Variations in Stool Color - Normal or Concerning?

Just curious if, when emptying, others notice differing hues of brown in their output once in the toilet. Some is light brown, then patches of dark brown, etc. I always get concerned if it's blood or something, so just curious if others have noticed this? Or is your output when emptying the bag all the same color? Thanks, maybe TMI, but I know this is a good place to ask 😂

It varies a lot.

True

It does vary a lot and also depends on what you eat and drink; that can change the color of the waste. My doctor told me a while back that if my waste started to look black or like tar, it might be a sign of blood in my waste. I have an ileostomy, and there were times when my waste was darker than I imagined. Then I realized that I had recently had a blueberry muffin 😳. When I had my temporary colostomy and my nurse came in to help, I had drunk a tropical punch Gatorade, which turned my waste red, and my nurse freaked out thinking I was bleeding internally, to which I told her what it was 🤪. With a permanent ileostomy, it does the same.

Generally, it is all the same, but does vary from day to day.

A bag of many colors… Whatever lovely colors go in the pie hole transforms to a multitude of colors on the way out. Beware of output from beets and watermelon—a scary red but harmless… jb

How to Manage Ostomy Leaks with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Yes, it's normal. In fact, it happened to me tonight. When it happens, I always think, "Hmm, that must be leftovers from a different meal," and then the new color from something I just ate.

I've had blue output before. It depends a lot on what you eat. I've had green, sea green, blue, brown, black, orange, yellow, and swirls of brown and dark brown. And when I ate red cake, I had a sea of red output. It was terrible and scary at first, but it was just the red dye coming out. I wouldn't worry about different shades of brown. The body processes things in weird ways sometimes.

You can have any color you like as long as it is brown.

Drink a red slush and you might freak out until you realize it is the dye in the slush that made your output look really red. I get all shades of brown, green, black if I drink grape juice, and orange bits after eating carrots. I don't worry about the color, as long as I feel good it does not matter to me.

Thanks, everyone.