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What Causes Diarrhea And Dark Stool?
Posted on
Tue, 29 Mar 2016
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Tue, 29 Mar 2016
Answered on
Mon, 30 May 2016
Last reviewed on
Question : OK - I have been suffering from Diareah (sorry - I'm a bad speller) for about three weeks. Previously I had been spending a month in Florida with my daughter who was having a major biolar episode. I then returned home to my 84 and 86 year old parents. Then this started. It is very dark, watery, happens all of a sudden and is very acidic. Please advise. I have tried BRAT diet, pepper oil, nothing works.
Brief Answer:
hold off solid food, fluid/electrolyte replacement, probiotics, pepcid
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Diarrhea is most commonly due to infection though there are other possible causes.
Dark stool can sometimes indicate that there may be old blood in the stool or may also occur in persons using iron supplements.
Blood may be due to :(a)infection- very common cause- a stool sample to the lab would be able to determine if an infection is present,
(b) ulcers in the stomach or small intestines,
(c)diverticular disease- this refers to the presence of out pockets/out pouches in the colon, they are not cancerous and are common as persons age, can sometimes become inflamed and start to bleed,
(d) inflammatory bowel disease- specifically crohns or ulcerative colitis,
(e) benign (non cancer growths) in the colon,
(f)cancer of the colon.
If you are not able to go to the doctor at the moment though this may be best for assessment, you may want to try the following:
(a) probiotics- these help to restore the normal bacteria in the colon and may help.
Can be found on their own or in certain yogurts
(b)hold off any solid food till there is a 4 hour window with no symptoms. If you use solids before the intestines are ready, it would worsen the problem and delay healing.
When a 4 hour window passes then can try the BRAT diet again
Make sure to use enough fluids to help replace what you are losing - oral rehydration fluids or sports drinks would be best because would give back fluids and electrolytes
(c)try lomotil or pepto bismol to see if either would slow the diarrhea. Would be over the counter
(d) if there is any burning of the stomach/chest region, then pepcid may help with this
If there is no improvement then you may want to consider seeing your doctor for assessment which would include abdominal examination, stool sample and blood tests.
Imaging may also be suggested based on the findings
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
hold off solid food, fluid/electrolyte replacement, probiotics, pepcid
Detailed Answer:
HI, thanks for using healthcare magic
Diarrhea is most commonly due to infection though there are other possible causes.
Dark stool can sometimes indicate that there may be old blood in the stool or may also occur in persons using iron supplements.
Blood may be due to :(a)infection- very common cause- a stool sample to the lab would be able to determine if an infection is present,
(b) ulcers in the stomach or small intestines,
(c)diverticular disease- this refers to the presence of out pockets/out pouches in the colon, they are not cancerous and are common as persons age, can sometimes become inflamed and start to bleed,
(d) inflammatory bowel disease- specifically crohns or ulcerative colitis,
(e) benign (non cancer growths) in the colon,
(f)cancer of the colon.
If you are not able to go to the doctor at the moment though this may be best for assessment, you may want to try the following:
(a) probiotics- these help to restore the normal bacteria in the colon and may help.
Can be found on their own or in certain yogurts
(b)hold off any solid food till there is a 4 hour window with no symptoms. If you use solids before the intestines are ready, it would worsen the problem and delay healing.
When a 4 hour window passes then can try the BRAT diet again
Make sure to use enough fluids to help replace what you are losing - oral rehydration fluids or sports drinks would be best because would give back fluids and electrolytes
(c)try lomotil or pepto bismol to see if either would slow the diarrhea. Would be over the counter
(d) if there is any burning of the stomach/chest region, then pepcid may help with this
If there is no improvement then you may want to consider seeing your doctor for assessment which would include abdominal examination, stool sample and blood tests.
Imaging may also be suggested based on the findings
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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