black specs

did anyone find out what black specs in faeces are, i have left abdominal pain and black spec in poo, i eat toast quite well done and alot of popcorn


This discussion is related to Black Specks.

[reidys]

have you eaten somthing different?

[majella3]

i don't think so eat alot of popcorn, oly other thing i can think of is i stopped eating white bread a couple of months ago and eat wholegrain bread now

[gnorb]

Could be a number of things. At worst, it could be that you have some bleeding somewhere in your intestinal track. Since they're black specks, my guess is that it's either in the upper part of the GI-track or it's a very small amount, small enough to dry before it exits the body. It could also be caused by certain red vegetables and, at times, undigested food. If you're not feeling any pain anywhere then I'd put my money on the food, but I recommend seeing a doctor about this. If it's more serious (inflammation/light bleeding) then you're catching it early, which is always a good thing.

[majella3]

have pain in left side, comes and goes, can be in lower side or as far up as chest

[gnorb]

It could be a number of things. If there's pain, try to spot patterns, notice when it happens: does it happen after eating? How long? Does it matter what type of food? How long after what types of food? How does the pain migrate? Also, is it accompanied by other symptoms? (heartburn? coughing? a burning in the throat? pain in the back? bloating? etc.)

It may be something like gastritis, but you'll have to see a doc about this. Make sure you see a gastroenterologist, and see about getting an upper endoscopy done. If it's gastritis, it might be caused by ulcers, which would explain the black specks (bleeding). There might be other causes, a very large number of them, so gastritis isn't the only thing. It might just be mild irritation, or it might be something more serious. (If it's just a few specks, then I wouldn't be too worried. If it starts looking like coffee grounds, then you'll want to be more expedient.)

Do yourself a favor and for the moment, go on a very simple diet (paleo-diet): drop anything fried or very fatty; if you drink caffeinated drinks (or even decaf coffee), stop; if you're taking a vitamin C supplement, stop, since vitamin C is a known irritant. In fact -- and this is a personal recommendation, very non-standard -- try to drop all foods containing gluten. (You might have to do a search for "Celiac approved foods" "foods containing gluten" for details.) This is not to say you have Celiac disease, by no means am I even suggesting that, but if you have any sort of gluten sensitivity, then this'll make a difference. (Some studies suggest that up to 1 in 7 people are non-celiac gluten intolerant, which can cause small-intestine damage.)

Good luck!

[reidys]

what tests is there for celiac .can blood test conferm there is something wrong and warrent further investigation?

[gnorb]

There are tests, though all are expensive. There are blood tests that check for the propensity (genetic), but the only way to get a celiac diagnosis -- if it's even suspected -- is for samples to be taken from your small intestine. Before you go that route, go to your doctor, talk to them about this (the black specs, I mean). And start with the dietary changes. Celiac disease isn't all that common (conventional thinking says there's a 1 in 10,000 chance of it, though new research says that as many as 1 in 133 people have it, and as many as 1 in 7 are non-celiac gluten intolerant), so it's best you look at other causes first, including food allergies. The only reason I brought up gluten is because most of us can stand to eat healthier, anyway, and dropping gluten goes a long way to that with a great number of people, especially those of European descent. (I see you're in the UK. I'm in the US but my family's mostly from Span and Ireland.)