Is my child’s green poop a cause for concern?

Green poop in kids may seem very worrisome to some parents, but it is rarely a cause for concern. While stool is normally brown, it can change colors throughout the days and weeks depending on what your child is eating as well as the condition of their health. Let’s look at some reasons why kids can have green colored bowel movements. 

Should green poop in kids worry parents?

Changes in the color of your child’s poop can be normal for different stages of their life. Newborns start off life with black colored stools that turn to a greenish color. Baby poop colors can be confusing, but often is nothing to be concerned about. After they make it through the stool transition, they often have yellow poop or brown stools. Breastfed babies can have different colored stools than formula-fed babies. In addition, as your child ages and starts eating solid foods, their stool color changes based on what they eat. 

Bile is a green substance that is made by the liver and is stored in the gallbladder.  It helps our bodies to digest the fat in our diet. Its color and how fast it moves through the digestive system are big influences on stool color. If it moves quickly through the digestive system, green poop is the result. If it has time to absorb the colors from the other foods that we eat, generally brown stool comes out. 

Diet

A child’s diet can heavily influence the color of their stool. Just like eating too many carrots can make their skin orange, eating copious amounts of green vegetables can turn their stool green. Leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale are the biggest causes of green poops. 

While not every child eats kale, most children will eat candy, cookies or soft drinks. Food items such as these with green food coloring will often cause green poops. The vast majority of the time if a child eats a food that has been dyed green, their stool will have a green color. Poop colors can vary with different food additives and food coloring as well. Last week, my own child had a red colored stool after she drank a sports drink that was dyed red. 

Diarrhea

Green stool can result from bile acids traveling so quickly through the digestive system that they don’t have time to mix with anything else. This can be caused when a child has loose stools. Diarrhea in children is caused by a variety of things that range from irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease to common short lived viral or bacterial infections of the intestinal tract.

Chronic diarrhea or severe diarrhea can result in abdominal pain and weight loss as well as green colored stools. Food poisoning and parasitic infections are also causes of watery diarrhea in children. These infections can also lead to severe dehydration in kids. Be sure to alert your child’s pediatrician if they have signs of dehydration such as not urinating every few hours, no tears when they cry or a sunken soft spot in babies. 

Most episodes of green watery stools are a result of infectious diarrhea that is short lived and causes mild diarrhea and mild dehydration. If your child has a case of the stomach bug, it is best to give them extra fluids to keep them from getting dehydrated. If your child has belly pain, symptoms of dehydration, or underlying disease it is wise to consult with their pediatrician. Acute diarrhea can usually be treated at home with rest and fluids. 

When do pediatricians worry?

Colorful poop in kids can be a cause for concern for many parents, but when do pediatricians worry? There are certain times that we want to hear from you. If your child’s stool differences are accompanied by abdominal pain, weight loss or poor weight gain, we definitely need to be alerted. We are also concerned if your child has chronic diarrhea or green poops that lead to severe dehydration.  

As doctors, we also get concerned whenever your child’s stool is pale or white in color and when their stool is dark or they are having bloody stools. While the causes of these things can be benign, there are several concerning or even life-threatening conditions that these symptoms could indicate. 

White, Pale or Colorless Stool 

As we discussed earlier, bile causes our stool to have color. When there is something wrong with the liver, often bile secretion will be affected. Therefore, pale stools can indicate a problem with the liver.

Biliary atresia or infectious hepatitis are a couple of examples of conditions that can cause pale stools. These conditions are generally also accompanied by jaundice or yellow colored skin. Celiac disease can also be a cause of light colored stools. Often these children have foul smelling, oily diarrhea due to malabsorption. 

White stool can also be the result of a viral infection. Sometimes, kids will have a temporary stool color change after they have recovered from a gastrointestinal disorder such as viral diarrhea. Once they return to a regular diet and their gut recovers, they will return to normal stools. 

Dark poop

Dark or black stools can indicate that there is bleeding going on in the GI tract. It is important to seek medical care if your child is having black poop. Bloody stool can also be a cause for concern and a time to consult your child’s pediatrician. 

Bacterial diarrhea can be mixed with blood as the bacteria attacks the lining of the intestinal tract.  While we don’t treat every cause of bacterial diarrhea with antibiotics, there are certain situations in which antibiotics will shorten the course of your child’s illness. Be sure to alert your child’s pediatrician so that you can discuss treatment options. 

Additionally, diseases such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease cause bloody or dark colored stools.  Bloody stools can also accompany antibiotic-associated diarrhea. If your child is having diarrhea stool that is accompanied by bright red blood, you need to consult your child’s health care provider to obtain medical care for their condition.

How can we help you?

At 127 Pediatrics, you have direct access to your child’s pediatrician. You never have to stress about not getting your questions answered again. Members of our practice have direct access to the pediatrician via our cell phone number. Call us today to become a member of the practice and experience the difference that an at-home pediatrician can make in your life. 

© 127 Pediatrics; November 2022

Dr. Andrea Wadley is the owner, pediatrician, and breastfeeding medicine specialist for 127 Pediatrics. She has an established house calls-only pediatric practice in Colleyville, TX. Dr. Wadley sees patients all over Tarrant county for concierge breastfeeding medicine consults, lactation consults, fourth-trimester care, tongue tie clipping, and medical ear piercing.