Black stools associated with melaena are usually liquid or pasty, as well as having a characteristic sour, putrid odor.
Melena is always to be considered a serious clinical sign and, as such, should be evaluated by a doctor as an emergency. For treatment it is necessary to identify the cause. Depending on the severity of the melaena, the doctor may indicate a drug treatment (e.g. administration of haemostatic drugs) or, in severe cases, a series of blood transfusions or surgery.
, of stool containing digested blood. For this reason, the fecal material is black or otherwise dark in color (picee feces).
Stool may have a tarry or liquid consistency, similar to that of a diarrheal discharge.
Melena can result from various diseases, including: esophageal diverticula, gastric or duodenal ulcer, liver cirrhosis, esophagitis, gastritis, esophageal or stomach cancer and esophageal varices. The factors that can contribute to this problem may, however, be multiple and of various kinds.
Attention! Black stools are not always related to pathological causes: they may depend, in fact, on the dietary habits and functionality of the subject's gastrointestinal system. For example, this sign may depend on excessive consumption of licorice or on the intake of supplements based on of iron.
they can be complicated by blood loss or actual bleeding. Melena indicates bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract (esophagus, stomach or duodenum) in progress, in the course of reduction or recent and already finished. The melena can persist, in fact, for several days after the bleeding has stopped.
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