What Stool Colour Has To Do With Your Health, Expert Explains


Chioma Umeha


(NAN) Dr Arikawe Adeolu, a medical practitioner, Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, has advised the public to always observe the colour of their stool to determine their health status.
Adeolu gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
According to him, a change in colour, shape, size, consistency and frequency of stool can indicate possible health conditions.
Adeolu also said that the normal colour of stool should be brown; adding that professional medical assistance should also be sought if the colour changed and remained consistent more than two days.
He said that since the colour, shape, size, consistency and frequency of an individual’s stool gave a lot of background information about underlying health conditions in the body, it should not be ignored.
Adeolu said that the pigment present in bile was the reason the stool maintained its brown colour as the pigment mixes with the stool when they come in contact.
He said that if for any reason this pigment failed to mix with the stool to give it the brown colour, the stool would appear pale having an off white colour.
Adeolu said: “In this situation where the stool turns off-white, you are looking at some form of blockage of the bile duct.
“The blockage prevents the bile from getting to the intestine to mix with the stool to give it that brownish colour.
“Once you notice a consistent change in your colour of stool over a two day period, it is important you go to the hospital so that you can be thoroughly assessed by a health professional to find out the cause.
“The colour of stool can give background information into some underlying health conditions in the body.
“Your stool can say a lot about your health and there are a lot of things to consider when one wants to make an assessment of one’s stool to determine ones health condition.
“The colour of stool is just one factor to consider when assessing ones health; there is need to consider the shape, size, consistency and the frequency of the stool.
“The ease of passage of stool can also give information about any underlying health condition.’’
He said that some stool could have yellowish colouration and could appear oily, stressing that in such situation, the individual could be having a health condition known as malabsorption.
He said that if the stool colour changed to black, it could mean that the individual is consuming some type of supplement or that such individual had some form of internal bleeding.
Adeolu said that the bleeding could occur in the intestine usually high up in the intestine, a condition known as upper gastro-intestinal bleeding.
According to him, the black stool condition is normally referred to as tarry black stool.
He said that when the stool appeared red, it indicated that there was blood in the stool which could be as a result of bleeding in the lower part of the intestine.
The medical expert also observed that the red colour in the stool could be from the rectum or heamorroids.(NAN)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Insurgency: Nigerian Army Clears 25 More Children Of Links With Armed Groups, Says UNICEF

Image
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said Thursday that 25 more children had been freed from Nigerian Army administrative custody having been cleared of suspected links with armed groups. With this number, a total of 44 children had been released this year, bringing the number to 1,627 children since 2016, that is four years now, the UN agency for children has said. UNICEF which announced this in a press statement signed by its Communication Specialist, Dr. Geoffrey Njoku, specifically said, “Twenty-three boys and two girls were released today from Nigerian Army administrative custody after being cleared of suspected ties with armed groups. This brings the number of children released this year to 44,” it added. It bemoaned the discrimination, deprivation and cruelty which the children have suffered. “These are children taken away from their families and communities, deprived of their childhood, education, health-care, and of the chance to grow up in a safe and enabling envir
Read more

Limited Information Frustrates Young Women From Using Family Planning

Image
BY CHIOMA UMEHA, Awareness and proper understanding of family planning has been recognised to reduce maternal death among young women of reproductive age between 15 and 49. Data on Sexual Reproductive Health outcomes in Nigeria stresses the importance of focusing on adolescents. At 576 maternal death per 1,000 live births, Nigeria accounts for 14 percent of the global burden of maternal mortality (NDHS 2013/WHO 2014). Global evidence shows that young girls bear a higher burden of maternal mortality and morbidity. Data shows that the average age at sexual debut is roughly 15 years of age among adolescent mothers in Nigeria. (NDHS 2003, 2008, 2013). The National adolescent fertility rate in Nigeria is 122 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years. In the North Western States, it is as high as 171 births per 1,000 women aged 15 to 19 years. To stem this, the government of Lagos State with support from partners and other donor agencies has put in place youth-friendly he
Read more

PSN President Commissions ACPN National Secretariat

Image
Chioma Umeha History was made among the community pharmacists recently, as the national body of the Association of Community Pharmacists (ACPN) inaugurated its National Secretariat at Ikeja, Lagos State. The event was graced by many notable personalities in the pharmaceutical sector including, Pharm. Ahmed Yakasai, the president of the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN) who commissioned the befitting edifice. Other notable guests at the event were – Dr. UNO Uwaga, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees for ACPN; Pharm. Bukky George, the Managing Director of Healthplus, among many former presidents of different pharmaceutical bodies. Pharm. Yakasai stated that it was a thing of joy for him to see this development come to light. He said that he is ‘a proud father’ as the inauguration of the building was a “testimony of when you have a proud son who can carry out directives.” He described the secretariat as “A home for all pharmacists across board.”
Read more