Everyone knows what color feces should be if the body is in a healthy state. If there is an acholic stool, this is a reason to worry, because it can indicate problems in the body. If discolored bowel movements disappear after a few days, then in most cases they are the result of certain foods. And there is no cause for concern here. If the acholic stool has been holding for many days and is accompanied by painful and unpleasant symptoms, then this may be the result of some kind of disease. This article will describe why feces can change color.
Cause of the problem
The color of feces depends on various factors, including:
- functioning of the digestive tract (gastrointestinal tract);
- the use of drugs;
- daily food.
In a person with a healthy body, feces can be any shade of brown: from light to dark. It is this color that characterizes the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
Physiological reasons
Feces become brown due to bilirubin, a special bile pigment that is produced in the liver. Therefore, an increase in direct bilirubin and acholic stool are interrelated things. A gall bladder and pancreas play a role in staining stool. If all these organs work normally, then the feces have a brown color. If the usual brown tint changes to light, white, beige or greenish, then you should consult a doctor to determine the cause of this violation, which may be serious diseases of the internal organs.
If we talk about a temporary change in the color of feces, then in the main number of cases, the reason is two factors:
- Eating too fatty foods (butter, animal fats, homemade sour cream). Due to the high fat content, such foods are poorly digested, so that they enter the colon, in fact, in the state in which they were originally. This is how the feces become discolored.
- Also, stool may become light due to excessive consumption of rice or potatoes that are not “diluted” with other foods.
In this case, there is nothing dangerous and serious, after a couple of days, the usual brown color will return.
The reason is medicines
The cause of acholic stool may be the reception of funds such as:
- antipyretic drugs such as Aspirin, Paracetamol and Ibuprofen;
- antibiotics
- oral contraceptives;
- medicines against gout;
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
- medicines for diarrhea;
- antifungal medications;
- drugs for the treatment of tuberculosis;
- medicines for epilepsy.
People who underwent special diagnostic procedures, in particular, contrast fluoroscopy of the stomach, in the next few days can observe a light colored stool. This is due to the necessary use of barium sulfate for such procedures. As soon as the radiopaque substance leaves the body, the usual brown color will return.
Key factors
So, the following factors can be considered the main causes of acholic stool:
- eating certain foods, in particular high fat content;
- taking various medications and drugs for the treatment of various diseases that also affect the color of bowel movements;
- ingestion of barium sulfate in the body during various diagnostic measures.
All of the above causes of acholic stool usually do not cause discomfort and additional symptoms in humans. In most cases, the usual brown color can be returned after a maximum of a week, if you follow a special diet and exclude the factors that provoked this phenomenon.
Causes of the violation in children
As a rule, in most cases, a child’s acholic stool is observed due to the fact that his digestive system has not yet fully formed. In this case, non-standard feces are not a sign of something serious, but are quite common. For the same reason, acholic stool in a newborn very often appears.
Reasons why baby feces can acquire a light color:
- the child’s diet is too full of fatty dairy and sour-milk products;
- in some cases, the diet of a nursing mother can also affect the color of the feces of the infant. In such a situation, the mother needs to review her nutrition;
- the child’s addiction to various sweets and confectionery;
- long-term treatment with antibiotics, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drugs;
- teething.
As soon as the effect of the above factors passes, as a rule, the stool of the child is normalized. However, in the case of certain violations in the work of the child’s body, it is recommended to seek the help of a doctor in order to reduce the risk of serious diseases.
Diseases as a cause of the disorder
Light feces can be a serious reason to be examined, because often acholic stool is one of the symptoms of a disease of internal organs. So, non-standard color of feces can be a consequence of:
- Biliary dyskinesia is a disease that involves difficulty removing bile from the gallbladder with impaired contractility. Due to the insufficient amount of bile that enters the duodenum, feces acquire a lighter shade.
- The presence of calculi in the gallbladder, which interfere with the synthesis and excretion of bile. Again, a small amount of bile leads to discoloration of feces.
- Cholecystitis is an inflammatory process in the gallbladder, as a result of which less bile is synthesized.
- An excess of the gallbladder is a pathology that leads to disruption of the functioning of this organ and bile ducts.
- Crohn's disease - a disease that is characterized by an inflammatory process in a particular section of the gastrointestinal tract, which disrupts the digestive process itself.
- Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that provokes regular digestive disorders, because this pathology drastically reduces the amount of enzymes produced.
- Blockages of the bile duct, which almost completely blocks the withdrawal of bile into the duodenum.
- Hepatitis - inflammation of the liver, which becomes the cause of general dysfunction of the body and lightening feces including.
- Helminthiasis - at a serious stage, feces are clarified due to the large number of larvae contained in them.
- Oncological diseases of the digestive system, which very often do not have a pronounced clinical picture. So clarification of feces is almost the only symptom that gives rise to undergo a full examination. Due to such diseases, an increase in direct bilirubin and acholic stool can be observed.
Additional symptoms
If, in addition to a sharp change in the color of the stool, you feel general malaise and deterioration of well-being, which lasts more than a day, you must consult a doctor for help.
If a person observes acholic stool and the symptoms listed below, it is worth worrying and immediately seek medical help:
- vomiting and nausea;
- sour taste in the mouth;
- fever and chills;
- low appetite or its complete absence;
- pain in the abdomen and left hypochondrium;
- sudden weight loss;
- eating disorder;
- constipation is followed by diarrhea;
- skin and sclera of the eye become yellowish;
- dark urine;
- bloating;
- the presence in the feces of mucus;
- severe flatulence;
- lack of fluid, dehydration.
If at least a few of the above symptoms are present with you, then you should undergo a full medical examination to identify the disease in time.
Foods Affecting Fecal Color
To identify the reason that causes lightening of feces, you need to monitor how often this happens to you. If this phenomenon occurs only occasionally, then most likely it is due to the large amount of fatty foods in your diet.
Gray, beige, sand, light green and white shades of feces are obtained due to the insufficient amount of bile produced. This is due to the use of excessively fatty foods, which are poorly digested and digested.
Food that brightens the stool
The appearance of a light color of feces lead to:
- dairy and dairy products, for example: yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese, fermented baked milk, cream, sour cream, etc .;
- vegetable oils;
- mayonnaise;
- fat;
- butter;
- rice and oatmeal porridge;
- melon;
- fruit and vegetable puree;
- confectionery and various sweets, which incorporate a high content of starch;
- bananas
- low quality alcoholic drinks.
To return the usual color of the chair, you must exclude these products from your menu, or at least consume them in smaller quantities.
Solution
If a person has committed such a violation as acholic stool, what to do in this case? To chair returned to normal and acquired the usual color, it is necessary:
- delete from the daily menu those foods that change the color of feces;
- refuse medicines or replace those that affect the color of feces;
- drink a large amount of still water, about 2 liters per day;
- follow a special diet that excludes foods that activate the process of fermentation in the intestines.
If the above recommendations helped to cope with the problem, then you should take care of the correctness and quality of your nutrition so that the pancreas and liver can function normally.
What to do in difficult cases?
If, in addition to light feces, you begin to worry about pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite, sudden weight loss, fever, then you should immediately contact a medical institution for help.
If acholic stool lasts more than a week, you should visit such doctors as:
- gastroenterologist;
- therapist;
- endocrinologist (before visiting, you must undergo a diagnosis by a gastroenterologist).
It is very important to quickly detect the problem that led to the acholic stool - a disease, medication or product. The faster this is done, the more effective and shorter the course of treatment will be. Do not self-medicate, it is better to contact a qualified specialist at the first unpleasant symptoms. A competent and accurate diagnosis is the key to successful treatment. Only after a full examination and diagnosis can you identify a disease that caused stool discoloration. Then the doctor will prescribe the course of treatment that will be effective and effective in your case.