Stools - pale or clay-colored

The liver releases bile salts into the stool, giving it a normal brown color. You may have clay-colored stools if you have a liver infection that reduces bile production, or if the flow of bile out of the liver is blocked.

Yellow skin (jaundice) often occurs with clay-colored stools, due to the buildup of bile chemicals in the body.

Possible causes for clay-colored stools include:

• Alcoholic hepatitis
• Biliary cirrhosis
• Cancer or noncancerous (benign) tumors of the liver, biliary system, or pancreas
• Cysts of the bile ducts
• Gallstones
• Medications
• Narrowings (strictures) of the bile ducts
• Sclerosing cholangitis
• Structural problems in the biliary system that are present from birth (congenital)
• Viral hepatitis

There may be other causes not listed here.

Call your health care provider if your stools are not the normal brown color.

The doctor will perform a physical exam and ask questions about your medical history and symptoms. Questions may include:

• When did the symptom first occur?
• Is every stool discolored?
• What medicines do you take?
• What other symptoms do you have?

Tests that may be done include:

• Blood tests, including tests to check liver function and for viruses that might affect the liver
• Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
• Imaging studies, such as an abdominal ultrasound or CT scan