Discovering an unusual color in your stool, such as teal, can be surprising. While changes in stool appearance can sometimes signal an underlying issue, they are often a harmless variation. Many factors influence stool color, leading to a wide spectrum of normal appearances. Understanding these influences can help demystify such unexpected observations.
The Science Behind Stool Color
The brown color of healthy stool results from the breakdown of bile pigments during digestion. Bile, a greenish-yellow fluid produced by the liver, aids in fat digestion. As bile travels through the intestines, bacteria transform its components, particularly bilirubin, into compounds like stercobilin, which imparts the brown hue.
When stool moves rapidly through the digestive tract, bile pigments have less opportunity to undergo complete transformation. This faster transit time means bile may not fully break down into its brown derivatives. As a result, stool can retain its original greenish-yellow color, or appear green or teal, due to less altered bile.
Common Dietary and Medicinal Causes
Dietary choices are a common reason for changes in stool color. Consuming foods with blue or green artificial dyes, found in items like candies, frostings, or certain drinks, can lead to teal or blue-green stool. Eating leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, or fruits like blueberries, can also impart a green or bluish-green tint to stool due to their chlorophyll content or natural pigments.
Medications and supplements can also influence stool color. Iron supplements are known to cause stool to appear dark green or black. Certain antibiotics can alter gut bacteria, which affects bile processing and may result in green stool.
When to Seek Medical Advice
While an isolated instance of teal stool is often not a concern, certain accompanying symptoms warrant medical attention. Consult a healthcare professional if the color change is persistent, lasting more than a few days, or if it occurs without a clear dietary or medicinal explanation.
Seek medical advice if teal stool is accompanied by other concerning symptoms. These include severe abdominal pain, fever, vomiting, persistent diarrhea, unexplained weight loss, or signs of jaundice such as yellowing of the skin or eyes. The presence of blood in the stool, appearing bright red or black and tarry, also warrants medical evaluation.