Stools in black (tar) colored

Most of us take no interest in checking our bowel habits, which if we bother to notice can give out valuable cues that could help save our life. Color of stools can communicate the onset of an illness or an improper digestive system that the body is experiencing. Though properties of stool differ from different persons or are expected to vary from stool to stool of the same person, proper inspection of any abnormality in stool color might signify symptoms of grave diseases.

Considering the broader sense, an unusual change in the color of stool doesn’t always have to indicate some kind of disease. Certain dietary intake as well as medications that supplement iron can also contribute to black (tar) colored stools. The fact that not all variations signal the possibility of a health condition demands to throw clarity in the situation.

If black (tarry) color in your stool persists, then it beckons urgent medical investigation. The unusual dark (tarry) tint to your bowel movement might indicate a malfunction in the platelet, deficiency of iron supplies, peptic ulcer or even stomach cancer. Peptic ulcer one of the major contributor to the black (tar) tinted stool can cause due to an infection that the lining of the stomach experiences, invading stomach and a part of the small intestine. Black, tarry or maroon stools characterized by digestive blood are the most common symptom in identifying the condition. Anemia due to loss of blood through stool, piercing pain in the stomach, nausea etc also adds on to the indicators.

But if this abnormal stool color is accompanied by a foul odor, then it communicates a serious disorder like internal bleeding in your digestive pipe. Termed by your physician as “Melena”, the condition imparts black or rather bloody stool color due to an injury your digestive tract encounters. As a result stool may contain significant amount of blood, but unless you undergo medical diagnosis it might be difficult to isolate the part of your digestive tract, from mouth to anus that spits out blood. Melena can lead to peptic ulcer and may contain all the symptoms that the latter communicates.

Liver disorders or more precisely hepatitis infection can also contribute an unusual clay color to stools. If liver has a problem in producing the required amount of bile, which colors the usual stool, is when it turns clay colored. And if the condition is accompanied by a yellow skin and eyes, or brown or even darkened urine, it can be the onset of jaundice.

Home cure pays off to an extent, if the black (tar) colored stool is due to increased iron supplements. Reduced intake of iron rich food like spinach or cutting on your iron supplementing tablets in consultation with your physician is the best way to deal with it. But persistent and recurrent occurrence calls for medical care.