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What Causes Green Colored Bowel Movement?

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Posted on Fri, 18 Aug 2017
Question: I have had an unusual colored bowel movement. It was quite dark and had a greenish tinge.
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Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
Change in color for one time has no significance as such.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for choosing HealthcareMagic for your query.

I've gone through your details and I appreciate your concerns,

Stool comes in a range of colors. All shades of brown and even green are considered normal. Only rarely does stool color indicate a potentially serious intestinal condition. Stool color is generally influenced by what we eat as well as by the amount of bile ( a yellow-green fluid that digests fats) in your stool.

Mild change may be because you ate something very dark-colored or took a medicine or supplement that causes black poop. However if recurrent this color change can be a sign of a more serious problem i.e bleeding in the upper part of your digestive tract. When blood passes through the intestine it is acted upon by digestive juices giving black color to stools. However, certain foods, medicines, and supplements that turn poop black include Iron supplements.

Green stool or poop is a common stool color change. It may be due to bile pigment in the stool because sometimes food moves too quickly thorough the intestine so that bile can't break down properly imparting green color to stools or the green color may be due to certain foods like green, leafy vegetables or green food coloring.

Take home message-
Change in color or consistency is significant if either patient is symptomatic or change is present from a long time.

So my advice is to stay calm and keep a watch over the color of stools for next 72 hours.
Food once taken may take about 72 hours to for complete digestion and excretion.


Please also attach a picture of the poop with follow up.

Thanks.
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
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Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Ramesh Kumar

Gastroenterologist

Practicing since :1986

Answered : 2906 Questions

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What Causes Green Colored Bowel Movement?

Brief Answer: Change in color for one time has no significance as such. Detailed Answer: Hello, Thanks for choosing HealthcareMagic for your query. I've gone through your details and I appreciate your concerns, Stool comes in a range of colors. All shades of brown and even green are considered normal. Only rarely does stool color indicate a potentially serious intestinal condition. Stool color is generally influenced by what we eat as well as by the amount of bile ( a yellow-green fluid that digests fats) in your stool. Mild change may be because you ate something very dark-colored or took a medicine or supplement that causes black poop. However if recurrent this color change can be a sign of a more serious problem i.e bleeding in the upper part of your digestive tract. When blood passes through the intestine it is acted upon by digestive juices giving black color to stools. However, certain foods, medicines, and supplements that turn poop black include Iron supplements. Green stool or poop is a common stool color change. It may be due to bile pigment in the stool because sometimes food moves too quickly thorough the intestine so that bile can't break down properly imparting green color to stools or the green color may be due to certain foods like green, leafy vegetables or green food coloring. Take home message- Change in color or consistency is significant if either patient is symptomatic or change is present from a long time. So my advice is to stay calm and keep a watch over the color of stools for next 72 hours. Food once taken may take about 72 hours to for complete digestion and excretion. Please also attach a picture of the poop with follow up. Thanks.