Yellow Diarrhea - Causes and Symptoms

Definition

Yellow diarrhea is a rather rare symptom, which usually indicates an accelerated transit of the gastrointestinal tract or the presence of undigested fats.

This manifestation is found mainly as an expression of problems in the small intestine that lead to difficulty in digestion. Sometimes, yellow diarrhea may be due to completely occasional diet-related changes. In other cases, however, if the problem does not tend to regress within a day or two, it may signal the presence of more severe disorders.

Diarrheal yellowish discharges can occur in pathological states that interfere with normal nutrient absorption (eg celiac disease and other malabsorption syndromes). This symptom is also observed in the presence of gastroesophageal reflux disease, which can cause the body to digest food at a faster rate than normal. A violent yellow diarrhea may also depend on infections of the gastrointestinal tract, such as giardiasis.

The yellowish or very light colored stools can be related to the reduction of the quantity of bile salts, which could depend on inflammation, compression and obstructive problems. Among the conditions that may be associated with this phenomenon include some diseases of the liver (hepatitis), pancreas (chronic pancreatitis) and biliary tract (gall bladder stones, cholecystitis and biliary cirrhosis). Other diseases that may be responsible for this manifestation are sclerosing cholangitis, liver cirrhosis and neoplastic processes affecting the biliary system.

If protracted over time, yellow diarrhea can also be a symptom of cystic fibrosis, inflammatory bowel disease (irritable bowel syndrome, ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease), tuberculous enteritis, lactose intolerance and colon carcinoma.