Exit brown stool is a sign of health, but its greenness does not always indicate a risk, as the rapid passage of food to the large intestine can cause greening, when it is necessary to consult a doctor?

There are types of foods such as spinach, for example, make the stool green. Stool can also turn green after taking certain medications or some iron-containing supplements. Green stool is an early, uncertain indicator of the onset of diarrhea.

In adults and adult children, green stools are rare, and are rarely worrying. Green diarrhea may occur in pregnant women, and then the pregnant woman should remember food, medicines, supplements or medication, as this can feel comfortable from the anxiety caused by this shift in color, and should see a doctor if it is confirmed that this color green For stool not because of the food you ate the day before, or if it has other symptoms.

The first defecation of a baby is called meconium, and it is viscous, thick and blackish green. However, this color should be removed three days after the birth of the infant.

Causes of green stool:

  • Diet rich in green vegetables, such as spinach.
  • Food colorings.
  • Severe diarrhea;
  • Protein hydrolyzate (concentrated amino acids), for infants with milk or soy allergy.
  • Lack of natural intestinal flora in infants fed through the breast.
  • Indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
  • Iron-rich supplements.
  • Medroxyprogesteron is a contraceptive drug.

During passing through the intestine, faeces are exposed to various digestive and bile juices, germs and other chemicals, which gives the discerning color and smell.

Green feces are not usually an indication of a serious problem. Young children often put almost anything in their mouths and sometimes swallow it. These substances will inevitably reach the baby's stomach and then pass through the gut.

Causes of green stool in young children:

  • Meconium :
    During the first few days of their lives, babies produce a dark green substance called meconium. This stool is a combination of all the contents that the fetus has swallowed while in the womb, such as bile, water, amniotic fluid (amniotic fluid), mucus and epithelial cells, and does not smell.
    This sterile stool turns yellow and green after the first three days, when the baby begins to digest breast milk.
  • Dietary reasons :
    A child's diet can also affect stool color.Green vegetables, such as broccoli and cabbage, and foods dyed with green, blue or purple food colorings such as ice cream, soft drinks, and some grains, can make a child's stool green.
    A useful tip to make sure that green stool is just a result of nutrients is that avoiding eating these foods for three days should return the stool to its natural color.
  • Medications and supplements :
    Stool can also change to green as a result of taking iron-containing supplements, artificially colored vitamins, and fructose-containing vitamins and sorbitol. Intestinal activity can be accelerated by the use of laxatives, which may also turn feces into green, because of the speed of passage in the intestine.
    Indomethacin, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, can cause stools to turn green, as well as some antibiotics that cause diarrhea, and may be caused by food passing through the intestine.
  • Diarrhea :
    In some cases, the stool of some children turns to light green, when there is diarrhea, due to the fast passage of the intestine to the intestines, and the lack of time to stiff stool due to lack of time in the gut.
  • Fast passage of yellow juicer :
    Rapid passage - the lack of time for food to stay in the colon - makes the bile juicer reach faster than usual into the intestines, so there is no time to turn its color from green to brown.
    Usually, there is time for the color to change before it reaches the intestines, and then mix it with the brown stool, but when there is no chance of discoloration, the stool that passes is green.
  • Food poisoning :
    The child's digestive system is very sensitive to a variety of different foods. E. coli, a bacterial infection, is the most common cause of food poisoning in children. Symptoms of the infection appear in the form of light green or dark feces with fever and colic. The doctor should be consulted when symptoms persist for three days.
  • Other health disorders :
    There are some disorders that cause rapid passage, which may cause the appearance of green stools, such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, malabsorption, allergies, infection or Diarrhea caused by food poisoning, thyrotoxicosis, hyperthyroidism, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (gastrointestinal reflux disease).
  • Green defecation can also occur as a result of any disorder that increases the amount of mucus in the stool, or when an imbalance in the reabsorption of bile due to terminal ileum resection, or in intestinal inflammation.

When should I see a doctor?
You should see your doctor when you have green stools for several days, as green defecation occurs in severe diarrhea, so drink plenty of fluids and get immediate medical attention if the patient's condition reaches the stage of dehydration.

When should I see a doctor when young children are injured?
Green defecation in a child can be accompanied by symptoms that may indicate a health disorder or illness, so careful monitoring of the child should be done. Some of these symptoms may include:

  • Unexpected weight loss.
  • Indigestion or satiety.
  • diarrhea.
  • Smelly stools.
  • Sensation of burning in the rectum.
  • Gases.
  • Change in stool strength, such as excessive stiffness or loose stool
  • Abdominal pain.
  • Abdominal cramps (colic).
  • The presence of mucus in the stool.
  • Puff.