We are all used to the fact that yellow feces are a natural occurrence in infants who are fed milk porridges and breast milk. Can the appearance of such feces in adults be considered normal? Or is it due to any pathological changes in the body?
It is believed that the normal color of feces in an adult is various shades of brown. But this does not mean that yellow feces necessarily indicate abnormalities in the body. Color depends on food, medication, quality of the digestive process. Thus, if dairy products prevail in the adult's diet, feces are usually yellow, but this cannot be considered a deviation.
Changing the color of bowel movements may be due to various unhealthy processes that require a visit to a doctor and subsequent treatment. Before prescribing treatment, doctors will find out the reasons why yellow feces appeared.
Most often, the cause of such feces is various malfunctions of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract. Typically, yellow feces indicates impaired intestinal motility, disruptions in the digestive processes taking place in the small intestine, pancreatic pathologies, and poor outflow of bile. In this case, it is necessary to undergo an examination, find out the diagnosis of the disease, which led to a discoloration of the feces and get medical help in order to normalize the digestion process and restore the color of feces.
The most common reason that yellow feces occur in an adult is a malfunction of the pancreas, which is responsible for the production of enzymes that break down fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. The lack of enzymes leads to the fact that the substances in the food do not have time to digest. Thus, undigested fats enter the feces, which give it a light yellow color. With pancreatic disorders, feces are plentiful, with a greasy sheen, gruel-like in consistency, contain fragments of undigested food. To enhance the production of enzymes, doctors prescribe a special diet, drugs containing enzymes, antispasmodics.
Often yellow feces is a consequence of the malfunction of the gallbladder and liver. If the outflow of bile is disturbed, then bilirubin remains unchanged and its presence gives the feces a yellowish color. In this case, urine, on the contrary, acquires a darker, more saturated shade and becomes concentrated. Such changes in the work of the gallbladder and liver are a serious reason for going to the doctor. Improper bile secretion requires mandatory treatment, otherwise the consequences can be sad. If the process of separating bile is disturbed, a surgical operation is performed.
Another reason that yellow feces appear in an adult is fermentative dyspepsia or increased fermentation in the intestine, which occurs when malnutrition occurs. With this phenomenon, the digestive system cannot digest all food completely. Along with symptoms such as bloating, rumbling, paroxysmal pain, feeling of heaviness, headache, nausea, sour belching, with fermentative dyspepsia there is a foamy, light yellow feces with an acidic smell, in which pieces of undigested vegetables and fruits may be present. To eliminate increased fermentation, doctors recommend holding fasting days at the beginning of treatment, and then transferred to diet food. From medicines prescribe astringents and carminative drugs, antiseptics, antibiotics, vitamins. The disease is difficult to treat, so you should consult a doctor if the very first signs appear.