

Why is my poop two different colors at once?

Most of the time, poop that's a different color from what you're used to isn't something to worry about. It's rare for it to be a sign of a serious condition in your digestive system. But if it's white, bright red, or black, and you don't think it's from something you ate, call your doctor.

Can anxiety cause pale stools?

Anxiety does not specifically affect the color of stool, but it can affect how food moves through the digestive tract.

Can IBS cause pale stool?

Dramatic changes in stool colour would not be considered normal and may be something a doctor would like to investigate. Light coloured stools would not be considered normal, and this can be an indication of an issue with the gallbladder, liver or pancreas.

Can constipation cause pale stool?

In some cases, pale stool may be caused by certain medications, preparations for procedures, or dietary factors that cause other symptoms including: Constipation or hard, infrequent stools. Flatulence.

Why do I have pale stools?

If your liver is not producing enough bile, or if the flow of the bile is blocked and not draining from your liver, your stools may become pale or clay-colored. Having pale stools once in a while may not be a cause for concern. If it occurs frequently, you may have a serious illness. You should see your doctor whenever you have pale ...

Why do kids have bright colored stools?

Brightly colored stools in children are usually caused by colorful foods like breakfast cereal. However, pale, white, or clay-colored stools in children can be caused by something more serious. Some of the causes are:

What is the best medicine for fatty stool?

Commonly prescribed medications include cholestyramine (Questran) to treat itching and ursodiol (Urso Forte), which aids in removing bile from the bloodstream. Your doctor may also suggest taking vitamins A, K, E, and D, to replace the nutrients that are lost in the fatty stools.

Why is my stool white?

Some of the causes are: a milk-only diet. barium sulfate from barium enema. antacids. blocked bile ducts or liver disease. You should contact your doctor any time your child’s stool changes color, especially if they haven’t had any brightly colored foods or if the stools are pale, white, or clay-colored.

What is the cause of biliary cirrhosis?

Biliary cirrhosis. Biliary cirrhosis is an inflammation or irritation of the bile ducts in the liver. The inflammation or irritation blocks the flow of bile to the intestines. The exact cause of biliary cirrhosis is unknown. There is no cure for biliary cirrhosis, and the disease can be fatal.

What is the treatment for clay colored stool?

If it is caused by use of certain medication, the agent will most likely be changed. Medication treatment is mainly used for treating hepatitis, as well as therapy for some types of cancer.

Why is my stool dark brown?

Causes. Liver disease. Bile duct obstruction. Cancer. Medications. Diagnosis. Treatment. Normally, stool is colored in light to dark brown color. The normal color of the stool comes from chemical substance-bilirubin, which is produced by liver from hemoglobin, after red blood cells have finished their life cycle and die.

What causes bile to not reach the intestines?

Bile duct obstruction. After bile is produced, it goes through a system of bile ducts and is stored in the gallbladder. In case a part of this system is obstructed, the bile does not reach intestines and stool can appear clay colored. There are several causes for bile duct obstruction: Trauma.

What causes bile duct obstruction?

Bile flow obstruction can also be caused by late-stage gallbladder cancer. One of the most common types of cancer to cause bile duct obstruction is pancreatic cancer. When the head of the pancreas gets enlarged, it can cause external obstruction of bile ducts [4,5].

Why does bilirubin cause a loss of color in stool?

Liver disease. Since bilirubin is produced in the liver, lack of it can cause loss of color in stool. There are various disorders that can cause disruption of normal physiological processes in the liver. In this case, there will also be increased levels of bilirubin in the blood circulation which may cause fatigue, ...

Why does my liver turn yellow?

In this case, there will also be increased levels of bilirubin in the blood circulation which may cause fatigue, jaundice- yellowish color of skin and the whites of the eyes. One of the most common causes for liver disease is hepatitis.

Can liver cancer cause clay stools?

Bile duct obstruction can also be caused by secondary liver cancer- metastases in liver from a different cancer. A very rare entity that can cause clay colored stool is bile duct cancer.

Why is my stool black?

If your stool is black, the cause might be an iron supplement or an over-the-counter medicine you took because your stomach felt bad. Or it could even be all that black licorice you downed the night before. If none of these possibilities ring true to you, check with a doctor. A black stool, or one that appears dark maroon, smells bad, and looks tarry, may be a sign of bleeding from high in your digestive tract, like your stomach.

What does it mean when your stool is black?

A black stool, or one that appears dark maroon, smells bad, and looks tarry, may be a sign of bleeding from high in your digestive tract, like your stomach. Swipe to advance.

Why does my poop turn green?

It may come as a shock when you see it, but a green poop every once in a while is OK. It may be because you eat a lot of green vegetables (which is good) or too much green food coloring (not so good). It also may mean that your food is moving through your system too quickly -- think diarrhea -- and the green in your bile doesn’t have time ...

How long does stool last?

They’ve spent a long time in your bowel and are tough to pass. If your stool looks like this, you’re probably constipated. If it lasts longer than a couple of weeks, see your doctor to find out what’s causing it.

Why is my stool red?

It can also come from red-colored medicine. Your stool should soon return to its normal color. But a bright red stool could mean bleeding in your large intestine. Sometimes it’s blood from your rectum, too, from a scratch or a hemorrhoid. If you keep passing red stools, check with your doctor. Swipe to advance.

Why do I have yellow stools?

Yellow stools are fine in breastfed infants, but for others, they could be a sign of too much fat. And that could mean your body’s having trouble absorbing nutrients like it should. See your doctor. Sometimes, stools can be white or chalky-looking, too.

What color is bile?

Bile is a yellow-green fluid that helps digest fats. A healthy stool, then, should reflect a mixture of all the colors of the food you eat and that bile. Almost any shade of brown, or even green, is considered OK. Swipe to advance.

Considerations

The liver releases bile salts into the stool, giving it a normal brown color. You may have clay-colored stools if you have a liver infection that reduces bile production, or if the flow of bile out of the liver is blocked.

When to Contact a Medical Professional

Call your health care provider if your stools are not the normal brown color for several days.

What to Expect at Your Office Visit

The provider will perform a physical exam. They will ask questions about your medical history and symptoms. Questions may include:

What does it mean when your stool is black?

8. Note: A black stool caused by food, supplements, medication, or minerals is known as "false melena.".

Why do I have black stools?

Bleeding from higher up in the GI tract, such as in the stomach, can cause black, tarry stools. If you're passing blood that is dark red or in clots, it would also indicate bleeding that is higher up than hemorrhoids or anal fissures might cause — these are definitely reasons to see your physician.

Why is there mucus in my stool?

A small amount of mucus in your stool is nothing to be concerned about; large amounts of mucus or mucus accompanied with blood or pus can be the result of a number of infections or conditions (see below) and should be investigated by a doctor. Blood in your stool can vary in appearance.

What does it mean when your poop is red?

Blood in your stool can vary in appearance. It can be bright red and be streaked or spotted. Your poo may also be tarry and dark (called melena), which is an indication of bleeding in a higher area of the GI tract.

Why is my poop green?

Poop can also appear green for other reasons, and not just from what you've been eating. We think of a healthy stool as being brown, but the bile secreted in the first part of the small intestine is actually green. As food is digested and passed through the large intestine, it turns into a darker brown color.

Why does my poop turn purple?

There can be many reasons: The first and most obvious is eating green foods. Green, leafy vegetables contain chlorophyll, which could be coloring the stool green. Foods with dark purple coloring, like Kool-Aid, popsicles, and gelatin (Jell-O), can also result in rainbow-colored poop.

Why does my stool smell so bad?

Foul-smelling stool can also be caused by malabsorption issues, such as lactose intolerance, celiac disease, food allergies, or inflammatory bowel disease, so if this is a persistent issue , you should take steps to find the underlying cause. 7.

Why is my stool green?

Green Stool. If your stool is green, it might be due to your high consumption of green vegetables like spinach, kale or other green foods. It can also occur in diarrhea. Food may pass through the intestines too quickly that there isn’t enough time for bacteria and enzymes to change the green color of bile to brown.

Why is my poop white?

White Poop. When you pass a white, gray or pale stool, it might be an indication of liver or gallbladder problem. Generally, pale stools mean that the body isn’t secreting enough bile to give it the characteristic brown color. Advertisements. Bile is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. In addition, some drugs used in treating ...

Why is my poop black?

Black Poop. When you notice the color of your stool is black and it looks coffee color, it might be as a result of what you ingested. When you take iron supplements or blood tonic, your poop maybe black. Other causes include black licorice, black stout, and bismuth medications. However, if you had not taken any of the above, ...

What causes orange poop?

These fruits include carrots and winter squash. Also, some medication like antacids and antibiotics like Rifampicin can make your poop orange. Advertisements.

Bright red blood in your stools

If you find blood in your stool either by itself on the toilet paper, in the water or streaked in the stools, this can indicate a bleeding source from the anal canal or a low rectal source.

Maroon-colored stools

If your stools are this color, then they’re likely also more liquid in consistency and paired with an unpleasant, distinct odor. According to Nelson, this can indicate bleeding from the very end of the small bowel or the colon.

Stools that are different than your typical bowel movements

Your body is a creature of habit in a lot of ways. For example, if you consistently have smooth, long sausage-like stools and suddenly they change to a completely different size, you should speak to your doctor.

Watery diarrhea after a camping trip

This can be due to giardia, “a protozoal organism that is found in freshwater and the reason that you should always boil and sanitize water from mountain streams or lakes,” Carrubba said.

Mucus in the stool

This is usually due to inflammation of the intestines, said Peyton Berookim, a gastroenterologist in Los Angeles. He noted that the condition can be seen in inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s. It can also be due to inflammation caused by a bacterial infection or IBS.

Hard or infrequent stools

This signifies constipation and is usually caused by a lack of fiber in your diet, as well as low water intake. However, this issue may also be caused by medications, blockages in the intestine, or in more rare cases, colon cancer.

What Is Clay Colored stool?

Bilirubin Metabolism

Causes

Diagnosis

Treatment