Discoloration of feces does not happen without a reason. Often this is an alarming signal that usually appears with serious liver damage. The reasons may be more harmless, however, be that as it may, this phenomenon cannot be ignored.
Now it’s worth telling what causes feces to become discolored, what diseases this may indicate and how treatment is carried out.
Hepatitis
This disease is the most common cause of light stools in adults. The shade and consistency of the stool change significantly. The disease itself differs in the degree of impact on the human body. There are these types of infection:
- Hepatitis A. An 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, howevereasier to carry.
- Hepatitis Delta. Infection occurs against the background of infection with a disease of the previous type.
- Hepatitis E. It is diagnosed in 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 the stool and a change in the color of the urine (it darkens).
Additional diagnostics
There is not only discoloration of feces with hepatitis. The structure of the masses also changes, they become shapeless, acquire a specific pungent odor and a greasy texture.
To get a general picture of the disease, it is necessary to evaluate other body 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 identify the causative agent of the disease. Hepatitis can be viral, autoimmune, medicinal, alcoholic, tuberculosis, echinococcal, opisthorchiasis, cryptogenic, secondary. Along 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, indicated by discoloration of the feces, due to damage to the liver by an infection or a hepatotoxic factor. In rare cases, the cause of the disease becomes an autoimmune pathology, manifested by the body's production of antibodies to its ownfabrics.
Hepatitis treatment
If this disease became the cause of darkening of urine and discoloration of feces, then the patient will have difficult therapy. They are being treated in a hospital. Be sure to follow these instructions:
- Following the 5A diet and semi-bed rest.
- Avoid alcohol and hepatotoxic drugs.
- Use of drugs indicated for infusion detoxification therapy.
- Taking hepatoprotective medications. These are silymarin, essential phospholipids and spotted milk thistle extract.
- Performing daily high enemas.
- Implementation of metabolic correction, the use of vitamin complexes, manganese, calcium and potassium.
Also, good results can be achieved with oxygen barotherapy and oxygen treatment. With timely diagnosis, the prognosis is favorable. Acute toxic and alcoholic hepatitis is fatal only in 3-10% of cases. If you start treatment on time, you will be able to restore he alth. And all unpleasant symptoms (discoloration of feces - including) will go away.
Jaundice
Having talked about hepatitis, it is necessary to pay attention to this ailment, also called Gospel's disease. what kind of jaundice causes complete discoloration of feces? 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 increasingconcentrations of toxic and dangerous components in the body. Penetrating into the feces, they provoke changes in them.
With cholestasis, jaundice is accompanied not only by discoloration of the feces, but also by the appearance of skin itching, as well as darkening of the urine. Possible chills, hepatic colic, discomfort in the pancreas, xanthomas (these are deposits of cholesterol under the skin), ascites, spider veins, etc.
It should be noted that no test can differentiate any variant of jaundice, but liver tests help 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 stool 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 do not stain.
With cholecystitis, nitrogenous foods and fat are found in large quantities in the stool. 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 collarbone, shoulder blade and shoulder. There may be vegetative-vascular disorders - insomnia, sweating, weakness, neurosis-like conditions. Often a person is tormented by vomiting mixed with bile, nausea, fever, a feeling of bitterness in the mouth.
As part of the diagnosisbe sure to conduct an ultrasound of the gallbladder, duodenal fractional sounding, cholecystocholangiography and, of course, a blood test. 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 tint. The lighter the color, the worse. Because this means that bile does not enter the intestine 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 diet, in severe cases, removal of the gallbladder may be indicated. Rarely resort to the method of dissolving stones with chenodeoxycholic or ursodeoxycholic acids or their destruction by shock wave lithotripsy.
Pancreatitis
White stools and dark urine are very rare in inflammation of the pancreas. More often the chair becomes gray, even greenish. However, its lightening is possible.
This disease occurs due to hypertriglycerinemia, an increased amount of calcium ions in the blood, cholelithiasis, alcoholism, secretion stasispancreas, 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 shingles character. Dyspeptic manifestations can also be observed - vomiting, nausea, bloating, flatulence, heartburn.
Diagnosis includes laboratory testing of biological fluids, ultrasound, MRI, CT, endoscopic ultrasonography and retrograde cholangiopancreatography.
Treatment includes diet, avoidance of alcohol and harmful medications, and medication prescribed by the doctor. Surgery 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 it was told about how the color and structure of feces changes with hepatitis and other diseases. It should be noted that with dysbacteriosis, discoloration of the stool also occurs. This is an expected consequence of disruption of the intestinal microflora.
During dysbacteriosis, the concentration of beneficial microorganisms, as well as the process of producing stercobilin (coloring enzyme) is disturbed. Because of this, not only does the color of the feces change, but also the functioning of the intestines is disrupted.
The cause of dysbacteriosis can be the use of drugs that suppress the vital activity of microorganisms, malnutrition, psycho-emotional disorders, infectious diseases,immune disorders, disrupted biorhythms, intestinal motility and metabolism, acclimatization, etc.
The problem is determined by bacteriological culture. Treatment is usually directed at the primary pathology. The goal is to restore intestinal motility, eliminate inflammation and perform enzyme replacement therapy.
Oncology
Very often, the development of malignant tumors proceeds without any symptoms. But often they are indicated by congestion in the organs, due to which the feces become light, or even colorless. However, this symptom is often ignored by many people.
Medication abuse
Discoloration of feces is common when taking "Calcium D3 Nycomed" and many other drugs. These tools include:
- Gout medications ("Allopurinol" in particular).
- Epilepsy medicines containing valproic acid.
- Tuberculosis drugs.
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They cause discoloration of the feces due to the excess of the allowable dosage. A consequence in the form of discolored feces occurs when taking Ibuprofen and Paracetamol.
- Tetracycline antibiotics.
- Steroid medicines.
- Fungus remedies (especially Augmentin).
In such cases, you should stop taking the drug that causes discoloration of feces. The doctor will help you choose a medication that has a similar effect.
Diarrhea
With diarrhea, the volume of feces and the number of bowel movements increases significantly. This results in dehydration of the body. White diarrhea is a very rare occurrence, and therefore, if it occurs, urgent medical attention should be sought.
The cause of such diarrhea can be parasites present in the body, taking certain medications, as well as an exacerbation of any disease (oncology is not excluded). In most cases, white diarrhea indicates a violation of the functioning of the pancreas, the presence of fistulas or inflammation of the mucosa.
Also, feces may turn white due to the presence of purulent impurities in them.
Fecal discoloration in children
Changes in stool in babies depends on what kind of milk they receive from the mother's body. Accordingly, what matters is what and how a woman eats. If she consumes a lot of fermented milk products, then the child will have light, or even white bowel movements.
If the baby is formula-fed, the shade of feces can change due to a recent switch to a product manufactured by another manufacturer.
Children who eat according to the diet of the general table, colorless feces is due to the abuse of carbohydrate or calcified foods. A thick, viscous white stool may well be the result of a huge portion of curd and sour cream eaten.
Another cause is often teething. So far, the relationship between these eventsnot fully understood, but most new parents often report 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 colorless feces. With this disease, the stool becomes more frequent up to 10 times a day, iron deficiency anemia occurs, the temperature rises, and the lymph nodes become inflamed.
Whipple's disease is an extremely rare multisystem pathology of infectious origin. It affects the lymphatic system, the synovial membranes of the joints and the small intestine.
The disease is specific, therapy lasts about 1-2 years. During this time, the patient must take the antibiotics indicated to him. After recovery, every 3 months you need to be examined by a gastroenterologist, and visit an infectious disease specialist once every six months.
