What Causes Black Stool?

Posted on Fri, 17 Jul 2015

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

Fri, 17 Jul 2015 Answered on

Thu, 13 Aug 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : my call is for my stools are black and don't have any paine or other problems,,have been eating good and a lot of different foods, same prescription for years. age is 80 and in good health , XXXXXXX

Answered by Dr. Shafi Ullah Khan (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Needs evaluation for Upper GI bleed

Detailed Answer:
Thank you for asking

I read your question and i understand your concern. Black color of stools with normal bowel habits should first be correlated with any intake that might change the color of the stool to black tarry color like Iron supplements, bismuth subsalicylate (Kaopectate, Pepto-Bismol), black licorice.

If ruled out for these next step is always worth evaluation to sort out any worrisome cause underneath like upper GI bleed .

I personally always recommend to consult the doctor if the stool color stays black or red for longer than 24 hours. Because it is always necessary to rule out any bleed from upper GI portion. Pain is not necessary. I have seen thousands of bleeds with out pain. Not necessarily you might have one. But old age with chronic prescription of blood pressure and likely aspirin as well makes the odds more likely.

Get evaluated and let them sort it out for you.

I hope it helps. take good care of yourself and dont forget to close the discussion please.

Regards
Khan

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar