SPOOKY BLACK STOOL

Should you be concerned if your child has a black stool?

Click here for previous newsletters.

1. Counselling Conundrum: a real question from a patient

2. Concise Conclusion: a straight-forward patient-friendly answer 

3. Quick Wrap-up 

Clearly, there are nuances that may not be captured in this format. The goal here is to provide you with helpful counselling tips which often draw from multiple sources or those which are not commonly accessed by busy healthcare providers serving the community.

Counselling Conundrum: "My child had a blackish stool. Should I be worried?"

Concise Conclusion: Great question! Certain things that we consume can make our stool darker, like the following: licorice, charcoal, iron, bismuth, and blueberries, for example. If your child has not consumed any of those, or there are other symptom like pain (especially abdominal, chest, or back), seek medical attention, because it can also be a sign of bleeding.

Quick Wrap-up: We have heard stories of rushing to emerge after a patient's child had a black stool, only to find out it was the blueberries they ate. This is unfortunate, but it's often warranted to rule out a GI bleed, especially if the child cannot speak to give any clues as to what it could be.

Dive Deeper

1) Melena (Black Stool): Causes & Treatment

We hope you have found this useful. A reply to this email with any feedback or topic suggestion you may have would be greatly appreciated. Your input will be the key to making this newsletter the best it can be.