What is considered normal stool color?
All shades of brown and even green are considered normal. Only rarely does stool color indicate a potentially serious intestinal condition. Stool color is generally influenced by what you eat as well as by the amount of bile — a yellow-green fluid that digests fats — in your stool.
What color does healthy poop look like?
Normal stool color is brown. This is due to the presence of bile in the stool. Normal stool color can range from light yellow to brown to almost black. If stool is red, maroon, black, clay-colored, pale, yellow, or green this may signify a problem.
What does a normal poop look like?
The Bristol Stool Scale considers Types 3 and 4 to be “normal” or generally healthy poop. All things being equal, your poop should ideally be shaped like a sausage or log with a smooth surface and be relatively easy to pass.
What color is your stool if you have liver problems?
Pale Poop and Dark Pee Your liver is the reason that healthy poop looks brown. The brown color comes from bile salts made by your liver. If your liver doesn't make bile normally or if the flow from the liver is blocked, your poop will look pale like the color of clay.17-May-2021
What color is stool with pancreatitis?
Chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic cancer, a blockage in the pancreatic duct, or cystic fibrosis can also turn your stool yellow. These conditions prevent your pancreas from providing enough of the enzymes your intestines need to digest food.
What does abnormal poop look like?
Types of abnormal poop not pooping often enough (less than three times a week) excessive straining when pooping. poop that is colored red, black, green, yellow, or white. greasy, fatty stools.
What are the 7 types of poop?
The seven types of stool are:Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts (difficult to pass and can be black)Type 2: Sausage-shaped, but lumpy.Type 3: Like a sausage but with cracks on its surface (can be black)Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft (average stool)Type 5: Soft blobs with clear cut edges.More items...
Is light brown poop normal?
What are pale stools? Normal stools can vary in shades of brown, mostly due to your diet. Pale stools are not normal. If your stools are pale or clay-colored, you may have a problem with the drainage of your biliary system, which is comprised of your gallbladder, liver, and pancreas.
What Is Clay Colored stool?
- 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. In case of different pathologies and physiological changes, stool can change its color. This might be a sign of some dietary changes, as well as serious pat…
Bilirubin Metabolism
- Bilirubin is the breakdown product of heme compounds. 80% of these heme compound come from breakdown of red blood cells, but the other 20% are from different sources, containing heme. In liver and spleen cells, biliverdin is produced from heme, and then it is converted to bilirubin. Bilirubin is hydrophobic, thus insoluble in blood. Bilirubin is transported by Albumin-major plasm…
Causes
- 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, ja… - 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: 1. Trauma 2. Cyst 3. Inflammati…
Diagnosis
- In case of clay colored stool, medical attention should be sought. Diagnosing the cause of clay colored stool might include: 1. Physical examination and taking patient history 2. Blood analysis: complete blood count, liver enzymes, bilirubin levels 3. Imaging studies: X-ray, CT, MRI and ultrasound imaging 4. Urinalysis 5. Specific tests, for example to detect hepatitis virus A, B or C …
Treatment
- The treatment of clay colored stool depends on the underlying cause. 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. If the bile ducts are obstructed, surgery might be necessary to treat the cause . For your personal experience, use the comment…