Causes of Light Brown or Tan Stools, from Serious to Benign
If one day you notice that the pile of stools in the toilet bowl are a much lighter shade of brown than usual, maybe even tan in color, this could be unnerving. [...]
Can Cranberry Juice Make Stools Dark?
Your poops appear unusually dark one day. Really dark. But you didn’t eat a bag of Oreos or licorice. […]
Gallbladder Removal and Yellow Poops: Causes, Solutions
Did you just have gallbladder removal surgery and are now seeing yellow bowel movements? […]
Black Stools from a Nosebleed vs. from a Cancer: Comparison
You just noticed something maroon or black and sticky looking in your poops. It’s clearly not your stools, but something mixed in with them. […]
The Link Between Smoking and Pooping: Truth or Imagination?
How does smoking affect bowel movements? In more ways than you could imagine. Though smoking does not cause diarrhea or constipation, it does have other effects on your poop. […]
Yellow Foamy Loose Stools: Causes Include Cancer
But it’s not colon cancer that can make bowel movements yellow and foamy looking. It’s another kind – one with a 5 year survival rate of only 19 percent. […]
Can Colon Cancer Cause Loose Stools?
Loose stools CAN be caused by colon cancer. Though the symptom lists for colon cancer mention the two polar opposites of diarrhea and constipation – that midway point of loosely formed stools is also a [...]
A 5 CM Tumor in Sigmoid Colon Is Extremely Large, Says Doctor
Has a 5 cm tumor been found in your sigmoid colon? If so, you should know that this is a tumor of considerable size. A 5 cm mass is nearly two inches. That is pretty [...]
Why Your Poops Smell Like Rotting Flesh: Causes and Solutions
Have you been nearly knocked off your feet by poops that stink like rotting flesh or meat? […]
Sesame Seed Things in Stools but Don’t Eat Sesame Seeds ?
What ARE those things in your poops that look like sesame seeds, even though you don’t eat sesame seeds?! Are they parasites or some other sign of a serious disease? […]
Can Colon Cancer Cause Sticky Bowel Movements?
Do your poops seem to have a lot of stickiness or goopy mucus in them? Do you wonder if colon cancer can cause sticky slimy stools in addition to the more commonly publicized bloody or [...]
Why Your Poops Are Sometimes Pointy
Are the ends of your poops shaped like a spear or pointy? Usually, when stools come out, they have bulbous or clumpy ends when they are well-formed. But every so often, you may find that [...]
Causes of Blue Stools in Young Kids & Adults: Reassurance!
The color blue is not a classic warning sign in medicine, and this applies to stools, whether in young kids and babies or adults. Blue usually is not a worrisome color to doctors. “While there [...]
Cause of Golden Yellow Poops
Is the cause of gold stools—a more golden color rather than straight yellow—different from the cause of a blander yellow type of poop? What can be considered a “gold” stool might actually be a yellowish [...]
Can Canned Beets Cause Red in Stools?
If you see what looks like blood in your poops, this COULD be from the canned beets you ate yesterday. The sight of this in the toilet bowl has been known to freak people out [...]
“Tarry Black” Stools Defined by a GI Doctor
“Tarry black” stools defined by a doctor, NOT Yahoo Answers! Once and for All, Here Is What Tarry Black Stools Look Like “In the simplest sense, the stool has the look and consistency of tar used [...]
Gray Stools: Causes & Should You Worry?
Yes, you should worry if your stools are gray. Gray stools are concerning. Sometimes when doctors talk about grey stools, they use the terms “clay colored” or “pale.” However, “clay” can bring up images of [...]
Can Stress Change the Color of Your Poops?
Here’s your answer to whether or not stress can change the color of your stools... ...an explanation from David D. Clarke, MD, President, Psychophysiologic Disorders Association, Clinical Assistant Professor of Gastroenterology Emeritus, Oregon Health & Science [...]
Maybe Your “Black” Poops Are Actually Dark Dark Green
What you think are black stools may actually be very dark green, and here’s how this can happen. Seeing black stools in the toilet can be scary, since this can bring to mind the “tarry [...]
Doctor Describes what Clay Colored Stools Look Like
Do you keep seeing “clay colored” as a descriptor of stools on medical sites and wonder exactly what this refers to? There’s a lot of misinterpretation as to what “clay colored” refers to, even though [...]
Can Gallbladder Problem Cause Loose Orange Stools?
If you have loose orange stools, here’s why a gallbladder problem is not causing this. “The color of stool normally is brown,” says Akram Alashari, MD, a trauma surgeon at Geisinger Medical Center in PA, [...]
Stool Texture vs. Black Tarry Color for Colon Cancer Sign
Just what is meant by “tarry” stools, and is texture important as a sign of colon cancer? How often have you read that “tarry” stools are serious cause for concern and warrant a prompt visit [...]
Black Specks in Stools: Doctor Says Don’t Worry
“Usually a black speck in your stool is related to what you are eating – for example, coffee or pepper,” says Sander R. Binderow, MD. Will bleeding or blood cause black specks in stools? “A [...]
All Known Causes of Very Black Stools
Colon cancer isn’t the only cause of black stools. There are other causes as well, and in fact, bowel movements may only appear to be black, when in they’re just a very dark green, brown [...]
Does Spinach REALLY Cause Black Stools?
Here’s a detailed look at black stools being caused by spinach. Have you recently looked into the toilet bowl and noticed that your poops were black? Did you panic? Did you realize you recently ate [...]
Quick Easy Way to Tell if Red in Stools Is Beet Juice
Here’s how to tell within seconds if the “blood” you see in your bowel movements is actually undigested beet juice. I juice beets all the time, and I experience “stool beeturia” as a result. Perhaps [...]
Black or Tarry Stools from Cancer vs. from Food or Drugs
Find out just what “tarry” stools look like when compared to black BMs from benign causes like food or medications. How often have you read a pamphlet or online article about colon cancer and came [...]
Can Beets Make Stools Almost Black?
Black stools can mean a serious medical problem, so how can you tell if this discoloration is from beets? Have your stools appeared black lately, and did you wonder if this wasn’t from having recently [...]
Black Stools from Colon Cancer vs. Acid Reflux
A doctor addresses the question of how do black stools from colon cancer compare to those caused by acid reflux. I wanted to know if there were distinct differences in the appearance of black stools [...]
Beeturia Q & A: Worried About Beets in Urine and Stools?
A Gastroenterologist Answers Questions About Beeturia If what you see in the toilet after eating beets alarms you, here are some responses from Mervyn D. Danilewitz, MD, FACG, a board certified gastroenterologist based in Philadelphia, PA. [...]
Can Dark Green Stools Come from Microscopic Colitis?
Could those eerie-looking dark green poops be the result of microscopic colitis, an uncommon inflammatory bowel disease? I had a bout with microscopic colitis in 2010, and during that time, my stools occasionally were a [...]
Can Dark Green Stools Be Caused by IBS?
Many irritable bowel syndrome sufferers wonder if their dark green stools are related to their IBS. Do you have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and are wondering if the dark green color of your stools is [...]
Beet Red Stools vs. Poop Stained with Menstrual Blood
Can a woman tell the difference between stools that have beet juice mixed in them and poop that has menstrual blood mixed in? I’ve got this down, having ingested my share of beets, and of [...]
When Stool Color Can Mean Cancer
Ever had yellow, chalky, green or black stools? What about reddish stools? Do you ever even look at your BMs? Certain colors of BMs or stools can be a warning sign of cancer. “Brown, gray, [...]