How to Check Your Health by Poop or Stool Colors

culled from:wikihow.com

Method 1 of 4: Probably normal

1. 
   1
   Medium brown bowel movement: Think "mb-BM" -- the healthy, reassuring color for your well being. Keep your GI system running smoothly, checking these suggested color-rules -- regularly and keep regular (twice a day is great).^[1]
   • Virtually all brownish-tan to medium shades of brown (color caused by bile during digestion) and even green (colored by green vegetables) are considered normal. Very dark brown stool color indicate a potentially serious intestinal condition due to bleeding
   2. 
      2
      Dull red or dull black. Scary, but not always bad! Check this: dark or reddened stool, may often be:^[1]
      • Related to food or medications. Red shades? That may be from red food: beets and tomato sauce/paste products (eating a lot of various red sauces), BBQ, loading up on Ketchup, beets, cranberries, tomato juice (or soup), red gelatin or drink mixes, paprika and red pimiento peppers in sufficiently large amounts.
        • Dulled blackish shades may be seen after eating black jelly beans, black licorice, blueberries, iron pills, or using some anti-diarrhea medications.
   3. 
      3
      Green. Shades of green are considered unusual but normal (including green seen in diarrhea, regardless of color can be very serious, when food passes through the colon too quickly for final digestion there that can cause a green shade).^[2] Green stool is not only on Saint Paddy's Day, but can be from the green beer (green dyes in the food). And, also the result of consuming:^[1]
      • Green vegetables, including greens, spinach --
      • Iron supplements (see black) --
      • Or certain medications.

   Method 2 of 4: ~ Seek emergency care

   1. 
      1
      Urgent -- tarry black, "black as tar": This is a sign of dangerous, deadly "bleeding" (a significant amount of digested blood). Call your doctor -- or get 'emergency care'! about checking bleeding or hemorrhaging in the upper GI tract: intestines, the stomach or the esophagus.^[1]
      • Also, a very dark color could be as harmless as the result of iron supplements, a pack of black licorice, a bag of black jelly beans...
   2. 
      2
      Urgent -- ashy pale colors: these can indicate liver or pancreas problems -- Call your doctor! If you see gray, clay-like stool that not only may suggest a liver problem, but also could mean your pancreas is inflamed and/or infected. Bile made by the liver is what makes stools turn brown; by not having enough bile, you'll get those ashen shades indicating:^[1]
      • Obstruction (possibly gallstones) of bile creation or its ducts, such as by infections, scarring, possibly by tumor or cancer, in the area of the liver, pancreas or gallbladder;
      • Pancreatitis,
      • Cirrhosis (Hardening) of the liver, or hepatitis.
      • Light-colored, white or clay-colored may suggest a lack of bile in stool. This may indicate a bile duct obstruction. Side effect of certain medications, such as "large doses" of bismuth subsalicylate (Kaopectate, Pepto-Bismol) and other anti-diarrheal drugs.^[2]
   3. 
      3
      Caution: If there is a significant amount of bloody red stool, blood streaking, often caused by bleeding of internal or external hemorrhoids, or a maroon/red poop which means undigested blood: including other internal bleeding in the lower intestine, such as the large intestine or rectum -- Call your doctor -- or get 'emergency care'!:^[1]
      • These red poops can also be of other kinds and due to:
        • Intestinal bleeding, including diverticulitis, ruptured intestinal walls (Dial that doc!).
   4. 
      4
      Needs diagnosis. Yellow, greasy, foul-smelling. Excess fat in the stool can be due to a malabsorption disorder, for example, celiac disease, involving the protein gluten, as in breads and cereals. But, see a doctor for evaluation.^[2] Yellow stool is unusual, and may be a symptom of a serious medical condition. Yellow stool can be caused by conditions that reduce pancreatic lipase production or that block its transport to the intestines.^[3]
   5. 
      5
      Infection, yellow diarrhea, if Giardia. That is a parasite that can be found in waste products and contaminated water, can cause yellow diarrhea, fever, and flu-like symptoms. If your yellow stool persists for more than a day or two or causes you concern, seek prompt medical care.^[3]

   Method 3 of 4: Worries

   1. 
      1
      Record notes on getting worried about "any other colors" you're passing/dropping: think about all the possibilities:
      • Keep a record for 3- to 7-days to share your shades with your medical team to get the doctor's blessing/discursive views.
   2. 
      2
      Check the reasons change color and "Poop Color Chart" online.^[4]. You can see a page of facts about poop color at an online school.

   Method 4 of 4: Newborns, infants and toddlers

2. 
   1
   Observe newborns and infants, see also, Understand Baby Health by Poop Colors, Stool:
   • Newborns early-on will pass a dark green stool called meconium, which is normal, as are:
   • Breast-fed infants often producing yellow-green, green-brownish stool colors.
   • Formula-fed infants often moving yellowish, light-tan or brownish stool colors.
3. 
   2
   See doctor. Black, very dark, bloody after the first few days from being born is not normal.