Stool contains black particles

A normal person's stool should be yellow or slightly thin, but some people's stool is black and contains black particles. In this case, the first reaction is that there is blood or cancer. Don't rush to judge. You should check the cause first. Only after finding the cause can you know what the problem with the stool is.

Why is the stool black?

When black stools and blood in the stool occur, the first thing to consider is gastrointestinal bleeding and hemorrhoids. However, clinically, more and more patients' conditions are not simply ulcers and bleeding, but are often combined with other inflammations or other diseases, especially cancer, such as gastric cancer, colon cancer, and rectal cancer. Therefore, unexplained black blood in the stool requires further examination. In recent years, the incidence of gastrointestinal malignant tumors is not only high among the middle-aged and elderly, but the phenomenon of younger people is also becoming more and more obvious.

This type of cancer often has no symptoms and signs in the early stages, and is only discovered when inflammation and ulcers appear in the middle and late stages, causing bleeding and black stools. However, many patients miss the opportunity for treatment because they do not pay attention to it. Digestive endoscopy (gastroenteroscopy) is the first choice for the diagnosis and examination of this type of digestive tumor. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, surgery should be performed as soon as possible to improve the prognosis and avoid delaying the disease. Gastrointestinal endoscopy is a routine part of physical examinations abroad, but this examination is often not available in China due to different national and economic conditions.

Black stools and bloody stools are two manifestations of gastrointestinal bleeding in the human body. Generally speaking, if gastrointestinal bleeding exceeds 60 ml per day but is not too much or too concentrated, black stools may appear, which is medically known as tarry stools. Otherwise, if there is more or more concentrated blood, and the blood can be seen with the naked eye, it is called bloody stool. In general, black stools or bloody stools often occur suddenly and are not accompanied by clinical symptoms, which often leaves patients at a loss as to what to do. However, if you carefully observe the color, quality, and amount of black stools or the bleeding site and amount of bloody stools, you can still analyze the changes in the disease.

First of all, the amount of bleeding can be estimated based on the color and texture of the stool. Gastrointestinal bleeding of more than 60 ml per day can manifest as black stools. If the stool remains black and dry, it indicates that there is continuous small amount of bleeding; if the stool changes from black to dark red or bright red, and is soft and watery, or even contains blood clots, it indicates that there is active bleeding in the digestive tract and the amount of bleeding is relatively large.

Secondly, determine the cause of bleeding based on the color and texture of the stool. Medically, the digestive tract is divided into three sections: upper, middle, and lower. The bleeding in these three sections manifests differently during bowel movements. If blood in the stool comes first and then the stool, and the blood is bright red, it means that the source of the blood is close to the anus, and the bleeding site is generally in the rectum or anus, which is common in rectal cancer, hemorrhoids, anal fissures, rectal polyps, etc. If blood in the stool comes first and then the stool, the color is as black as road asphalt, which means that the source of the blood is far away and stays in the intestine for a long time. The bleeding site is mostly the stomach and duodenum, colon or small intestine, such as gastric or duodenal ulcers, gastric cancer, gastric polyps, etc.

Third, determine whether bleeding continues based on the color and texture of the stool. If black stools gradually turn into yellow, it means that the bleeding has stopped; if black stools persist, it means that the bleeding has increased; if black stools turn into yellow after treatment and then reappear, it means that bleeding has occurred again or the disease has relapsed.

Fourth, the amount of bleeding can also be judged based on clinical manifestations such as consciousness and complexion. Generally speaking, for patients with slow bleeding and bleeding volume not exceeding 300 ml, the clinical symptoms are not obvious or there are only mild dizziness and fatigue. Clinically, dizziness, palpitations, pale complexion, rapid pulse, thirst, etc. appear, which means that the bleeding volume has exceeded 400 ml per day. If the bleeding continues to exceed 1000 ml, it will be life-threatening.