Black bowel movement

Introduction

Black stool usually refers to a particularly dark coloration of the stool. The causes are often to be found in nutrition or medication. If this is not the case, one must first think of bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract.

Depending on the cause of the stool change, black stool can be accompanied by both diarrhea and particularly hard stool. Physiologically, newborns normally have black stools. In their first bowel movement, which is also known as child’s pitchfork because of its color, is colored black due to the amniotic fluid it contains.

Causes for black stool

The following is an overview of the most important causes of black stool. These are explained individually below. Food Food coloring Red wine Dark berries Medications Iron tablets Painkillers Antibiotics Bleeding bleeding of the esophagus like varicose veins Bleeding of the stomach due to ulcers, among other things

• Food Food coloring Red wine Dark berries
• Food coloring
• Red wine
• Dark berries
• Drugs Iron tablets Painkillers Antibiotics
• Iron tablets
• Painkillers
• Antibiotics
• Bleeding Bleeding in the esophagus like varicose veins Bleeding in the stomach due to ulcers
• Bleeding of the esophagus like varicose veins
• Gastric bleeding due to ulcers, among other things
• Food coloring
• Red wine
• Dark berries
• Iron tablets
• Painkillers
• Antibiotics
• Bleeding of the esophagus like varicose veins
• Gastric bleeding due to ulcers, among other things

Iron tablets have particularly many side effects in the gastrointestinal tract due to the difficult digestibility of iron.

For example, taking iron tablets often leads to diarrhoea or constipation as well as to abdominal pain. In addition, the iron tablets often cause the bowel movements to turn black. Since iron tablets usually have to be taken over a long period of time (three to six months), the symptoms can also last for a long time.

After stopping the iron tablets, the black bowel movement can continue for several weeks, after which the color of the stool should return to normal. Food coloring is a chemically produced substance that tends to be poorly digestible and can therefore color the bowel movements in a variety of colors. Especially dark colors such as black, purple, blue and green can darken the bowel movement and thus lead to black bowel movements.

In most cases, the bowel movement is black one or two days after the intake of the food coloring. The symptoms can last for a few days and should disappear completely after that. Red wine contains particularly many dark colorants that are not absorbed into the body during digestion.

Especially with regular consumption of red wine or large quantities of red wine, these colorants can accumulate and thus also discolor the bowel movements. Normally, bowel movements should not turn black from one or two glasses of red wine. If a larger amount of red wine is consumed and thus a corresponding amount of the dark coloring agent is added, the bowel movement may temporarily be dark to black in color.

After a few days, the color of the bowel movement should return to normal.

• Abdominal pain due to alcohol
• Flatulence after alcohol consumption

Bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract can present itself as red, dark or black deposits on the stool, up to a complete coloration. A distinction is made between fresh bleeding, which occurs in the last sections of the intestine, and light red blood deposits.

On the other hand, blood becomes dark, especially when it has already clotted. If the blood is digested by stomach acid, it can turn black. Therefore, a black stool and black deposits on the stool are suspicious of bleeding in the stomach or esophagus.

Painkillers, in particular the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, diclofenac and ASS (Aspirin®) have other effects in the body in addition to their analgesic function. They are antipyretic, slightly blood-thinning (especially Aspirin) but also inhibit the formation of protective gastric mucus. As a result, the acid can damage the stomach lining.

The combination of the damage to the stomach lining and the slight dilution of the blood occasionally leads to stomach ulcers and gastric bleeding.This can cause black stool. To prevent bleeding, the painkillers are combined with tablets that are easy on the stomach if they have to be taken over a longer period of time. These ensure a reduced acid production and thus provide a stomach protection.

More about this:

• Symptoms of a stomach ulcer

Antibiotics have a particular influence on the digestive tract. The active ingredients are specifically directed against bacteria. They do not only attack the pathogens against which they are taken.

Instead also the intestine bacteria, which play a load-carrying role in the digestion, are attacked by the antibiotics, whereby the composition of the so-called microbiome (entire quantity of bacteria in the digestive tract) changes. This intervention in the bacteria of the intestine can cause large changes in the bowel movement. Diarrhea or constipation often occurs.

Taking antibiotics is also often accompanied by abdominal pain, sometimes also nausea, vomiting and flatulence. Not infrequently, the color of the bowel movements also changes, often the bowel movement becomes yellowish or green, but the green color can also turn into a very dark shade up to black bowel movements. It is important to differentiate the cause of black stools between intestinal bleeding and the side effects of antibiotic therapy.

As a rule, the black coloration of the bowel movements disappears a few days after stopping antibiotic therapy. However, the antibiotic may also cause inflammation of the bowel, which also causes bleeding. In case of pain and suspicion of this, a medical examination should be performed.

Black bowel movements are not considered a side effect of the pill, so there should generally be no connection between the discoloration of the bowel movements and the medication. If bowel movements occur more frequently immediately after taking the pill, an intolerance to substances in the pill should be considered. Under certain circumstances this may mean that the pill is not able to exert its effect.

Even if diarrhoea follows immediately after taking the pill, it must be taken into account that the active substance cannot be completely absorbed into the body, so that there is no adequate contraceptive protection. Similar topics that might interest you:

• Side effects of the pill
• Why does the pill not work?

Black stools can basically be an indication of cancer and tumors (benign as well as malignant). Black bowel movements also occur in tumor diseases, mainly due to coagulated and digested blood.

The source of bleeding is usually the oesophagus or stomach. Therefore, black stool may also indicate esophageal or gastric cancer. In principle, the oesophagus and stomach should be examined for sources of bleeding when black stools occur. A biopsy (tissue sample) can also be taken to identify cancer cells.

• Intestinal polyp
• Colon Cancer