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What Causes Stomach Ache And Black Stools?
So for the last two days my stomach has been aching and I noticed I have been having black stools ever since. That same day I took pepto and cough pills. But I need to know if this is something I need to go to the doctor for or something I can do by myself.
Wed, 5 Jul 2017
Hi and welcome to Healthcaremagic. Thank you for your query. I am Dr. Rommstein, I understand your concerns and I will try to help you as much as I can.
Black stool may be sign of some diet (iron supplements for example) but also it may be caused due to passage of blood in stool and then it is called melena. The most common cause of melena is peptic ulcer disease.[4] However, any bleeding within the upper gastrointestinal tract or the ascending colon can lead to melena.[5] Melena may also be a complication of anticoagulant medications, such as warfarin. Diagnosis of disease after patient having melena is important. For this laboratory stool examination, upper GI endoscopy and barium X-ray helps the medical attendant to find the cause. Treatment will depend on the cause. In case of peptic ulcer, conservative line of treatment will heal the ulcer, bland diet, medications for H.pylori infection will cure it. In every case, I would not ignore it and tests are necessary.
Wishing you good health. Regards
Black stool may be sign of some diet (iron supplements for example) but also it may be caused due to passage of blood in stool and then it is called melena. The most common cause of melena is peptic ulcer disease.[4] However, any bleeding within the upper gastrointestinal tract or the ascending colon can lead to melena.[5] Melena may also be a complication of anticoagulant medications, such as warfarin. Diagnosis of disease after patient having melena is important. For this laboratory stool examination, upper GI endoscopy and barium X-ray helps the medical attendant to find the cause. Treatment will depend on the cause. In case of peptic ulcer, conservative line of treatment will heal the ulcer, bland diet, medications for H.pylori infection will cure it. In every case, I would not ignore it and tests are necessary.
Wishing you good health. Regards
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