It’s normal to become concerned if the color, size, or consistency of your stool changes. This is particularly true if the change is sudden or dramatic. The cause may be simple and otherwise harmless, or it may be a sign of something serious. That said, speak to your healthcare provider if you have any concerns about the appearance of your stool.
Normal and Abnormal Colors
A “normal” stool can be a variety of different colors. With that said, the most common colors range from dark brown to light brown.
Different changes in stool color may appear as follows:
A bloody bowel movement may be the sign of a hemorrhoid or superficial tear near the anus, but it could be the first indication of something serious such as a tumor, infectious colitis, or inflammatory bowel disease.If you’re not sure of the cause, you should see your healthcare provider.
If you have a fever, abdominal pain, or yellowing of the skin, seek emergency medical treatment.
Verywell / Jessica Olah
IBS and Stool Changes
By definition, irritable bowel syndrome involves a change in stool appearance. IBS stools can vary in appearance (texture and color) based on whether you have constipation-predominant IBS (IBS-C), diarrhea-predominant IBS (IBS-D), or mixed-type IBS (IBS-M).
IBS stools can be:
Thetype of IBSyou have can also affect the color of your stool. This is because poop color often reflects how fast the stool passes through the intestines.
Stool that passes rapidly through the intestines may appear yellow or green, whereas stool that passes slowly through the digestive tract may appear darker in color.
That said, persons with diarrhea-predominant IBS may experience green or yellow poop.Those with constipation-predominant IBS are likely to have darker brown stools.
Monitoring Changes in Stools
If you have been diagnosed with IBS, you should check your stools weekly. That way, you can be confident that you are monitoring your health while avoiding unnecessary stress and anxiety. If you check your stools too often, you may see changes in color, shape, or consistency that are not necessarily reflective of what is really going on with your health.
Minor changes may be due to drinking too much or too little fluid that day. Stools can also change based on your diet, physical activity, temperature, and other factors.
Checking too often can make you hypersensitive to things that may or may not matter, in some cases placing you in a constant state of anxiety. And anxiety can lead to poor gut function and a potential worsening of IBS symptoms.
Summary
Changes in the color or consistency of stools may mean nothing at all or be a sign of something serious. For people living with IBS, stool changes are often a fact of life, making it harder to discern when you should worry or not worry.
As a general rule, you should speak to your doctor if your stools are clay-colored, yellow, orange, green, bright red, dark red, or black. These may be a sign of a serious medical condition that requires attention.
If you have IBS, the appearance of stools can vary based on whether you have IBS-D, IBS-C, or IBS-M. Although it is important to report any changes to your doctor, checking each and every bowel movement rarely provides a clear picture of your condition and may cause unnecessary stress. Checking your stools once weekly is usually enough.
11 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Answers to 7 FAQs about poop.Guts UK.Bile acid malabsorption.MedlinePlus.Stools - pale or clay-colored.MD Anderson Cancer Center.When to worry about blood in your stool.MedlinePlus.Black or tarry stools.Thompson W.Alarm symptoms: A cause for alarm?International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.Su AM, Shih W, Presson AP, Chang L.Characterization of symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome with mixed bowel habit pattern.Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014;26(1):36-45. doi:10.1111/nmo.12220MedlinePlus.Irritable bowel syndrome.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of irritable bowel syndrome.NHS. Buckinghamshire Healthcare.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Kennedy PJ, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Clarke G.Irritable bowel syndrome: A microbiome-gut-brain axis disorder?World J Gastroenterol.2014 Oct 21;20(39):14105–25. doi:10.3748/wjg.v20.i39.14105
11 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Answers to 7 FAQs about poop.Guts UK.Bile acid malabsorption.MedlinePlus.Stools - pale or clay-colored.MD Anderson Cancer Center.When to worry about blood in your stool.MedlinePlus.Black or tarry stools.Thompson W.Alarm symptoms: A cause for alarm?International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.Su AM, Shih W, Presson AP, Chang L.Characterization of symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome with mixed bowel habit pattern.Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014;26(1):36-45. doi:10.1111/nmo.12220MedlinePlus.Irritable bowel syndrome.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of irritable bowel syndrome.NHS. Buckinghamshire Healthcare.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Kennedy PJ, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Clarke G.Irritable bowel syndrome: A microbiome-gut-brain axis disorder?World J Gastroenterol.2014 Oct 21;20(39):14105–25. doi:10.3748/wjg.v20.i39.14105
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Answers to 7 FAQs about poop.Guts UK.Bile acid malabsorption.MedlinePlus.Stools - pale or clay-colored.MD Anderson Cancer Center.When to worry about blood in your stool.MedlinePlus.Black or tarry stools.Thompson W.Alarm symptoms: A cause for alarm?International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.Su AM, Shih W, Presson AP, Chang L.Characterization of symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome with mixed bowel habit pattern.Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014;26(1):36-45. doi:10.1111/nmo.12220MedlinePlus.Irritable bowel syndrome.National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of irritable bowel syndrome.NHS. Buckinghamshire Healthcare.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).Kennedy PJ, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Clarke G.Irritable bowel syndrome: A microbiome-gut-brain axis disorder?World J Gastroenterol.2014 Oct 21;20(39):14105–25. doi:10.3748/wjg.v20.i39.14105
Canadian Society of Intestinal Research.Answers to 7 FAQs about poop.
Guts UK.Bile acid malabsorption.
MedlinePlus.Stools - pale or clay-colored.
MD Anderson Cancer Center.When to worry about blood in your stool.
MedlinePlus.Black or tarry stools.
Thompson W.Alarm symptoms: A cause for alarm?International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders.
Su AM, Shih W, Presson AP, Chang L.Characterization of symptoms in irritable bowel syndrome with mixed bowel habit pattern.Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2014;26(1):36-45. doi:10.1111/nmo.12220
MedlinePlus.Irritable bowel syndrome.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of irritable bowel syndrome.
NHS. Buckinghamshire Healthcare.Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Kennedy PJ, Cryan JF, Dinan TG, Clarke G.Irritable bowel syndrome: A microbiome-gut-brain axis disorder?World J Gastroenterol.2014 Oct 21;20(39):14105–25. doi:10.3748/wjg.v20.i39.14105
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