Pale Stool Color

Hi J., My son experiences this every once in a while and when I asked my pediatrician he told me that I should try giving him some red meat or something a little harder to digest. That has worked for me in getting stool color to darken up. Hope this helps.

J.,

I would add a probiotic to her daily routine - the ones found in yogurt, sadly aren't quite enough. Osco has probiotic in chewable form - strawberry flavored - my kids love 'em. they have to stay refrigerated though.

I would say if she's not having any other symptoms, maybe put a call in to your doc, give more description (floating, loose, hard to pass, distressed, lethargic while having the pale poop episodes... that kind of thing...)though i know you said she seems normal otherwise.

I did find one link for you... i read through it and it explains the science of poop (ha! - kind of funny) and how our body digests, and what things can cause poop to be off in color, texture and smell.

http://www.enzymestuff.com/rtstools.htm

according to this site, it sounds like it 'could' be scary, but it may be simple as well... history of gallbladder problems in your family? could be gallbladder related - they remove those all the time - practically everybody in my family had it removed... i'm sure i'm next.

with the hepatitis stuff, it could be non-invasive to find out.. through bloodwork... I would ask the doctor to do some just so you can put your mind at ease.

good luck!

~J.~

I would take her in pronto. Poop is brownish green because of bile, produced by the gall bladder I believe. There could be something wrong that isnt bad enough yet to show other symptoms. Better safe than sorry, bring her to the pediatrician, along with some poop (they're going to want to see it I'm sure!) for evidence.

my kids have gotten that from either an overload of dairy (they both have hereditary sensitivities to dairy) or from a virus. since it doesn't sound like there were new or unusual foods eaten, chances are it's just from a virus or minor stomach bug and i wouldn't really be concerned unless it's a common thing. but really something that passes in a few days doesn't sound all that serious. if concerned, i'd imagine you could bring a stool sample to the doc and have them check it out.

for prevention and/or help rebalancing the digestive system, i'd introduce a probiotic of some sort into their diet. there are powders you could sprinkle on food or flavored tablets my kids eat without issue, and it supplies their digestive tract with healthy flora which should help keep things in check.

I feaked about this when it happened with my daughter. I asked the Dr. and she wasn't concerned because a lack of any other symptom. Although there was nothing different about her diet, I did finally link it to powdered donuts. My husband and I laugh about it whenever it happens now because we had been so worried. So, maybe it could be nothing to worry about but don't ignore it until you figure out the cause.

Hi J.,

I would call your doctor. I was exposed to Hepatitis A through eating at a Houlihans' restaurant last year, and I got a shot to boost my immunity against the disease in the week after. However, I read that light or white colored stools can be a sign of the disease when I looked online for symtoms. I was pregnant with my twins at the time and worried about it.

I'd rather be safe than sorry.
K.

she may be injesting something that doesn't completely agree with her or maybe it's the food she's eating. Light in color foods I mean. Chicken, turkey, fish, light colored beans, corn, etc. As long as she isn't fussing, she sounds o.k. It's hard not to worry when they're little...that's what we do best, right mommy?

Hi J.,

Too much milk will turn the stool pale - but you also need to take her to the doctor - it could also be a sign of liver issues - not to scare you - but it is better to be safe than sorry....

Let us know how it goes...

I'm 79 and have had very pale stools for over a couple of months. And I feel fine. Saw doctor and had blood tests and an ultrasound, nothing wrong. He thought it might be my diet but had no suggestions. Thinking back 2 mos I was "addicted" to Starbucks Frappucino which you buy at the market. Very expensive so I thought I'd make my own with coffee, 1% milk and Coffee Mate cream. It was better than Starbucks and I saved a lot of money. But I drank a lot of it. When I realized this I stopped drinking it and now it's 48 hours since I've had any. The next 2 days should give me the answer. I'll post it.

My son's become pale when he's teething.