Green stools in an adult can be a serious cause for concern. The article discusses the reasons for its appearance not only in conscious representatives of society, but also in newborn babies.
Depending on the content of bile pigment in human feces, the color of the feces itself will change. This explains the fact that stools are completely colorless or almost black. In addition, their color depends on the food we eat. In a he althy person, green feces are most often due to the use of foods rich in green dye. And the more green paint they have, the more intense the color of the feces will be.
However, green stools in an adult can serve as a signal of various ailments of the stomach or intestines. Most often, this condition is due to a disease of the small intestine - dysbacteriosis caused by prolonged use of antibiotics. With such violations, due to the death of digestive microorganisms, fermentation and decay are intensified. In the process of the body's struggle with the disease that has arisen, a large number of dead leukocytes accumulate in the intestines. It is theygive the feces a green color, accompanied by an unpleasant, putrid odor.
The appearance of symptoms such as green stools in an adult is the result of not only dietary errors, but also some serious diseases. These include dysentery - an acute infectious disease, accompanied by pain in the intestines, general malaise, nausea and vomiting. The disease is treated strictly in a hospital, under the supervision of a doctor. And finally, bleeding in various parts of the intestine can cause such an unpleasant factor as green stools in an adult. In this case, the color change occurs due to the destruction of iron molecules in erythrocytes. At the same time, obvious signs of anemia appear: weakness, shortness of breath, rapid pulse.
So, green stool in an adult can mean the development of the following diseases or their complication:
- dysbacteriosis;
- bleeding in the stomach or intestines;
- diseases of the blood and liver;
- enteritis.
In any case, if the corresponding symptoms appear, you should visit a doctor.
Green stool in baby. Reasons
Very often, young mothers are frightened by the appearance of green bowel movements in their baby. There is nothing wrong with this. The color of the stool in newborns changes from black to green, after a while - from brown to yellow. This is due to the fact that the baby's intestines contain meconium, consisting of particles of amniotic fluid swallowed by the baby inmother's womb. Meconium is excreted from the child's body almost within a day. By the end of the first week of life, the green stool in the baby becomes brownish-green and becomes less viscous. After a couple of weeks, it should be tan in color and have a mushy texture.
In the case of full breastfeeding, the greenish tint of baby feces is the absolute norm. The color comes from bilirubin excreted in the stool. Fluctuations in the amount of hormones in the mother's milk can affect the consistency and color of the baby's feces. Although a newborn's stools are usually mustard yellow, don't worry about green stools unless your baby feels uncomfortable.