Green stool in an adult. What causes the “stool” to be green? There are also foods that cause green stool, for example, those that contain a lot of iron, as well as

The reasons for green stool in an adult can be different. First you need to figure out why the stool is green, and whether something can be done at home. If a greenish tint to a person's stool is caused by food, and there are no symptoms, there is no need to panic. If green stool is caused by a disease, only a specialist should look for the causes and prescribe treatment.

Causes of stool color change

When stool turns green, many people become worried. This should not be done, since green feces in an adult are often caused by simple natural causes. The most common of them are food products.

But greenish feces also appear due to diseases - salmonellosis, gastritis, dysbiosis, after poisoning.

Another reason is the appearance of green stool in an adult after taking medications, including antibiotics. A greenish tint to stool sometimes occurs after Allochol, drugs such as Hofitol, Polysorb or Smecta, after choleretic drugs or surgical removal gallbladder.

All the reasons why stool turns green can be divided into two categories: physiological, pathological.

What to do in such a situation?

Stool in adults with a greenish tint definitely needs professional research. Especially if it often occurs loose stool green. Unformed stool in an adult is not such a rarity. There may be a situation when it is accompanied by ordinary poisoning, indigestion, or consumption of foods harmful to the body.

Diarrhea can be stopped by taking tablets such as activated charcoal, but it is better to allow all the excess to leave the body. The shades of green stool in adults vary - yellow-green, gray-green or bright green, like the color of fresh grass. If relapses are observed, feces or diarrhea often have an uncharacteristic color, then pathology is suspected. Feces that are black-green or otherwise non-brown in color indicate that the body is suffering from some kind of disease.

Let us consider separately the physiological and pathological causes.

Physiological factors

Unusually colored feces often appear for reasons that are not harmful to human health. For example, the color of stool in an adult changes under the influence of several basic physiological factors:

  • Foodstuffs. An adult's stool most often changes color due to diet. Low water consumption along with a large number Iron-containing foods stain stool. The foods that affect stool most strongly are red meat, greens, red beans, juices or purees based on green vegetables, and sea ​​fish. When fasting, a person eats greens in an attempt to lose weight. Hence the corresponding symptoms - green stool. It is better for you to abandon the dill diet and switch to a more balanced diet. If you change your diet, your light brown, healthy colored stool will return.
  • Dyes. The cause of dark green stool may be the consumption of foods that contain a lot of dyes. This is soda, candy, chewing gum and other foods that are far from being the healthiest for the body. IN alcoholic drinks, in addition to the alcohol component, there are dyes. Feces after drinking alcohol with dyes also become colored, but after a while, this goes away.
  • Pharmaceuticals and supplements. Defecation may be accompanied by color changes if a person takes pills, vitamins, or various supplements. The dark green color of excrement is often caused by taking medications such as glucose, iodine-containing products, Sorbitol, vitamin complexes, laxatives plant origin, algae-based medications or supplements, etc.

Thus, marsh-colored feces in an adult should not always cause serious concern.

But when there are solid particles in the stool, diarrhea, diarrhea, and bitterness in the mouth, be sure to consult a specialist.

Only he will make an accurate diagnosis and determine the causes. Physiological factors not as dangerous as pathological ones.

Pathological factors

Alas, it is not only when taking pills or eating certain foods that feces with an uncharacteristic color are formed. Brownish-greenish stool may also mean there is more serious reasons, for example, diseases that need to be treated.

In an adult, liquid green chair may indicate progressive diseases, pathologies that are potentially dangerous to health and life. They need to be treated at the first manifestations. Watery diarrhea (when you defecate almost water), or hard stool indicates that you need to see a doctor, take and undergo a full examination.

Medical practice shows that diarrhea, bitterness in the mouth, change in color of stool or other characteristic symptoms may be caused by a number of diseases:

  • Crohn's disease. Characterized by defeat gastrointestinal tract. Conventional carbon sorbent for treatment. won't be enough. Surgery is often required.
  • Poisoning. Regular food poisoning is also not a pleasant experience. The stomach hurts, the temperature rises and there is not only diarrhea, but also vomiting. It is recommended to rinse the stomach, eat for a while, follow a diet and not burden the gastrointestinal tract with heavy food.
  • Infectious lesions of the intestines. Usually, in addition to temperature and discomfort, color changes, impurities are observed.
  • Bleeding. We are talking about internal weak bleeding. They cause color in the stool, but if there is heavy bleeding, the stool will turn black.
  • Allergy to food products. An adult may not suspect that he is allergic to certain foods if he has not consumed them before. This phenomenon is accompanied by a change in the color of the stool, the presence of undigested food particles and mucus in them.
  • Ulcer. Very unpleasant and serious illness. With an ulcer, a bitter taste in the mouth and a number of other unpleasant symptoms often appear, including a change in the color of the stool. An ulcer requires only professional treatment.
  • Rotavirus infection. It is not so difficult to determine it, since the disease is accompanied by green, foul-smelling stool with mucus. The person feels unwell and is intoxicated. You must consult a doctor immediately.

To protect your own body, try to eat right, choose the optimal diet of foods that suits your body, and avoid drinking carbonated and alcoholic drinks.

If uncharacteristic color of feces appears frequently, but food or medicines nothing to do with it - consult a doctor immediately. Based on the research results, the doctor will make a diagnosis and tell you how to cope with the problem.

Green stool during pregnancy

Pregnant women quite often encounter a situation where the stool becomes greenish in color. One of the reasons is that doctors recommend that all expectant mothers take prenatal vitamin and mineral complexes until 5–6 months of pregnancy. Green stool in the early stages occurs if minerals, especially iron, enter the body in excess and are subsequently excreted in the feces. This color of feces may also be associated with dietary changes when a woman, in an effort to eat healthily, begins to eat more green leafy vegetables, broccoli, asparagus and other similar foods. Their pigment leads to a change in the shade of feces. Dark green stool may be due to iron supplements prescribed to women with low hemoglobin levels in the blood.

Pregnant women may also develop various intestinal disorders and gastrointestinal diseases that affect the color of stool. If, during the movement of feces, blood is released through the inflamed intestinal walls, then mixing with bile, it causes the stool to turn black-green. The greenish tint of stool is also due to accelerated transit in the colon, when bacteria do not have time to break down bilirubin. The same color is observed after antibiotic therapy.

In most cases, pregnant women should not worry about green stool if it does not affect their well-being. It is necessary to consult a gastroenterologist when the person being observed later green stool persists after childbirth.

The green color of stool in adults has a different nature.

The stool changes color when there is life threatening person or the disease develops at an early stage, provoking severe violations in the functioning of systems and organs.

IN in rare cases this is due to diet.

Define real reasons Pathology can be determined with confidence after receiving test results.

If the stool changes color once, this is not a cause for concern. Its color also depends on the products used for cooking.

Cereals are capable of turning feces into shades of green. Moreover, even after their one-time use, but in large quantities feces retain the new color for a couple of days or more.

To digest cereal plants, which have a double protective shell, the body releases more bile so that the food processing process is more productive. This is how adults produce green feces when they have a bowel movement.

What foods change the color of stool from brown to green?

Some foods contain pigments that color feces shades of green. This is connected with excess iron in some of them. Therefore, this phenomenon is not always associated with diseases. Affect the color of stool:

  • eating green leafy crops - cabbage, spinach, onions, broccoli, lettuce, parsley or dill;
  • excessive eating of jelly or caramel, marmalade with high content food coloring - the stool then acquires a distinct shade of light green color;
  • products that contain chlorophyll, especially seaweed;
  • the presence of red beans, sea fish or red meats on the menu.

Pigments are stored in the body up to 5 days, so the color of feces during this period may remain unchanged, even after stopping eating the listed foods.

In pregnant women

Among the main reasons for the appearance of green stool, diet is in first place. It is advisable for a woman in an interesting position to receive essential vitamins and minerals for normal development child and successful birth.

But you shouldn’t overuse green leafy crops either. Thanks to the presence chlorophyll - green pigment, eaten spinach, green onions or cabbage, give stool a characteristic color.

This does not apply to pathology, but there are a number of diseases in which this symptom is present.

Vitamin complex

The use of vitamins by a pregnant woman, which are prescribed to ensure the healthy development of the child and maintain the normal condition of the expectant mother, can color the stool in shades of green.


Intake of vitamins female body occurs along with the necessary minerals. Iron and calcium not absorbed in the intestines, are excreted along with feces, coloring them in characteristic colors.

Bowel diseases

Pathological processes localized in it can change the color of stool from brown to green during pregnancy. This is usually due to problems with the intestinal tract due to Crohn's disease or irritable bowel syndrome, in which the walls of the intestine become inflamed.

When processed food passes through the intestinal cavity, blood begins to be released from areas where tissues are deformed by the disease.

After spotting mixed with bile which is released in excess, and the stool comes out looking black and green.

Premature emptying

When the transport of processed food debris through the large intestine becomes abnormal and deviates from the norm, the color of the feces is observed in a greenish tint.

The time it takes for stool to pass through the intestines depends on how long the food remains in the thick part of the intestine before it is thrown out in digested form from the rectum. When contracting transportation period through the large intestine, stool turns green.

Excess bile

During inflammatory processes in the stomach and intestines, bile may be produced in greater quantities than necessary. First, it is transported to the duodenum, having a green color. Food that gets there from the stomach mixes with bile and turns green.

During diarrhea, feces do not have time to turn brown under the influence of intestinal microorganisms, bile comes out with the stool.

Taking antibiotics

Medicines taken by women during interesting situation, often provoke the appearance of greenish feces during bowel movements. At the end of the course or after reducing the number of pills taken, the color of the stool returns to normal. If this does not happen, you cannot do without consulting a doctor.

What does green stool mean in adults?

Normally its color should be brown thanks to bile pigments. The color of the stool depends on their concentration - it will be light, green or even black. Eating certain vegetables, sweets or red meat affects the color of feces.

When diagnosing a pathology, it is important to know it the real reason to normalize the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

If you eat a lot of foods that contain iron, your stool will turn a shade of green. This occurs as a result of the appearance in the diet of black licorice, vegetable or fruit juices and purees, and fish from the depths of the sea. Sparkling water, jelly, confectionery cream with lots of dyes also leads to a similar effect.

Food additives can also change the color of feces. This occurs with the systematic use of laxatives with plant extracts, biologically active ingredients with an excess of iron, medicines from seaweed. Iodized preparations, sorbitol and glucose medications, minerals or vitamins can give the stool a greenish color during bowel movements.


A greenish tint to stool is observed during dysbiosis or long-term use of antibiotics. Then changes in pigmentation accompanied by a nasty odor rotten. This means that you need to visit a doctor's office and undergo an examination.

What diseases cause green stool in adults?

If pathology progresses in the body, feces not only change color, the process is accompanied by characteristic symptoms related to certain diseases.

Intestinal infections

With any of them, including dysentery, cholera is observed elevated temperature, I am worried about nausea, turning into vomiting. The body is weakened, appear painful sensations of different nature.

Dysbacteriosis

Disruption of microflora is fraught with an increase in the number of pathogenic bacteria in the intestinal cavity. Beneficial microorganisms die. The accumulation of an abundant mass of leukocytes that have died is observed in the process of exacerbation of inflammation.

The intestines are no longer able to digest food normally, which causes it to rot and ferment. In this case, components are released that change the color of stool when it is emptied.

Bleeding

It occurs against the background of exacerbation of a stomach ulcer or due to cancerous tumor in one of the departments gastrointestinal tract. After blood is released and enters the stomach or intestines, the process of oxidation of iron, which is part of blood cells - erythrocytes, occurs.

If oxidation is incomplete, the stool will turn green. When the bleeding starts blood pressure falls, heart rate increases, shortness of breath and a sharp feeling of weakness are observed, skin turn pale.

Hepatitis

Diseases associated with liver pathologies and the pathological processes that occur in this case lead to to massive decomposition of red blood cells.

Then the liver lacks hemoglobin, from which bilirubin must be produced. This pigment is responsible for turning stool brown.

If there is little of it in the intestines, the stool will be greenish. The same thing happens with blood diseases.

Food allergies

Some foods may be intolerable to an adult organism, and their elements may not be absorbed by the intestinal walls. This leads to an inflammatory process and dysfunction of the digestive organs, which contributes to the release green stool.

Take care and get diagnosed pathological changes during.

Inflammatory diseases, acute intestinal infections and a number of other problems can be expressed by a change in the color of stool. Thus, green stool in adults and children often requires medication and a change in diet.

Green feces - nutritional reasons

The main role in the color of human feces is played by bilirubin, which is part of bile. If digestion is normal, feces move at normal speed, then oxidized bilirubin gives it a brown color. When the processes of movement and food processing are disrupted, bilirubin does not have time to oxidize, coming out into the “ pure form" This causes green or yellow-green stool to appear.

Most often, the cause of the problem in adults and children is nutritional errors. If you eat a lot of food with artificial colors, the stool will change its color to bright green. Within 4-5 days, feces may have an abnormal color, so it is worth analyzing your recent diet.

Vegetarians and vegans, due to the abundance of green foods in their diet, have green stool - this is a normal option for this type of diet.

Dark green stool appears when included in the menu:


Consumption of meat and fish in large quantities, due to the abundance of iron, also provokes changes in the stool - it can turn green.

Gastrointestinal diseases and green feces

If the stool is green, the reasons are not always safe and banal; they often lie in problems with the gastrointestinal tract - functional and organic. Usually, the regular appearance of abnormal feces indicates the development of pancreatic diseases or small intestine.

Pancreatitis in chronic form leads to insufficient production digestive enzymes As a result, the stool becomes liquid and contains particles of poorly digested food. A person may suffer from abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Similar signs appear with dysfunction small intestine, malabsorption syndrome - food is not digested, comes out in a semi-liquid form, the color of stool becomes light green, yellow-green. Also, the reasons that the stool has turned greenish may be:

  1. fermentative dyspepsia;
  2. gallbladder diseases - dyskinesia biliary tract, inflammation (cholecystitis), stones in gallbladder, slange syndrome (stagnation of bile);
  3. diseases duodenum, for the most part - duodenitis.

Pathologies of the large intestine can also affect the color of feces - with chronic inflammation in the intestines, feces are dark green, green-brown.

Other causes of green stool

Acute intestinal infections- another common cause of stool changes. Salmonellosis, dysentery, rotavirus infection, enterovirus infection cause the appearance of gray-green liquid stool. This indicates acute inflammation of the intestinal walls, which is always accompanied by increased bowel movements and the development of diarrhea. In the absence emergency therapy This condition can lead to dehydration, which is especially dangerous for a child.

Intestinal dysbiosis(dysbacteriosis) is another common cause of problems with the shade of stool. Disruption of intestinal microbiocenosis causes abundant growth of opportunistic bacteria, which leads to disruptions in food digestion. The color of the stool may become green, gray-green, brown-green, diarrhea appears, which alternates with constipation.

Most often, dysbiosis occurs after taking antibiotics, especially if you do not drink complexes of probiotics and prebiotics after treatment.

In adults, taking various medications is also often a prerequisite for defecation disorders. They may be:


About this side effect usually indicated in the instructions for the medicine. Iron supplements are often recommended during pregnancy, so the expectant mother should not be afraid of greenish stool.

Green stool and mucus

Why does mucus appear in feces, while they themselves change color to greenish? Mucous inclusions, which may contain blood, are the result of an inflammatory process, a consequence of the activity of bacteria. If the mucus is on top of the stool, and its volume is small, the reasons most often include rotavirus infection, food poisoning. In such conditions, putrefactive and fermentation processes occur in the intestines, which increase the secretion of mucus.

Other pathologies with green feces and mucus:


Also, mucus and changes in the color of feces can cause congenital fermentopathy, abnormalities in the structure of the intestine, and intestinal hernia.

Green feces in children

On the first day a newborn appears special stool - meconium, which may be black-green in color, which is normal. In the first month of life, a baby’s stool may also have an abnormal color, because the intestines are just adapting to new food. If a child has been fed artificial formulas since birth, there is nothing surprising in green feces either.

Perhaps the mixture is not suitable in composition, so it should be replaced according to the recommendation of a specialist.

Intestinal dysbiosis in children - common occurrence, which can occur even if there are errors in the diet of a nursing mother, which must be taken into account if the color of feces is disturbed.

When teething, the baby's stool is also disrupted, which is associated with an increase in saliva secretion, as well as with the entry of bacteria into the body - the baby can chew dirty things and toys. Loose stools, difficult to wash off, and greasy stools can indicate poor nutrition of the mother or pathologies of the child’s gastrointestinal tract. Perhaps the reasons lie in:

  • fermentopathies;
  • pancreatic dysfunction;
  • diseases of the small intestine.

Often occurs in children lactose intolerance- indigestion milk protein, which is manifested by greening of feces, colic, and diarrhea. The most serious illness a congenital type that provokes changes in stool is cystic fibrosis. It is very rare and causes serious pathologies of the digestive system.

Diagnosis for problems with feces

There is no need to worry about green stool in a newborn or one month old baby, but if such phenomena persist, they should be pointed out to the pediatrician. In adults, lack obvious reasons greening of feces is a reason to contact a therapist or gastroenterologist.

Diagnostic measures may include the following studies:

Usually, with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, gall bladder, and liver, a person has a number of additional symptoms - loose, foamy stools, mucus, heartburn, heaviness in the hypochondrium, abdominal pain, flatulence, constipation, diarrhea. The stool may also be foul odor, blood impurities. All these signs must be described to the doctor in order to quickly establish the correct diagnosis.

Treatment for green stool

Therapeutic measures will depend entirely on the cause of the pathology. You definitely need to change your nutrition program - give up fried, spicy, over-salted, fatty foods, eat more cereals and vegetables (after cooking). For acute infections, the patient is prescribed Smecta, Activated Carbon, Regidron, Enterosgel, as well as Enterol, Enterofuril. Serious infections are treated with injections antibiotics in the hospital.

To normalize stool, it is recommended to take probiotics(Bifiform, Linex). Rectal suppositories with anti-inflammatory components and drugs to reduce secretion are also prescribed. gastric juice, choleretic, enzymes. Good to take herbal infusions- with chamomile, yarrow, St. John's wort. Together, the treatment will definitely improve intestinal health and restore normal stool.

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Let's talk today about the causes of green stool in adults.

What can color stool?

The green tint of feces may be the result of frequent and large quantities of grains. Even if you change your diet to other foods, the stool will be green for several days. This is explained by the presence of a reinforced protective shell in the cultures, which forces the digestive tract to secrete more bile for processing. And as a result, feces are painted this color.

There are also foods that cause green stool, for example, those that contain a lot of iron, as well as:

  • leaf crops;
  • caramel, marmalade and jelly with high content dyes;
  • red meats, sea fish and legumes (red).

All of the above usually goes away without diarrhea or abdominal pain. 3-5 days after the last meal containing the above foods, the color of the stool will become normal.

Another reason for green stool in an adult that does not indicate a serious illness is diarrhea. This happens due to the low speed of microorganisms in the intestines to act on feces with such a problem.

If the movement of digested food in the form of a coma through the large intestine is disrupted, the feces also acquire green tint.

For information, before being released, the contents remain in this part of the intestine for some time.

Now we move on to more serious reasons for the appearance of green feces in an adult.

Causes of green stool in adults

The appearance of pathology in the body, including a change in the color of feces, will be accompanied by additional symptoms.

And depending on this, it will be possible to talk about the development of certain ailments:

  1. Infections in the intestines lead to fever, nausea and vomiting, including pain in the abdominal area.
  2. With dysbacteriosis, the amount of pathogenic bacteria, causing rotting and fermentation of food. As a result, bloating, pain and discoloration of stool appear.
  3. Exacerbation of a stomach ulcer or gastrointestinal cancer leads, among other things, to a change in the color of feces to green. This is due to the incomplete process of iron oxidation.
  4. The massive decomposition of red blood cells contributes to the development of liver pathologies - hepatitis. The diseased organ lacks hemoglobin, a derivative of bilirubin. As a result, the stool turns green instead of brown.
  5. Due to the body's intolerance to any foods, an allergic reaction occurs, leading to inflammatory processes and digestive disorders. As a result, the stool turns green.

A malfunction of the gallbladder and other internal organs can also cause the appearance of stool of a different color.

Important: the presence of mucus in feces in addition to a change in color gives reason to contact a specialist.

The green color can also be different - from a dark to a light shade, and this will also indicate different health problems.

Black and green.

Such bowel movements indicate infectious diseases in the intestinal area. But if you are a vegetarian, then you don’t have to worry - the reason for this color of stool is in your diet.

Green liquid stool.

This is alarming and unpleasant phenomenon caused by poor quality food or taking any medications. If this happened once and did not affect the general health, then the body will cope on its own.

If the problem recurs, and even lasts for several days with the addition of fever and pain, you will need to consult a doctor. After all, these can be symptoms of serious diseases - dysbiosis, enteritis, internal bleeding or blood diseases.

Light green stool.

Due to course intake antibacterial agents light green stool appears. The addition of increased body temperature, nausea and vomiting will be a reason to contact medical institution, and urgently.

Feces without diarrhea or pain.

Asymptomatic green coloration of feces is a reason to simply analyze your diet.

Diseases that cause green stool

Let us list the main diseases that can cause changes in the shades of stool, summing up some of the above:

  • salmonellosis or Crohn's disease;
  • ulcerative colitis or gastroesophageal reflux disease;
  • diabetes mellitus in various forms or inflammation of the small intestine;
  • food poisoning or allergies to lactose and (or) fructose.

Disturbed work thyroid gland can also cause the appearance similar problem. And for proper treatment You will definitely need to visit a doctor to make a diagnosis, which is not advisable to do on your own.

What to do if you have green stools

If you notice that your poop has changed color from brown to green, don't panic. The first thing you need to do is remember your entire diet in the past 3 days.

If this is not the reason, then do the following:

  1. Go to the pharmacy and buy your choice of probiotics, such as Bificola or Lactobacterin in any form. They promote recovery intestinal microflora, in particular, after taking antibacterial agents.
  2. If you suspect food poisoning, take activated charcoal in the proportion of 1 tablet/10 kg of weight.
  3. If nausea and vomiting occur in addition to a change in the color of the stool, it is recommended to drink Regidron. Often this is enough to normalize digestion.

Doctors use certain methods to make a diagnosis and prescribe laboratory and hardware tests:

  • The presence of microscopic particles in feces can be detected by the Coprogram, which studies the chemical composition;
  • general blood and urine analysis. If the presence of worms is suspected, a microscopic examination is performed;
  • tank culture identifies the causative agent of infection, determines the state of the intestinal microflora and the presence of bacteria;
  • Ultrasound of internal organs and ECG;
  • colonoscopy and gastroscopy;
  • MRI or CT scan of the abdomen.

Depending on the doctor’s suspicions, this list may be smaller or larger, and you should not refuse appointments, no matter how unpleasant they may be.

Treatment will depend on the diagnosis, and in most cases hospitalization is necessary. Salmonellosis gives reason to refer to the infectious diseases department, gastrointestinal bleeding and colitis - to surgery. In serious condition, patients are hospitalized in the ward intensive care to carry out prompt actions to restore health.

Pregnancy and green stool

The main reason women develop green poop during pregnancy is nutrition. Indeed, during this period of life, pregnant women try to eat a lot of greens - broccoli, spinach, parsley, dill and other foods rich in chlorophyll.

Additional intake of vitamin preparations also contributes to a change in the color of stool, which occurs due to iron not absorbed by the intestines. Retention of food in the thick section is another reason for green stool in pregnant women.

The rapid transit of products through this organ leads to the coloring of stool in an unusual color due to the fact that the bacteria in the organ do not have time to process all the bilirubin after processing the food with bile.

It is not uncommon for feces to turn green after taking antibiotics. To recover, you need to stop drinking them or reduce the dose.

There are also ailments in pregnant women that cause a similar problem:

  1. Crohn's disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
  2. Dysbacteriosis or dysentery, which will cause weakness, vomiting, abdominal pain and elevated body temperature.
  3. Diseases of the blood and liver.

All these pathologies with additional symptoms will require immediate appeal see a doctor.

Light-colored stool.

Light green stool during pregnancy can “speak” of the presence of infectious diseases - hepatitis, pancreatitis and others. Such feces also indicate the presence of stones and neoplasms.

Impurities of blood in stool.

Blood in the feces is observed with internal bleeding localized near the anus. And there are several reasons for this - hemorrhoids, anal fissures or malignant tumors in the rectum.

Stool with mucus.

Mucus appears in stool when sedentary life, as well as in acute inflammatory processes in the form of colitis, enteritis, proctitis and other diseases.

Always carefully monitor your health and changes in your body. After all, any unusual symptoms may indicate serious pathologies requiring immediate medical intervention.

But basically, if you don't take into account possible diseases, if the color of the stool changes, there is no reason to worry and visit a doctor. You will need to contact a gastroenterologist if the problem persists after childbirth.

If you realize that the coloring of the stool is not due to your diet, but for other reasons that are unclear to you, plus there are other unpleasant symptoms, then do not delay your visit to medical institution. This will protect against severe consequences and speed up recovery. Health to you and your loved ones!

What causes green stool in an adult?

Green stool in an adult may be a sign of proper nutrition, infectious diseases or taking certain medications.

If the color of the feces changes once, most likely the cause is the use of provoking foods. When a hue change is observed long period, accompanied by diarrhea, mucus or drops of blood during bowel movements, for staging accurate diagnosis you should contact a specialist.

The main factors that provoke changes in the color of stool

The norm is to have a bowel movement every 1-2 days, and the color of the feces should be brown. What could cause a slight deviation from accepted standards?

There are a number of physiological and pathological factors:

  • Eating food that affects various processes in the body or contains large number coloring matter.
  • Imbalance of the bacterial environment of the body, infectious disease, poisoning, allergic reactions, development of pathologies of internal organs, in particular those related to the digestive tract.
  • Taking certain medications.

Changes you shouldn't worry about

Fans of sweets, such as marmalade, jellies and other foods high in dyes, may periodically notice greenish stools.

In addition, other foods affect the color of stool:

  • If you eat a lot of meat, your stool may appear dark brown.
  • If the diet is dominated by plant components or dairy products, the feces lighten, acquiring a yellow tint.
  • The black-brown color is typical for lovers of blackcurrants and blueberries.
  • Burgundy feces are obtained after eating raspberries and beetroot.
  • A dark green tint occurs if a person eats sorrel or spinach salad. The same reaction of the body occurs to the consumption of cereals. Long-term preservation of green stool is possible in people following a plant-based diet.
  • Legumes and red meats have great content gland, which turns stool black-green.

In this case, a review of the diet will help normalize the situation. If, several days after eliminating trigger foods, the color of the feces has not changed, then other causes need to be considered.

Change in stool color when taking medications

Feces may turn green when consumed:

  • Iodine preparations.
  • Laxatives, in particular herbal medicines.
  • Sorbitol.
  • Glucose.
  • Chlorophyll.
  • Vitamin complexes.
  • Iron-containing drugs.
  • Medicines based on seaweed.

Usually, a possible change in the color of feces is mentioned in the annotation for the medicine. If such drugs are discontinued, within 5 days the stool acquires a characteristic dark brown tint. If you take a radiopaque substance, the stool may become gray, but after 2-3 days the condition will normalize on its own.

Antibiotics, when used for a long time, disrupt the intestinal microflora, causing dysbacteriosis, which entails a change in the normal color of stool to green.

Consequence of the development of a pathological environment

Feces in an adult can take on a peculiar shade when gastrointestinal diseases appear.

Most often diagnosed:

  • Dysbacteriosis. Due to an imbalance of intestinal microorganisms, the process of food digestion is disrupted, food leftovers rot, which may be accompanied by a disturbance in the frequency and color of stool.
  • Dysentery. The condition is characterized acute pain in the abdominal area, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The patient becomes weak and the temperature rises sharply.
  • Salmonellosis. Once in the body, an intestinal infection causes a sharp rise in temperature, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.

With infectious lesions of the intestines, a bright green tint to the stool, a rise in temperature, weakness and an admixture of mucus in the stool are observed. In case of poisoning, these symptoms are accompanied by vomiting and severe pain in the stomach.

Allergies to foods can be manifested by a change in the color of the stool, along with the presence of mucus and undigested food debris. If you are gluten intolerant, you will experience runny stool with unpleasant smell. And lactose indigestion is characterized by the onset of diarrhea with green stool immediately after consuming dairy products.

This is due to a lack of an enzyme that breaks down the corresponding protein. Unprocessed liquid quickly leaves the body, and the feces do not have time to turn brown.

In babies under 6 months of age, green stool may indicate increased bilirubin. At this age, the condition can normalize on its own.

Often a change in shade is associated with a transition to a different mixture. This is due to immaturity digestive system. The food of a breastfeeding mother also plays a role in many respects, since all substances from foods penetrate into the milk.

What color of stool indicates internal organ disease?

Many people do not know what diseases cause the color of feces to change. It should be noted that these are mainly pathologies of the pancreas, liver, gallbladder, stomach and intestines.

  • Green feces may be a consequence of intestinal inflammation or the development of a tumor of this organ, intoxication of the body, or celiac disease.
  • Red-brown indicates the presence of minor internal bleeding in lower parts digestive tract. Observations show that this means damage to the intestinal walls. When feces move through the intestines, the mucous membranes are injured, blood is released through small cracks and enters the feces.
  • Black may indicate bleeding in organs located in the upper digestive system.
  • Yellow-green indicates carbohydrate fermentation. This condition occurs with diseases of the pancreas, for example, diabetes.
  • Gray-green or white indicates a lack of bile entering the intestines. Pathology occurs when there is liver disease and when the gallbladder has stones or a tumor that blocks the excretory ducts.

Symptoms associated with green stool

If the color change occurs due to taking medications or provoking foods, then no other signs of the disease occur. When the problem is caused by a hit pathogenic microorganisms, the development of ailments of internal organs, hidden bleeding, along with green feces, the following symptoms occur:

  • Abdominal pain. Usually its location indicates the location of the diseased organ.
  • Nausea and vomiting.
  • Diarrhea.
  • Unpleasant smell of stool.
  • The presence of mucus or blood in the stool.
  • Fever.
  • General deterioration in health: headache, dizziness, weakness, fatigue.

Green stool in pregnant women

Expectant mothers try to monitor their diet, so they eat large amounts of plant foods. Spinach and broccoli contain chlorophyll, which can cause stool to change color.

In addition, to prevent anemia and destruction bone tissue During pregnancy, vitamin complexes rich in iron and calcium are prescribed. Also, black feces can be a consequence of taking activated carbon during gas formation.

The color of feces, if it changes temporarily, does not affect the baby’s condition. But if, after discontinuation of provoking foods and medications, the condition does not change, this may indicate the presence of various diseases, and a tar-black tint may indicate internal bleeding.

Dysbacteriosis is a frequent companion of pregnant women. In this case, diarrhea begins and the stool is green.

When this diagnosis is made, the doctor prescribes Smecta or Imodium to remove toxins. It is recommended to include whole grain cereals, fermented milk products, and green tea in your diet.

To prevent serious complications During pregnancy, any abnormalities or changes in the color or consistency of stool should be addressed by a doctor.

First aid at home

If the color of stool changes, you should reconsider your diet, excluding sweets and foods rich in chlorophyll and containing dyes from the menu.

If you have diarrhea, you must take Smecta or Regidron. This will normalize water and electrolyte balance and avoid dehydration.

Atoxyl is an excellent sorbent that is used to remove toxins, especially during vomiting. But the drug should be taken after gastric lavage.

In cases of severe dysbiosis, it is useful to take probiotics. If improvements are not observed within several days or the condition is accompanied by a rise in temperature, bloody stools, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, you should consult a doctor.

After conducting a series of tests, the specialist will make a diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment. These can be anti-inflammatory, antibacterial drugs, antispasmodics, vitamin complexes. In case of internal bleeding, urgent hospitalization followed by surgical intervention is indicated.

Tests to determine the cause of change in stool color

For correct setting To diagnose the appearance of green feces when they are not associated with food intake, a number of examinations should be performed:

  • Complete blood test with determination of the leukocyte component.
  • Urinalysis.
  • Blood test for biochemistry and electrolytes.
  • Analysis of stool for bacterial environment.
  • Ultrasound abdominal cavity.

If there are appropriate indications, gastroscopy, colonoscopy, CT or MRI of the abdominal cavity may be prescribed.

The green color of feces, like other uncharacteristic shades, can be the result of a number of pathologies. To determine the cause and exclude the presence of the disease, you should consult a doctor in a timely manner and do necessary tests. Self-medication can worsen the situation, lead to dehydration and damage to internal organs.

Green stool in an adult. Causes and treatment of pathology

The reasons for green stool in an adult can be different. First you need to figure out why the stool is green, and whether something can be done at home. If a greenish tint to a person's stool is caused by food, and there are no symptoms, there is no need to panic. If green stool is caused by a disease, only a specialist should look for the causes and prescribe treatment.

Causes of stool color change

When stool turns green, many people become concerned. This should not be done, since green feces in adults are often caused by simple natural causes. The most common of them are food products.

But greenish feces also appear due to diseases - salmonellosis, gastritis, dysbiosis, after poisoning.

Another reason is the appearance of green stool in an adult after taking medications, including antibiotics. A greenish tint to stool sometimes occurs after Allohol, drugs such as Hofitol, Polysorb or Smecta, after choleretic drugs or surgical removal of the gallbladder.

All the reasons why stool turns green can be divided into two categories: physiological, pathological.

What to do in such a situation?

Greenish stool in adults definitely needs professional examination. Especially if liquid green stools often form. Unformed stool in an adult is not such a rarity. There may be a situation when it is accompanied by ordinary poisoning, indigestion, or consumption of foods harmful to the body.

Diarrhea can be stopped by taking tablets such as activated charcoal, but it is better to allow all the excess to leave the body. The shades of green stool in adults vary - yellow-green, gray-green or bright green, like the color of fresh grass. If relapses are observed, feces or diarrhea often have an uncharacteristic color, then pathology is suspected. Feces that are black-green or otherwise non-brown in color indicate that the body is suffering from some kind of disease.

Let us consider separately the physiological and pathological reasons.

Physiological factors

Unusually colored feces often appear for reasons that are not harmful to human health. For example, the color of stool in an adult changes under the influence of several basic physiological factors:

  • Foodstuffs. An adult's stool most often changes color due to diet. Low water intake combined with large amounts of iron-containing foods color the stool. Stool is most affected by red meat, greens, red beans, juices or purees based on green vegetables, and sea fish. When fasting, a person eats greens in an attempt to lose weight. Hence the corresponding symptoms - green stool. You are better off giving up the dill diet and switching to a more balanced diet. If you change your diet, your light brown, healthy colored stool will return.
  • Dyes. The cause of dark green stool may be the consumption of foods that contain a lot of dyes. This is soda, candy, chewing gum and other foods that are far from being the healthiest for the body. In addition to the alcohol component, alcoholic drinks contain dyes. Feces after drinking alcohol with dyes also become colored, but after a while, this goes away.
  • Pharmaceuticals and supplements. Defecation may be accompanied by color changes if a person takes pills, vitamins, or various supplements. The dark green color of excrement is often caused by taking medications such as glucose, iodine-containing products, Sorbitol, vitamin complexes, herbal laxatives, algae-based medications or supplements, etc.

Thus, marsh-colored feces in an adult should not always cause serious concern.

But when there are solid particles in the stool, diarrhea, diarrhea, and bitterness in the mouth, be sure to consult a specialist.

Only he will make an accurate diagnosis and determine the causes. Physiological factors are not as dangerous as pathological ones.

Pathological factors

Alas, it is not only when taking pills or eating certain foods that feces with an uncharacteristic color are formed. Brownish-greenish stool can also mean there are more serious causes, such as illnesses that need to be treated.

In an adult, loose green stool may indicate progressive diseases and pathologies that are potentially dangerous to health and life. They need to be treated at the first manifestations. Watery diarrhea (when you defecate almost like water) or hard stool indicates that you need to see a doctor, take a stool test and undergo a full examination.

Medical practice shows that diarrhea, bitterness in the mouth, change in color of stool or other characteristic symptoms can be caused by a number of diseases:

  • Crohn's disease. Characterized by damage to the gastrointestinal tract. Conventional carbon sorbent for treatment. won't be enough. Surgery is often required.
  • Poisoning. Regular food poisoning is also not a pleasant experience. The stomach hurts, the temperature rises and there is not only diarrhea, but also vomiting. It is recommended to rinse the stomach, eat for a while, follow a diet and not burden the gastrointestinal tract with heavy food.
  • Infectious lesions of the intestines. Usually, in addition to temperature and discomfort, color changes, there are mucus impurities in the stool.
  • Bleeding. We are talking about internal weak bleeding. They cause color in the stool, but if there is heavy bleeding, the stool will turn black.
  • Food allergies. An adult may not suspect that he is allergic to certain foods if he has not consumed them before. This phenomenon is accompanied by a change in the color of the stool, the presence of undigested food particles and mucus in them.
  • Ulcer. A very unpleasant and serious disease. With an ulcer, a bitter taste in the mouth and a number of other unpleasant symptoms often appear, including a change in the color of the stool. An ulcer requires only professional treatment.
  • Rotavirus infection. It is not so difficult to determine it, since the disease is accompanied by green, foul-smelling stool with mucus. The person feels unwell and is intoxicated. You must consult a doctor immediately.

To protect your own body, try to eat right, choose the optimal diet of foods that suits your body, and avoid drinking carbonated and alcoholic drinks.

If an uncharacteristic color of feces appears frequently, but food or medications have nothing to do with it, consult a doctor immediately. Based on the research results, the doctor will make a diagnosis and tell you how to cope with the problem.

Green stool during pregnancy

Pregnant women quite often encounter a situation where the stool becomes greenish in color. One of the reasons is that doctors recommend that all expectant mothers take prenatal vitamin and mineral complexes until 5–6 months of pregnancy. Green stool in the early stages occurs if minerals, especially iron, enter the body in excess and are subsequently excreted in the feces. This color of feces may also be associated with dietary changes when a woman, in an effort to eat healthily, begins to eat more green leafy vegetables, broccoli, asparagus and other similar foods. Their pigment leads to a change in the shade of feces. Dark green stool may be due to iron supplements prescribed to women with low hemoglobin levels in the blood.

Pregnant women may also develop various intestinal disorders and gastrointestinal diseases that affect the color of stool. If, during the movement of feces, blood is released through the inflamed intestinal walls, then mixing with bile, it causes the stool to turn black-green. The greenish tint of stool is also due to accelerated transit in the colon, when bacteria do not have time to break down bilirubin. The same color is observed after antibiotic therapy.

In most cases, pregnant women should not worry about green stool if it does not affect their well-being. It is necessary to consult a gastroenterologist when green stool observed in later stages persists after childbirth.

Green stool in an adult

Feces are the final result of digestion. It is formed as a result of complex biochemical reactions throughout all parts of the digestive system and is excreted outside the body during bowel movements. The main characteristics of stool are: volume, shape, consistency, smell and color. Normally, parameters can change quite significantly under the influence of certain factors. But all these fluctuations are temporary and return to normal on their own after they are eliminated. But some changes in the characteristics of feces may indicate a serious pathology of internal organs.

What properties of stool correspond to the norm?

To give an adequate assessment of the nature of the stool, it must be described according to the following criteria.

Frequency of bowel movements. The normal frequency of bowel movements is from 2 times a day to two or three times a week. In this case, a prerequisite is the absence of pain and discomfort, as well as the rapid progress of the process. Otherwise, defecation once every few days is considered constipation, and more than three times a day is considered diarrhea.

Number of bowel movements. The normal volume of feces in an adult is within one hundred to two hundred and fifty grams per day. A decrease in the amount of feces occurs with constipation, saturation of the diet with easily digestible food, and a decrease in the amount of food consumed. An upward deviation from the norm may be present with a high consumption of plant fibers, dysfunction of the small intestine, insufficient pancreatic secretion, or insufficient release of bile into the upper intestine.

Shape of feces. According to the “Bristol scale,” it is customary to classify the shape of stool as one of seven types, where two options are considered normal: sausage-shaped and sausage-shaped, containing cracks. The rest regard it as constipation and a tendency to it, or as diarrhea, a tendency to it and severe diarrhea.

The consistency of feces should normally be soft and cylindrical. But with various pathological processes, the consistency of stool can change in this way.

Dense feces, consisting of separate lumps, (sheep) can be caused by:

  • disturbance of intestinal microflora
  • presence of staphylococcus
  • irritation of the intestinal wall in the thick section
  • exacerbation of peptic ulcer
  • inflammatory phenomena in the intestines
  • impaired blood supply to the intestinal wall
  • insufficient intestinal motility
  • stress, severe nervous disorders
  • low fluid intake
  • insufficient physical activity
  • surgical intervention

Availability " sheep feces“in a patient over a long period of time can cause intoxication of the body, weakening of the immune system, provoke the appearance of cracks in the anal area, hemorrhoids, and even intestinal prolapse. A tendency to regular constipation should be consulted with a doctor without fail.

Pasty stools may appear due to infectious and inflammatory diseases in the intestines, gastric dysfunction and rotavirus infections. If it is accompanied by mucus discharge, then you can think about bacterial infection, colds, accompanied severe runny nose, as well as the consumption of certain products.

With pancreatitis, mushy stools acquire a gray tint, which may indicate the addition of fermentative dyspepsia, chronic enteritis or colitis with diarrhea.

Diarrhea can develop for other reasons, due to:

  • Dysbacteriosis
  • Infectious intestinal diseases
  • Various forms of tuberculosis
  • Thyroid dysfunction
  • Intestinal absorption disorders
  • Poor nutrition
  • Kidney diseases
  • Chronic stress
  • Avitaminosis
  • Allergic conditions
  • Severe digestive diseases
  • Malignant neoplasms of the last parts of the intestine.

Ointment-like stool has a greasy texture and occurs when inflammatory diseases pancreas, the presence of stones in the gall bladder, cholecystitis, hepatitis of any origin, colitis accompanied by malabsorption.

Clay feces most often have a grayish tint. This is due to the high content of undigested fat, which occurs when there is poor outflow of bile from the hepatic ducts and the gallbladder itself. Observed in hepatitis, bile duct obstruction.

Liquid stool can have different shades and appearance.

With an intestinal infection, the stool has a thin, watery consistency.

At infectious diseases the stool has a green liquid appearance.

At stomach bleeding in the upper sections, the stool becomes black in color and has a liquid consistency.

In diseases of the upper intestines, stool resembles a light liquid.

If the lower part of the small intestine is involved in the pathological process, then the feces, along with a liquid consistency, have a yellow color. It is watery and foamy and can be repeated up to eight times a day.

Typhoid fever is characterized by the presence of stool in the form of pea puree.

With cholera, the stool has a colorless appearance, similar to rice water.

If diarrhea in adults and elderly patients lasts longer than two weeks and is accompanied by the periodic appearance of blood, then it makes sense to exclude tumors of the small intestine.

Long-lasting loose stools are observed after surgical interventions on the intestines, as well as in inflammatory diseases of this area of ​​​​nonspecific origin.

Foamy feces are a sign of the presence of fermentative dyspepsia and indicate that fermentation processes are taking place in the intestines.

Yeast-like stool occurs in the presence of a fungal infection. It may have a characteristic yeasty odor and look like a foamy or curdled mass with the presence of threads resembling fibers of melted cheese.

Color of stool in good condition ranges from light shades of brown to darkly saturated ones. And may vary depending on what is present pathological process.

Light-colored stools, up to yellow-white and gray, may indicate:

  • Abuse of rice or potatoes
  • The use of barium sulfate for carrying out x-ray examination gastrointestinal organs
  • Use medicines containing calcium or antacids.
  • Inflammatory diseases of the abdominal organs, cholelithiasis, severe liver diseases (cirrhosis, cancer).

Red stools can occur when:

The presence of dark stools can be caused by:

  • Taking activated carbon
  • Using medications containing iron
  • The presence of blueberries and dishes made from them in the daily diet
  • Gastritis
  • Malignant processes in the upper and lower intestines
  • Ulcerative defect of the duodenum and stomach

The presence of black stool is a warning sign and requires immediate medical attention.

The smell of feces is normally characterized as unpleasant, but not pungent.

The predominance of a pungent odor indicates the predominant content of meat in the diet.

Presence rotten smell indicates inadequate digestion of food with the development of putrefactive processes

Sour – accompanies lovers of dairy products and appears after drinking refreshing drinks made by fermentation.

Foul stool appears with exacerbation of cholecystitis, pancreatitis, increased secretion of the large intestine, active proliferation of bacterial flora.

Feces with a putrid odor occur with dyspepsia, impaired digestion in the stomach cavity, colitis, and constipation.

If your stool smells like old oil, this is a sign of bacterial decomposition. fatty foods in the intestines.

Presence of mild faint odor in feces indicates constipation and too rapid evacuation of the food bolus from the small intestine.

It is important to understand that a change in the color of stones, as well as any other of its characteristics, can occur due to physiological reasons– related to individual characteristics of nutrition and use food additives or some medications. In this case, the return to normal occurs independently, without the use of therapeutic methods after eliminating the provoking component.

In another case, the reason for changes in the main characteristics of feces are pathological reasons - various diseases internal organs. In this case, external changes are a consequence of a pathological process, so the patient will not be able to solve this problem on his own. To understand the nature of the disorders and choose the optimal treatment, you need to consult a specialist.

Physiological reasons for the appearance of green stool in an adult

The most common reason Such changes in stool lie in the patient’s dietary habits. In most cases, green stool appears when the diet is rich in foods high in iron. These include:

  • Red meats
  • Green leafy crops, including lettuce, broccoli, spinach and their juices
  • Black licorice
  • Fish of marine origin
  • Red bean variety
  • Stool with greenish tints may appear after eating foods that contain food colorings ranging from light green to black-green. This could be: colored caramel, marmalade, carbonated drinks, chewing gum.

The color of stool may change when taking certain biological additives or medications, turning into a gray, greenish, and sometimes black-green color. This can be caused by:

  • Substances that contain a high concentration of iodine
  • Herbal laxatives
  • Chlorophyll
  • Glucose
  • Sorbitol
  • Vitamin and mineral complexes
  • Nutritional supplements made from seaweed

When green stool appears in an adult for pathological reasons

The presence of green stool in adult patients can be observed due to the presence of a dangerous pathology, when self-diagnosis and treatment are unacceptable. These conditions include:

  • Foodborne toxic infections.
  • Crohn's disease.
  • Intestinal diseases of an infectious nature (enterocolitis). In this case, the stool not only changes its color, but also a large number of mucous inclusions are determined in its composition.
  • Internal bleeding of low to moderate intensity. With heavy bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract, the stool becomes black.
  • Increased secretion of the thyroid gland.
  • Food allergies. It is characterized not only by a change in the color of stool, but also by the presence of mucus and poorly digested food particles in it.
  • Ulcerative defect of the gastric wall.
  • Rotavirus infection. Characterized by green, foul-smelling stools with a lot of mucus in the background severe intoxication. More typical for children and infants.

All these conditions are life-threatening for the patient, so it is strictly not recommended to treat them yourself. Only a specialist with the help of additional laboratory methods can determine the cause of the patient’s green stool and prescribe adequate therapy.

Green stool in an adult is often serious sign malfunction of one of the body's organs. Human body is a huge and interconnected complex capable of responding to failures and malfunctions in its systems in a variety of ways. Often the most obvious indicator of malfunctions in the functioning of this complex is the excretory system, which includes human stool. The greenish color of stool can be caused by a variety of reasons, often including serious problems in the digestive tract and the work of specific bodies. We will find out in this publication why there is a problem with green stool in an adult, when it should be feared, and how to fight it, why it happens in general, what it means and what is its treatment.

Causes of green stool in adults

Disruption of the activity of one of the digestive and excretory system may lead to a change in the nature of discharge and feces. In addition, often with such a manifestation there is also a general failure in the bowel movement, which indicates a pronounced pathology.

However, the greenish color of stool may not always indicate something bad.

This option is quite likely with frequent consumption of natural green dyes and enzymes. To understand what consequences we are burdened with, and what the symptom of green stool indicates, we need to understand why it occurs.


Foods that cause a characteristic change in the color of stool are:

  • Sorrel and similar herbal plants;
  • Juniper berries;
  • Pear;
  • Cucumber;
  • Some varieties of Japanese tea;
  • Spinach and its juice;
  • Unripe pistachios;
  • Green apples and their juice, as well as many others.

Of course, such products may cause a change in the color and tone of the stool, but they will be loyal and hardly noticeable. But what to do when the feces acquire a pronounced green or even dark green color - details below.

Why does an adult have green stool?

Such sensitive issue, like the color of stool, most likely occurs in our body due to dysfunction of the bile organ. Namely, it all comes down to the secretion and accumulation of a special bile pigment - bilirubin.

Bilirubin is one of the most important components of bile in the body of mammals and, in particular, of humans.

Help for its secretion is physiological process breakdown and breakdown of proteins. Bilirubin is formed due to the influence of biliverdin, which has a pronounced green color, which, as bile passes through the intestines, can affect the color of stool. One can often note the phenomenon of an increase in the level of this enzyme in the body of newborns, especially in the first month after birth.


Thus, the main reasons for increased bilirubin in the body are:

  • Anemia in any of the possible forms;
  • Hepatitis;
  • Oncology;
  • Cirrhosis;
  • Impaired outflow of bile contained in the gallbladder;
  • Deficiency of certain vitamins, including B12;
  • Invasion and others.

It is noteworthy that an increase in the level of bilirubin pigment in the blood is not always directly related to a change in the color of stool. It also depends on the speed at which bile passes through the intestines: the faster, the more likely the color changes.

The main causes of dark green stool in an adult

The dark green color of human stool takes on a much more serious character. In addition to the main symptom, there is a high probability of internal bleeding in the intestines or stomach. Such a manifestation may indicate the penetration of harmful infections, the presence of complex dysbiosis, as well as a malfunction of one of the organs.

Possible symptoms indicating the presence of an infection or serious illness:

  • In addition to green stools, green vomit is also possible;
  • Fatigue and uncharacteristic weakness;
  • Apathy;
  • Anemia;
  • Rapid heartbeat;
  • Uncharacteristic pallor.

As part of the described pathologies, the color of stool takes on a pronounced dark green color. And if the bleeding is severe enough, it can literally turn black or black-greenish in color. In such cases it is necessary immediate intervention specialist

Diseases with green vomiting in an adult

The symptom of green stool, as already noted, can be accompanied by nausea and vomiting, in particular at night, when the body relaxes. This is due to the relaxation of the gallbladder, which, previously, was literally clamped and did not allow the outflow of bile into the intestines for digesting food.

As a result, its lack of participation in the digestion process does not entail the disinfection of toxins that are produced during the breakdown of food (in particular, proteins).

Ultimately, when the gallbladder relaxes, a surge of the contents occurs, which enters the intestines, and then into the stomach. It is characteristic that at this moment the same thing happens with undigested food debris containing elements of toxins. The result is human intoxication with green vomit and liquid green stool, especially if the food richly contained natural green dyes.


Reasons that could lead to this outcome:

  • Severe fatigue, stress, emotional attacks;
  • Peptic ulcer;
  • Liver and kidney diseases;
  • Alcohol abuse.

In such a situation, green stool and vomit indicate severe intoxication, caused either by excessive penetration of toxins into the stomach or by infection. A person suffering from symptoms other than those listed above: common features fever (temperature, weakness, etc.), the help of specialists is necessary.

What causes green stool in an adult?

On at the moment It has already been discussed that, in general, stool staining may not be necessary pathological character, but result from the consumption of appropriate food, drinks, and medications. However, in cases where all this is accompanied by weight loss, weakness and apathy, palpitations, nausea and fever, it is time to think about treatment.

What diseases can cause changes in the color of stool:

  • Salmonellosis;
  • Crohn's disease (affects the entire gastrointestinal tract);
  • Peptic ulcer and colitis;
  • Diabetes of any form and degree;
  • Inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract;
  • Poisoning;
  • Allergenic reactions.

Most often, green stool can be treated general methods and ordinary pharmaceutical products to prevent bleeding (in the case of internal bleeding), laxatives, as well as antibiotics, in the case of infection. Other recommendations for eliminating this symptom include maintaining proper nutrition and overall lifestyle, as well as systematic and timely diagnosis of the condition of your body by doctors.

Why is an adult's stool green: reasons (video)