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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Black Stool While On Vancomycin For C.diff?

Hello. I m 34 and ended getting CDiff from cylindomicion. I stopped taking it and ended up in the hospital. They told me I had cdiff and put me on oral liquid vancomyicin for 14days. I ve been on a soft food diet (pudding, jello,yougert,soups,noodles, lean turkey, white fish etc). After 10 days I finally had a solid bowel movement but it is pure black. No abdominal pain with it. Is this normal?
posted on Fri, 22 Jul 2016
Twitter Wed, 3 Aug 2016 Answered on
Twitter Wed, 3 Aug 2016 Last reviewed on
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Black stool may be normal in some cases and caused by ingesting certain medicines, such as iron supplements. Sometimes, black stool can also be caused by a serious condition, such as bleeding in the digestive tract. Black stool that is tarry in texture and foul smelling is a symptom of upper gastrointestinal bleeding from the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. This is called melena. Black and tarry stool is also an uncommon side effect of vancomycin. Don’t worry. GI effects from antibiotics recover themselves after 1-2 weeks.
Advice
1.     Take food rich in probiotics such as yogurt, high-quality dark chocolate, and green pickle
2.     Investigations – routine examination of stool, stool occult blood test, blood Hb%
3.     If the color of stool does not return to normal color in few days then visit a hospital for further investigation & treatment

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What Causes Black Stool While On Vancomycin For C.diff?

Black stool may be normal in some cases and caused by ingesting certain medicines, such as iron supplements. Sometimes, black stool can also be caused by a serious condition, such as bleeding in the digestive tract. Black stool that is tarry in texture and foul smelling is a symptom of upper gastrointestinal bleeding from the esophagus, stomach or small intestine. This is called melena. Black and tarry stool is also an uncommon side effect of vancomycin. Don’t worry. GI effects from antibiotics recover themselves after 1-2 weeks. Advice 1. Take food rich in probiotics such as yogurt, high-quality dark chocolate, and green pickle 2. Investigations – routine examination of stool, stool occult blood test, blood Hb% 3. If the color of stool does not return to normal color in few days then visit a hospital for further investigation & treatment Thanks!