Contents:
- Medical Video: Green Poop Medical Course
- The cause of stool is green
- 1. The rest of the food eaten
- 2. Bile pigments
- 3. Antibiotics and other drugs
- 4. Medical procedures
- 5. Parasites, viruses, and bacteria
- 6. Gastrointestinal disorders
- 7. Anal fissures
Medical Video: Green Poop Medical Course
Have you ever seen the color of your own stool? Apparently, it's a good idea to know the color of your own stool because it can be a sign of a certain health condition. So, what if the stool is green? What does it mean?
The cause of stool is green
Stool is usually brown because there is a mixture of dead blood cells and waste from bacteria in your intestine. Although there is bile which is usually yellowish green, bacteria make stool brown. In addition to making brown stool, bacteria perform a very important function, such as helping to absorb nutrients from your food.
Stool color can be different from usual because your digestive system does not have enough time to process the food that enters. This can happen if you experience diarrhea. In this case, the intestine pushes food too fast, passing through the digestive tract. So fast, bacteria also do not have time to add color that is typical of feces.
Well, here are some possible causes of green stool.
1. The rest of the food eaten
The most common reason for stool color changes to green is habits or changes in diet. Foods that can cause green feces include cabbage, spinach and broccoli.
Dark green vegetables contain lots of chlorophyll, plant dyes that allow plants to make energy from the sun. Some foods contain food coloring that is not processed properly. It can also leave colorful residue in your stool.
2. Bile pigments
Bile is a fluid made in the liver and stored in the gallbladder. This liquid naturally has a yellowish green color. This liquid will mix with food in the stomach, to facilitate the body to digest fat in the food.
Well, when mixed with food, bile may not dissolve in food, so the color is still quite thick and causes green stool.
3. Antibiotics and other drugs
Antibiotics are useful to stop the development of bacteria, which means it will also kill good bacteria in the intestine. This will reduce the bacterial population which functions to give the brown color in your intestine.
Some other drugs and supplements can also cause damage to pigments that change the color of your stool to green, including:
- indomethacin (Tivorbex), which is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to reduce pain
- iron supplement
- medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera), a drug used for contraception
4. Medical procedures
Stool discoloration can also occur after a medical procedure, such as a bone marrow transplant. If your body refuses to transplant, it can cause serious gastrointestinal disorders, causing diarrhea and feces to be green.
5. Parasites, viruses, and bacteria
Certain pathogenic microbes can cause the color of faeces to turn green, including bacteria Salmonella, parasiteGiardia lamblia, and norovirus. These unwanted microbes can cause the intestines to work faster than normal, which affects the color of the stool.
6. Gastrointestinal disorders
If you have Crohn's disease or other gastrointestinal conditions, bile can move through your intestine too quickly, causing green stool. Crohn's disease is an intestinal disease that causes inflammation in the digestive tract.
Celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten, also causes various gastrointestinal disorders, such as stomach upset, flatulence, diarrhea, and stomach ache. If you experience diarrhea with celiac disease, you may also have green stools.
Other possible causes of green stool include irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis, and excessive use of laxatives.
7. Anal fissures
Anal fissure is a small tear in the tissue that lines your anus, often the result of a bowel movement. But this tear can also develop if you experience chronic diarrhea or inflammatory bowel disease. So if you have an anal fissure associated with diarrhea, you might see green stool.
