Green stools are not usually a problem, being almost always related to food, especially with excessive consumption of green foods, such as spinach and broccoli, for example, or foods that contain green dyes.
However, green stools may also indicate other conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome or intestinal infections, and should be studied and treated according to medical advice, especially if they do not go away after 2 or 3 days.
Also find out what the color of your stool can say about your health
The formation of green stool can have several causes, mainly as a result of changes in the treatment of bile, so the stool does not have the characteristic brown color. Thus, the main causes of green faeces are:
Eating green foods, such as spinach, broccoli or lettuce, or foods that contain green dye, can cause the development of green stools. The green color of the stool due to the diet can occur in adults and children. Learn about some green foods that can produce stools of this color.
What to do: If green stools are related to green food consumption, the best way to return stool to their normal color is to stop eating these foods for at least some time. Coloration also returns to normal as soon as the body removes these foods, so it’s not very worrying.
Irritable bowel syndrome is a condition characterized by inflammation of intestinal villus that, in addition to abdominal pain, excessive gas production and swelling, can lead to the formation of green stools.
What to do: Treatment of irritable bowel syndrome is mainly done with changes in habits, it is recommended to follow a proper diet according to the advice of a nutritionist, in addition to activities that can reduce stress and thus avoid aggravation or progression of symptoms. Learn more about treating irritable bowel syndrome.
Intestinal infections, whether caused by bacteria such as Salmonella or parasites such as Giardia lamblia, can cause green faeces to form. In fact, it is common for intestinal infections to accelerate intestinal transit, reducing bile exposure time to gut bacteria and digestive enzymes, leading to green diarrhea. Learn more about other causes of green diarrhea.
What to do: In case of intestinal infection, your doctor may recommend medication based on the infection-causing microorganism, as well as rest and drink plenty of water.
Some medications, especially antibiotics, can interfere with the amount of bacteria present in the intestinal tract, which interferes with bile treatment. Bile is a greenish pigment that is the object of gut bacteria and digestive enzymes acquire a brown color, giving the stool their normal color.
In the case of certain antibiotics, for example, the amount of bacteria present in the intestine can be modified so that bile remains greenish and results in green stools. In addition to antibiotics, other remedies, especially those containing iron in their composition, can interfere with the treatment of bile and cause green stool.
What to do: Once the use of the drug is finished, it is important to observe if the stools are greenish. If they continue, it is important to see your doctor for the use of probiotics, for example. Find out what a probiotic is and what it’s for.
Meconium is the baby’s first fecal matter and forms during pregnancy. Meconium has a thick, viscous and greenish consistency, since the baby’s gut microbiota is not yet fully developed, as it does not have the essential bacteria needed to act on bile and thus obscure stool. See other causes of green stool in babies.
It is normal for the baby to release these stool within the first 24 hours after birth, with a gradual change in the color and consistency of stool over the days due to maturation of the intestinal tract. Learn more about meconium and what it means.
What to do: Meconium is normal in all babies, however, if there is no release of these green stools or if there are no changes in the color and consistency of stool throughout the days, it is important to take the baby to the pediatrician so that the cause can be searched and thus define the treatment.
Watch in this video what other changes in the shape and color of stool may mean:
It is recommended to see your doctor when, in addition to green stools, other symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, loss of appetite, blood in the stool, headache or dizziness, for example, so that tests can be done to define the cause of the symptoms present.
In addition, it is important to see your doctor when green stools last longer than 3 days or do not go away after the end of using a certain medicine, for example.