Green stool
By Mayo Clinic staffOriginal Article: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/green-stool/MY01088
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Definition
Green stool — when your feces (poop) looks green — is usually the result of something you ate, such as spinach. Green stool also can occur after you consume certain medications or iron supplements.
Newborns pass a dark green stool called meconium and breast-fed infants often produce yellow-green stools. In older children and adults, green stool is uncommon and rarely cause for concern.
Causes
- Diet high in green vegetables such as spinach
- Food dyes
- Severe diarrhea
- Not finishing nursing entirely on one side, thus missing some of high-fat content breast milk, which affects the digestion of the milk
- Protein hydrolysate formula (for babies with milk or soy allergy)
- Lack of normal intestinal bacteria in breast-fed infants
- Indomethacin — a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug
- Iron supplements
- Medroxyprogesterone (Depo-Provera), a contraceptive drug
When to see a doctor
Call your doctor if you or your child experiences green stool for more than a few days. Green stool often occurs with severe diarrhea, so drink plenty of fluids and seek immediate medical attention if you or your child becomes dehydrated.
- Fischbach FT, et al. A Manual of Laboratory and Diagnostic Tests. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2009:293.
- Lake AM, et al. Food protein-induced proctitis/colitis, enteropathy, and enterocolitisof infancy. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed June 11, 2012.
- Kliegman RM, et al. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 19th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2011. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/208746819-6/0/1608/0.html. Accessed June 11, 2012.
- Schaner RJ, et al. Initiation of breastfeeding. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed June 11, 2012.
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