Why is my kid’s poop green?

Wired report

Green poop in kids can be alarming, but it usually not a cause for concern. Diet, such as eating leafy greens, often causes green poop. Otherwise, it may be linked to diarrhoea or bacterial infections.

 

Poop is usually brown, but it can change colour daily. This is not usually a cause for concern. The reasons for green poop in kids may be different, depending on their age, such as in babies, infants, and children.

 

What causes poop to turn green?

Green poop can be a common occurrence in children.

Poop is usually brown because it contains bile. Bile is a brownish-green fluid that the liver produces. Brown poop generally means that the liver and the pancreas are working normally and adding enough bile to poop.

 

Because bile is a brownish-green colour, it can sometimes make the poop look green. In fact, green poop in babies and kids is not unusual.

 

Sometimes, the stool might even look yellow or slightly orange because of the way bile has mixed with a baby or child’s diet.

 

Diet and diarrhoea are two of the most common reasons for kids’ poop to turn green:

 

Diet

Most of the time, a kid’s poop turns green because the child has eaten something green. Foods that contain chlorophyll, which is the substance that makes plants green, can turn our poop green. Artificial food colouring can have the same effect.

 

Foods that can cause green poop in kids include: leafy greens, including spinach, kale, and lettuce, Candy, frosting, or cakes that contain artificial colouring, iron supplements, which can turn the poop green or black

 

Diarrhoea

Diarrhoea is often a culprit in poop colour changes. Diarrhoea happens when the small intestine cannot absorb enough water, which may often be due to a virus.

 

Because diarrhoea changes the amount of water and electrolytes in poop, and because the material is moving through the digestive system faster than usual, it can change the colour of poop.

 

Some common causes of diarrhoea in babies and children include: norovirus, rotavirus, which doctors vaccinate most children against bacterial infections, such as salmonella and also medications, such as antibiotics, caffeine, and food poisoning.

Chronic diarrhoea in a baby or child could signal an underlying condition, such as: inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), food allergies or intolerances, such as to gluten due to Celiac disease, hyperthyroidism, cancer, although this is very rare.

 

Parasites can also cause diarrhoea. Since children are notoriously bad about washing their hands, they are more vulnerable to parasites.

 

Giardia is a parasite that spreads through contact with infected bowel movements. People with giardiasis often develop diarrhoea and a greasy-looking stool. Sometimes the stool looks green.

 

When to see a doctor

A doctor should assess a child with very dark or pale poop. Not all poop colour changes are as harmless as green poop.

 

Curled from Medical News Today.