Are You Seeing Black Poop After Drinking? Here’s Why

By - Samin Ishmam

Boozes and beers, whiskeys and wine, with the celebration, the last night was more than satisfactory. Until something dark happened. By dark, I mean the color of the poop the following day. After that spontaneous celebration, I was apprehensive when I found my poop to be all tarry and black.

Have you gone through the same? Is it normal to see black poop after drinking?

Black poop after drinking is not uncommon. The dark color of beer or wine can get mixed with your stool making it black. In other cases, heavy and continuous drinking can damage your internal organs. Excessive alcohol can cause your stomach or intestine to bleed. This blood can get mixed with your poop making it black.

So should you be worried if you find such black stool without blood? Though black poop can indicate some internal body damage, it might be just the effect of some colors in the drinks you had. Either way, it is best to consult your doctor to find the actual cause behind it.

So what are the catches with this black poop? Let us dive deeper.

Black Poop After Drinking – Why?

The black color sure looks great in so many things, right? But, when you see it on your poop, it is a matter of concern. The general color of your poop comes from bile, a fluid that helps digest fats.

When you see a different color, it indicates something else is mixed with the stool. If the color is black, it might mean the mix of color from a thing you ate or blood in the worst case.

Drinks

If you see a black or tarry color on your stool, it might result from your drinking. For example, red wines can give your poop a dark brown shade. It contains anthocyanin or tannin that can cause your poop to turn black. Dark beers can also cause your stool to become black.

Black poop after drinking coffee is highly unlikely unless you are super nervous and have already taken 8 to 10 cups. However, excess coffee also causes constipation, resulting in black poop.

Internal Damage

However, you should become more concerned if you notice a foul smell with that green black poop after drinking. Such cases may be a signal of internal organ damage.

Heavy and continuous drinking can damage your stomach and intestines and cause them to bleed. The blood then gets mixed into your stool and turns black. Finding black and tarry stools is a matter of concern.

It is wise to consult your doctor and figure out the reason as soon as possible as it may be a sign of something severe. So what does this black stool indicates?

What Does Black Poop Indicate?

Drinking can make your stool black because of the drink’s chemicals. In severe cases, internal damage due to drinking can also change your stool color. But what if the black poop you see is not for your drinking. Let’s see what can go wrong.

Internal Stomach Bleeding

When the blood vessels in our Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) tracts get torn, they start to bleed. The stool absorbs the blood while passing through and turns black. 

Too much drinking can damage your intestines or cause your stomach to bleed. Doctors refer to such cases as Malena. You might sense a bad smell along with the black poop in such cases.

Furthermore, GI tract bleeding might cause something more severe, like cancer. Breast and lung cancer can spread inside your stomach and cause internal bleeding, eventually making your stool black.

Liver Disease

Too much drinking can fatally damage your liver. Complications like Cirrhosis can occur when you are too entangled in drinking. This medical term is referred to severe scarring to your livers that may cause black stool in adults.

Without proper treatment and measures, cirrhosis can lead to a disease that can ultimately damage your liver. During cirrhosis, the veins inside your liver easily get raptured and start to bleed. This blood eventually comes out with your stool making it look black.

Ulcer

Do you feel irritated in your stomach? If so, the black poop might indicate you have an ulcer. In simple words, ulcer refers to open sores in the digestive tract. If you notice blood in the stool, it might be due to the bleeding of the sore. And alcohol is a great way to boost the effects of ulcers.

You might not feel pain from ulcers always. But it can cause

Diagnosis

Noticing black stool is alarming. It can be a sign of many anomalies. So it is better to seek for doctor’s help as soon as possible. For diagnosing, here are what you might need

The doctor would probably start with your medical history, followed by a physical exam to diagnose the issue. Furthermore, your doctor might prescribe blood tests to determine the reason for the unusual stool color.

The best way to solve a problem is to work directly with samples. So your doctor might also ask you to provide your stool sample with an unusual color.

If the reason is found to be blood causing the dark color, your doctor must examine your internals next. To do so, an X-ray of your digestive tract will be very useful. If required, your doctor might also prescribe colonoscopy or gastroscopy to diagnose internal damage better.

Treatment

Tensed after you noticed black poop after drinking? Some treatments are effective if you follow the guidelines word by word. Depending on the cause of the problem, the treatment will vary.

If it is alcohol causing the trouble, you must start by controlling your drinking habits. Here are ways to treat the problem.

Away From Alchohol

Chronic alcohol intake is harmful to health. It damages your internal organs such as your intestine, gastrointestinal tract, etc. As black poop can result from this problem, you must stop drinking immediately.

For many people, this might not be such a viable option. If things are the same for you, you can take the following actions.

Diet Control

Besides alcohol, black foods can also make your poop go black. Iron supplements can also cause the same effect. So if your back stool results from black foods, it should not be a problem. In the case of supplements, make sure to consult your doctor before you go for a change.

Medical Treatment

There are medical treatments to help you cure the black poop you are worried about. Depending on the root cause, the treatments will vary. But, in general, the following treatments are effective

Cancer Treatment

In the worst case, if the reason for your black poop turns out to be cancer, the doctor will suggest advanced treatments.

Surgery can cure cancer if the doctors can remove the tumor. This has to be done in the primary stage of cancer.

If cancer has not spread, your doctor might recommend radiation therapy. Otherwise, you might need chemotherapy to fight the disease.

A Simple color in the food or drink you take can turn your poop black. It might also be a sign of something severe happening inside your body. So if you notice black poop, do not hesitate. Consult your doctor immediately and go for the necessary treatment.

Other Causes

The stool comes in many colors, especially in different shades of browns, right? But what if it turns black? It is a possibility that blood got mixed with the stool, and it turned black.

Taking too much alcohol can cause internal damage and bleeding to cause. But are there other reasons?

Gastritis

Your stomach is made of many layers of mucus inside. These layers protect the lining of your stomach from strong acids that help digest food. When these layers get inflamed, doctors call it Gastritis. Besides drinking, the common reasons behind gastritis are

This inflammation sometimes causes bleeding. Maybe this is why you are seeing your poop all black and tarry.

Constipation

Being another common reason for black blood mixed stool, this problem is highly neglected. During constipation, your stool gets all dried and hard. As the hard stool passes through, it might damage the insides of the colon, causing it to bleed.

You can identify constipation if you have the following symptoms

If you see these, you should pay attention to your lifestyle first. Try taking more liquids, fibrous veggies, and laxatives. If the problem remains, take help from your trusty doctor.

Foods And Supplements

In case you are going through treatment for iron deficiency, most probably, you are taking iron supplements. Iron can be another reason your poop turned black.

Even if you take multivitamins containing iron, you might notice the same effect. Iron can turn your poop greenish or black. There are other supplements as well foods that can turn your poop black. Such as-

FAQs

Is it normal to see black poop after drinking beer?

Black poop can be a sign of several things, from the intake of black-colored food to internal bleeding. If you are a chronic drinker, alcohol might have damaged your digestive tracts. Yes, there is a chance that might have caused internal bleeding. Then, when you pooped, you saw that blood coming out of your stool.

So,  If you notice your poop is black, it is better to take suggestions from your doctor to ensure everything is fine.

Do black stool without blood mean anything?

Poops going black can be a matter of concern.  The digestive tracts might bleed due to many internal complications. If the blood is not what’s making your poop black, then you should not worry. It might be the color of the food you ate. Iron-based medicines can also turn your poop all black.

Conclusion

Who doesn’t love the color black? Well, there may be a few, but I sure do. The color black sure looks gorgeous on so many things. But what about poop? After a good night of drinking, I was tense when I noticed my stool was black. Are you going through the same problem? Of seeing black poop after drinking?

Yes, drinking can cause that black poop. Many drinks like wines and black beers contain colors that can turn your poop all black and tarry. However, the black poop you are seeing can signify something more severe. In internal damage such as in your digestive tract, bleeding can turn your poop black. Chronic drinking can cause this sort of damage.

The blood mixed with it might have come from an internal sore or tearing. In severe cases, the black poop might also indicate symptoms of cancer.

So, Unless you are sure of the reason for your black poop, try not to relax. Take your doctor’s help as soon as possible. Follow his guidelines, and you will be fine in no time.