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Lower digestive anatomy
Lower digestive anatomy

Stools - pale or clay colored
Definition:
Stools that are clay, pale, or putty colored.

Alternative Names:
Acholic stools

Considerations:

Jaundiced (yellow) skin often accompanies clay colored stools.

Bile salts in the stool excreted by the liver give it a normal brown color. Obstruction to bile flow out of the liver (you may see the word "cholestasis"), or liver infections like viral hepatitis (A, B, C, etc.), may produce clay colored stools.
Common Causes:
Possible causes for clay colored stool result from problems in the biliary system (the drainage system of the gallbladder, liver, and pancreas):
  • Cancer or benign tumors
  • Strictures (narrowings)
  • Congenital anatomic problems (present at birth)
  • Gallstones
  • Cysts
  • Medications
  • Sclerosing cholangitis
  • Biliary cirrhosis
  • Protein or infectious infiltration
  • Alcoholic hepatitis
  • Viral hepatitis (A,B,C, etc.)

The underlying cause needs to be investigated.
Home Care:
Follow prescribed therapy.
Call your health care provider if:
  • Clay colored or pale stools are observed. Also, if dark (bloody looking) urine occurs, or jaundice (a yellowish discoloration of the skin and eyeballs) appears, your health care provider should be contacted. If possible, a stool specimen should be taken to the doctor's office.
What to expect at your health care provider's office:
The medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.

Medical history questions documenting pale or clay colored stools in detail may include:
  • Time pattern
    • When did this first occur?
    • Is every stool this way?
  • Medications
    • What medications are being taken?
    • Have you changed medication in any way?
  • Associated symptoms
    • Any abdominal pain?
    • Any jaundice (yellowish discoloration of the skin)?
    • Has there been darkening of the urine?
    • Is there diarrhea?
    • Any fever, chills, or night sweats?
The physical examination will include emphasis on the abdominal region.

Your doctor may perform:

  • A full history, including any medications or habits, such as heavy drinking or intravenous drug use.
  • Blood work, including liver function tests and tests for viruses
  • Imaging studies, such as an abdominal ultrasound
  • Possibly, endoscopy studies with a long, flexible scope passed through the mouth to the small intestine (ERCP, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography)
  • In rare situations, surgery may be indicated.
After seeing your health care provider:
If a diagnosis was made by your health care provider related to pale or clay colored stools, you may want to note that diagnosis in your personal medical record.
Review Date: 1/21/2002
Reviewed By: Jenifer K. Lehrer, M.D., Department of Gastroenterology, Graduate Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
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