Signs such as black stools should alert you to upper gastrointestinal bleeding, which commonly occurs in the stomach and duodenum. However, dark stools are not necessarily a disease and may be caused by food or medication.
When a patient has upper gastrointestinal (oral, pharyngeal, esophageal, gastric, duodenal) bleeding, the blood is digested through the gastrointestinal tract and the trivalent iron ions in the blood are converted to black divalent iron ions, resulting in the patient having black stools.
Therefore, when black stools appear, we should be alert to the possibility of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. Bleeding is most common in diseases of the stomach and duodenum, such as gastroduodenal ulcer, esophagogastric fundal varices due to cirrhosis of the liver, inflammation of the gastric mucous membrane, and so on.
In addition, thrombocytopenic purpura, leukemia, epidemic hemorrhagic fever, systemic lupus erythematosus and other diseases can also lead to black stools, also need to be vigilant.
However, black stools are not always caused by diseases. If you have recently consumed a large amount of melanin-rich foods, such as seaweed, nori, black fungus, black sesame, etc., or if you are taking certain medications, such as iron and bismuth, etc., it can also lead to black stools and symptoms of black stools.
However, this is usually physiological and will gradually disappear after improving the diet or stopping the medication, and there are usually no uncomfortable symptoms.
If the patient has black stools for a long time or repeatedly, it is necessary to go to the hospital for examination in time to clarify the cause of the disease and carry out targeted treatment.