Stool discoloration does not occur for no reason. This is often an alarming signal that usually occurs with serious liver damage. The reasons may be more harmless, however, be that as it may, this phenomenon cannot be ignored.
Now it’s worthwhile to tell you why feces are discolored, what diseases this may indicate and how treatment is carried out.
Hepatitis
This disease is the most common cause of light stool in an adult. The shade and consistency of the stool varies significantly. The disease itself differs in the degree of impact on the human body. There are such types of infection:
- Hepatitis A. Intestinal infection, the source of infection is water. The incubation period does not exceed 1 month.
- Hepatitis B. It is transmitted through saliva and blood. The incubation period can last several months.
- Hepatitis C. It has a similar effect on the body as the previous type of disease, but it is easier to tolerate.
- Hepatitis Delta. Infection with them occurs against the background of infection with a disease of the previous type.
- Hepatitis E. It is diagnosed in those countries where the quality of sewage treatment is very low.
In any case, the virus negatively affects the body and attacks the liver. And the main symptoms are discoloration of feces and a change in the shade of urine (it darkens).
Additional diagnostics
Not only is feces discolored during hepatitis. The structure of the masses also changes, they become shapeless, acquire a specific pungent odor and oily structure.
To get a general picture of the disease, it is necessary to evaluate other biological fluids, as well as conduct laboratory tests. Be sure to analyze the blood for the presence of bilirubin, and urine for the detection of liver enzymes.
The main task is to determine the causative agent of the disease. Hepatitis can be viral, autoimmune, drug, alcohol, tuberculosis, echinococcal, opisthorchiasis, cryptogenic, secondary. With the course, it is chronic and acute. And according to clinical signs - icteric and anicteric. There is also a subclinical form.
In general, a disease develops that is indicated by stool discoloration due to liver damage by infection or hepatotoxic factor. In rare cases, the cause of the disease becomes an autoimmune pathology, manifested by the body's production of antibodies to its own tissues.
Hepatitis treatment
If this ailment became the cause of darkening of urine and discoloration of feces, then the patient will have complex therapy. Conduct treatment in a hospital. Compliance with such requirements is mandatory:
- Compliance with diet No. 5A and half bed.
- Refuse alcohol and hepatotoxic drugs.
- The use of drugs indicated for infusion detoxification therapy.
- Reception of hepatoprotective medicines. These are silymarin, essential phospholipids and spotted milk thistle extract.
- Performing daily high enemas.
- The implementation of metabolic correction, the use of vitamin complexes, manganese, calcium and potassium.
Good results can also be achieved with oxygen barotherapy and oxygen treatment. With timely diagnosis, the prognosis is favorable. Acute toxic and alcoholic hepatitis fatally ends in only 3-10% of cases. If in time to begin treatment, then it will be possible to restore health. And all unpleasant symptoms (discoloration of feces - including) will go away.
Jaundice
Talking about hepatitis, it is necessary to raise attention to this ailment, also called Gospel disease. with what jaundice does feces become completely discolored? With parenchymal, as a rule, since with it, bilirubin is not secreted into bile, but accumulates in the blood.
Failures in the functioning of the pancreas and liver create favorable conditions for increasing the concentration of toxic and dangerous components in the body. Penetrating into the feces, they provoke their changes.
With cholestasis, jaundice is accompanied not only by discoloration of feces, but also by the appearance of skin itching, as well as darkening of urine. Chills, hepatic colic, discomfort in the pancreas, xanthomas (these are deposits of cholesterol under the skin), ascites, spider veins, etc. are possible.
It should be noted that no test is able to differentiate any variant of jaundice, however, conducting liver tests helps to find out the localization. Be sure to conduct tests for total, conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin, AST, ALT, study urobilinogen, as well as urine and feces.
Cholecystitis
Another common cause of light feces in an adult. Cholecystitis is an inflammation of the gallbladder. Bile acids, like bilirubin, which gives stool color, break down proteins. If they enter the intestines in insufficient quantities, then the masses are not stained.
With cholecystitis in the stool, nitrogenous foods and fat are found in large quantities. Because of this, discoloration of feces occurs in adults. The masses become very light, sometimes whitish.
In addition to this symptom, there is also paroxysmal pain on the right side of the abdomen, which radiates to the clavicle, scapula and shoulder. Vegetative-vascular disorders may occur - insomnia, sweating, weakness, neurosis-like conditions. Often a person is tormented by vomiting with an admixture of bile, nausea, fever, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth.
As part of the diagnosis, an ultrasound scan of the gallbladder, duodenal fractional sounding, cholecystocholangiography and, of course, a blood test are mandatory. The treatment is complex, the patient is prescribed a diet, taking specific medications and physiotherapy.
Cholelithiasis
It often leads to the notorious cholecystitis. And it can also be accompanied by the appearance of discolored feces. In the coprogram undigested fat is detected - it is he who gives the feces a characteristic light yellow hue. The lighter the color, the worse. Since this means that the bile does not enter the intestines in sufficient quantities due to a blocked duct.
A typical symptom is colic. In the evening, the patient's temperature rises, diarrhea and vomiting begin, mucous membranes and skin may turn yellow.
Diagnosis is by physical examination, blood tests, cholecystography, CT, MRI, and abdominal ultrasound. Therapy involves dieting, in severe cases, gallbladder removal may be indicated. Rarely resort to the method of dissolving stones with chenodeoxycholic or ursodeoxycholic acids or their destruction by shock wave lithotripsy.
Pancreatitis
With inflammation of the pancreas, white feces and dark urine are very rare. More often the chair becomes gray, even greenish. However, its clarification is possible.
This ailment arises due to hypertriglycerinemia, an increased amount of calcium ions in the blood, cholelithiasis, alcoholism, stasis of pancreatic secretion, poisoning, trauma, viruses, sphincter dysfunction, etc.
At first, pancreatitis does not make itself felt, but then pain appears in the upper abdomen, in the left hypochondrium. It often radiates to the heart, sometimes acquires a girdling character. Dyspeptic manifestations can also be observed - vomiting, nausea, bloating, flatulence, heartburn.
Diagnostics involves laboratory studies of biological fluids, ultrasound, MRI, CT, endoscopic ultrasonography and retrograde pancreatocholangiography.
Treatment includes a diet, refusal of alcohol and harmful medications, and taking medications indicated by your doctor. Surgical intervention may be indicated, but only in the presence of purulent complications, cysts, stenosis of the sphincter of Oddi, severe changes and obstruction of the ducts.
Dysbacteriosis
Above, we talked about how the color and structure of feces change with hepatitis and other diseases. It should be noted that with dysbiosis, stool discoloration also occurs. This is the expected consequence of a violation of the intestinal microflora.
With dysbiosis, the concentration of beneficial microorganisms, as well as the process of producing stercobilin (a staining enzyme) is disturbed. Because of this, not only the color of feces changes, but also the functioning of the intestine is disrupted.
The cause of dysbiosis can be the use of drugs that suppress the vital activity of microorganisms, malnutrition, psychoemotional disorders, infectious diseases, immune disorders, disturbed biorhythms, intestinal motility and metabolism, acclimatization, etc.
The problem is determined by bacteriological culture. Treatment is usually referred to primary pathology. The goal is to restore intestinal motor function, eliminate inflammation and conduct enzyme replacement therapy.
Oncology
Very often, the development of malignant tumors proceeds without any symptoms. But often they are indicated by congestion in organs, due to which feces become light, or even colorless. However, many people often ignore this symptom.
Drug abuse
Often there is discoloration of feces when taking "Calcium D3 Nycomed" and many other drugs. These include:
- Preparations for gout (“Allopurinol” in particular).
- Anti-epilepsy drugs, which include valproic acid.
- Medicines for tuberculosis.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. They cause discoloration of feces due to exceeding the allowable dosage. The result in the form of discolored feces occurs when taking "Ibuprofen" and "Paracetamol."
- Tetracycline antibiotics.
- Steroid medicines.
- Remedies for fungus (especially Augmentin).
In such cases, you need to refuse to take a drug that causes discoloration of feces. The doctor will help you choose a medication that has a similar effect.
Diarrhea
With diarrhea, the amount of feces and the number of bowel movements increases significantly. Because of this, dehydration occurs. White diarrhea is a very rare occurrence, and therefore, when it occurs, it is urgent to seek medical help.
The cause of such diarrhea may be the parasites present in the body, the use of certain medications, as well as the exacerbation of a disease (oncology is also possible). In most cases, white diarrhea indicates a malfunction of the pancreas, the presence of fistulas, or inflammation of the mucosa.
Feces can also become white due to the presence of purulent impurities in them.
Decolorization of feces in children
Changes in stool in infants depend on what kind of milk they get from the mother's body. Accordingly, what matters and how a woman eats. If she consumes fermented milk products in large quantities, then the child will have light, or even white, defecation.
If the baby is fed with mixtures, then the shade of feces can change due to the recent transition to a product manufactured by another manufacturer.
In children who eat in accordance with the diet of the general table, colorless feces are due to the abuse of carbohydrate or calcified foods. A thick, viscous chair of white color may well be the consequence of a huge eaten portion of cottage cheese and sour cream.
Another cause is often teething. So far, the relationship between these events has not been fully studied, but most young parents often note a combination of these phenomena.
Whipple's disease
Finally, it is worth talking about this rare pathology that occurs in some children. One of its symptoms is precisely colorless feces. With this disease, the stool becomes more frequent up to 10 times a day, iron deficiency anemia occurs, the temperature rises, the lymph nodes become inflamed.
Whipple's disease is an extremely rare multisystem pathology with an infectious genesis. It affects the lymphatic system, synovial membranes of the joints and small intestine.
The disease is specific, therapy lasts about 1-2 years. During this time, the patient should take the antibiotics indicated to him. After recovery, every 3 months you need to be examined by a gastroenterologist, and visit the infectious disease specialist every six months.