Causes Of Dark Red Stool

Several different types of food with natural or artificial coloring may cause red in the stool which looks like blood but it isn t.

Causes of dark red stool.

Stool quality what it may mean possible dietary causes. If you don t think your diet is the cause the red you see may be blood. Find possible causes of blood in stool based on specific factors. Causes of red stool.

Food may be moving through the large intestine too quickly such as due to diarrhea. Blackberries blueberries or black licorice might cause the stool to look almost black due to the staining pigments of these foods. Other causes of red or reddish poop. Your diet can affect the color of your stool such as the following.

As a result bile doesn t have time to break down completely. Blood is not the only cause of a red discoloration of the stool. However repeated reddish stool and diarrhea especially when there is pain is very likely to be due to blood in. What causes dark brown stool or diarrhea.

In fact if the stool is red for just one or two bowel movements and it does not occur again then it could be due to other causes apart from blood. Eating dark blue or black colored foods. Foods that are naturally red or contain red food coloring can turn the stool red. The cause of red stools or black stools could be nothing to worry about such as those that are caused by food coloring.

Dark red or maroon stool melana can be caused by consuming food that color the stool red such as beets or tomatoes 6 but can also be caused by bleeding in the lower intestinal tract 7. This might cause darker brown stools due to the iron content of meat. Bleeding that happens higher up in the digestive tract may make stool appear black and tarry. Find possible causes of symptoms in children and adults.

Red stool causes that are not blood. Check one or more factors on this page that apply to your symptom. See how we re providing safe in person care and virtual visits. See our symptom checker.

Possible causes of blood in stool include. And if it s bright red the blood likely comes from the. Because often the cause cannot be determined it is wise to seek medical evaluation. Bright red blood or maroon colored stools usually.

Check food labels because a food might not appear red but may still have red food coloring in it. Red diarrhea might occur if the food that a person eats causes food poisoning or irritates the stomach.