Suggest Treatment For Intermittent Flatulence, Bloating And Dull Rectal Pain

Posted on Sun, 19 Jul 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 19 Jul 2015 Answered on

Mon, 17 Aug 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : H,i thanks for reviewing my question. I'm a 64 year old male in very good health but do take Lisinopril 10mg for hypertension. I have for several weeks been experiencing on and off gas and some bloating (periodically take gas x or Pepto Bismol) and have had a dull rectal pain (have had no blood and no hemorrhoids-periodically take Preparation H). I have had loose stools the past couple of days - yesterday was better. Anyway, this morning my stools very runny and dark (first time I noticed them that dark but didn't observe any noticeable blood). Could they be dark due to taking Pepto Bismol for a couple of days. Is there any reason for concern from this mornings dark, runny stool. I did visit my primary care doctor three days ago and he did a rectal exam and could find no observed problems. Would it be a good idea to contact my gastroenterologist for a colonoscopy(I had one two years ago and everything appeared normal)? Could this be caused by an anal fissure? Any ideas or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to read and respond to my question>

Answered by Dr. Sandip Kabra (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
pepto bismol is likely the cause of your dark runny stool.

Detailed Answer:
Hi,
Welcome to health care magic,

I have read your whole query and understand the concern.

Black or dark stools could be a worrisome symptom because it may be due to bleeding into the gastrointestinal tract, most often the esophagus, stomach or duodenum. Red blood cells from the blood are broken down by digestive enzymes and turn the stool black.

These stools tend to be tarry and foul smelling. This can be a medical emergency,black tarry stools should not be ignored.

In your case,pepto bismol is likely the cause of your dark runny stool here and as you said you have also consulted your family doctor who did the rectal examination with no abnormal findings.

Certain foods and some other medications can also turn stool black, including iron, bismuth (Pepto Bismol, loperamide), beets, and licorice.

So,there is no need to worry at present.

In case,your dark stool remains persistent (for more than week or if you develop clinical symptoms) then you can see gastroenterologist who will take complete medical history with thoroughly clinical examination and advice you to undergo upper GI endoscopy (here no role of colonoscopy as you had a dark stool and not fresh,bright blood).

Hope this will help you.

Regards,

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Vinay Bhardwaj