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Dark foods like beets, blueberries, dark licorice, and even a lot of spinach can cause your poop to look black, Dr. Farhadi says. “Dark foods contain certain dyes which can turn the food red or ...
In fact, calcium-containing antacids are known to cause changes in stool color. ... dark urine. swelling in the ankles or legs. persistent itching. pain in the abdomen and back.
Melena is a form of blood in stool which refers to the dark black, tarry feces that are commonly associated with upper gastrointestinal bleeding. [1] The black color and characteristic strong odor are caused by hemoglobin in the blood being altered by digestive enzymes and intestinal bacteria .
A number of foods and medications can turn the stool either red or black in the absence of bleeding. [2] Bismuth found in many antacids may turn stools black as may activated charcoal. [2] Blood from the vagina or urinary tract may also be confused with blood in the stool. [2]
Blood may be observed in vomit or in altered form as black stool. Depending on the amount of the blood loss, symptoms may include shock. Upper gastrointestinal bleeding can be caused by peptic ulcers, gastric erosions, esophageal varices, and rarer causes such as gastric cancer.
GI doctors caution against ignoring blood in the stool. "Blood in the stool is one of the more common symptoms of colon cancer in older patients—less so in younger patients," Dr. Ligresti says.
These mechanisms are responsible for the dark urine and pale stools observed in biliary obstruction. Low urine urobilinogen may result from complete obstructive jaundice or treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics , which destroy the intestinal bacterial flora (obstruction of bilirubin passage into the gut or failure of urobilinogen production ...
[23] [24] [25] Although both iron and bismuth containing products such as antacids and antidiarrheals can cause dark stools that are occasionally confused as containing blood, actual bleeding from iron is unusual. [26] [27] There is no consensus on whether to stop warfarin before a guaiac test. [28]