Dark Stool Causes

Take a look at your diet. Certain foods can cause the stools to turn a dark color. The three most common foods that cause a dark stool are beets, blueberries, and black licorice. Red licorice can also dye the stools, but it will be a dark red color verses the dark black color left by black licorice.

Some medications also affect stool color. All medications come with a list of possible side effects. If the medication causes dark stools, it will be listed. Some known medications that change stool color are iron supplements and the popular Pepto-Bismol.

Peptic Ulcer

Peptic ulcers are quite common among Americans and cause stools to become dark with blood. It is helpful if you review other symptoms of a peptic ulcer to narrow down the cause of your dark stool. Individuals with peptic ulcers experience abdominal pain when they are hungry. They also have bouts of nausea, appetite loss, and weight loss. They may even begin to vomit. If these symptoms sound familiar to you, you should make an appointment with your doctor to get some tests done to reveal whether an ulcer is present. Then you can get started on treatments that include watching which types of foods you eat. This will clear up your dark stools.

Mallory-Weiss Tear

If you have been coughing or vomiting a lot in recent days, you may have a Mallory-Weiss tear. In rare cases a Mallory-Weiss tear is caused by a violent seizure episode. A Mallory-Weiss tear is a tear in the esophagus's mucous membrane. If you continue to vomit, you may notice some blood. A Mallory-Weiss tear also causes dark bloody stools. Most of the time, the tear will heal itself in a matter of days. A doctor can monitor this condition in case the tear does not heal and a transfusion is required because of blood loss.

Cancer

Dark stool is a symptom of stomach and colon cancer. These cancers are not always detected early, and early detection is key to a higher chance of making a full recovery. If your doctor does not see an immediate cause for the dark stools, he will order some tests to make sure you do not have cancer. Some other early symptoms of stomach or colon cancer are abdominal pain, nausea, fatigue, weight loss, and loss of appetite.