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What causes yellow diarrhea? Related conditions and treatments

Medically reviewed by Leslie Greenberg, MD
Board-Certified Family Physician
Updated May. 6, 2024  •  Published Jan. 7, 2024
Fact Checked
What causes yellow diarrhea? Related conditions and treatments
In this article:

What does yellow diarrhea look and feel like?

What does yellow diarrhea look like? Healthcare professionals define diarrhea as three or more loose or watery bowel movements a day. Whatever the cause, diarrhea involves excess water content in the stools. Stools don’t hold together in a solid mass as they normally do. In the worst cases, stools may consist of almost nothing but water. Just like regular poop, diarrhea can come out in a variety of unusual colors like bright red, green, orange, pale, white, or yellow. No matter what their consistency, stools turn yellow because of the presence of undigested fat. That’s usually a sign that food is not getting properly absorbed. However, not everything that causes yellow stools also causes diarrhea. However, chronic diarrhea is a common symptom of fatty stools. Other symptoms of yellow diarrhea might include other signs of fatty stool, including bloating, abdominal pain, and weight loss.

Key takeaways:

  • Yellow diarrhea is a common symptom that may be caused by fat malabsorption due to liver problems, pancreas issues, or gastrointestinal infections.

  • Typically, yellow diarrhea does not require immediate medical attention.

  • Yellow diarrhea generally does not require treatment unless the diarrhea is excessively watery, there’s blood in the diarrhea, the diarrhea persists for more than two days, or yellow stools persist for several days or more. It typically resolves with or without treatment in a few days, but any continued abnormality with stools need an evaluation.

  • Hydration is commonly used to avoid the diarrhea complications of dehydration.

  •  Antidiarrheal medications are sometimes used to treat the yellow stool. The treatment will vary by cause. 

  • Yellow diarrhea can be managed with rehydration, dietary changes, and lifestyle changes.

  • Use coupons for yellow diarrhea treatments, like Kaopectate (bismuth subsalicylate), Imodium AD (loperamide), and Lomotil (diphenoxylate-atropine), to save up to 80%.

What causes yellow diarrhea?

While diarrhea has many causes, the causes of yellow diarrhea are related to fat in the stools, so there aren’t many causes of yellow diarrhea. 

The most harmless cause of yellow diarrhea is food. Yellow foods like turmeric, sweet potatoes, or yellow food coloring might cause yellow stool color, but they usually don’t cause diarrhea, as well. High-fat diets may also play a role in occasional yellow stools or loose stools. If yellow diarrhea happens once or twice and everything returns to normal in one or two days, it’s probably something you ate.

Stools, loose stools, and diarrhea turn yellow primarily because the stools contain unabsorbed or undigested fats. Healthcare professionals call this steatorrhea (stee-at-tuh-ree-uh). Not only do unabsorbed fats turn stools yellow, but they also add a particularly foul smell to bowel movements. When yellow stools are solid, they usually float in the toilet bowl because the undigested fat makes them buoyant. Fatty stool and its causes aren’t always diarrhea causes, but chronic diarrhea can be a symptom of fatty stool.

Yellow diarrhea has three possible causes: insufficient amounts of digestive enzymes to break down fats, bile acid deficiencies so that fats are not absorbed, and infections of the small intestine.

Digestive enzymes secreted by the pancreas break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats so the intestines can absorb them. The most common cause of digestive enzyme deficiencies is acute or chronic pancreatitis. Other causes include:

  • Pancreatic cancer

  • Removal of part or all of the pancreas

  • Stomach surgery

  • Cystic fibrosis

  • Celiac disease

Another cause of yellow diarrhea and yellow stools is bile acid deficiency. Bile acid is the substance that allows the intestines to absorb fat. Bile salts are made in the liver and pass through the pancreas and gallbladder into the digestive tract. Fats attach to bile acid and more or less hitch a ride into the body when the intestines absorb the bile.

Diarrhea can be a symptom of bile acid deficiencies, but the definitive symptom is pale stools. Excess fat in the stools can cause yellow stools or diarrhea. Bile acid deficiency can be caused by a bile duct blockage or a problem with the liver’s ability to make bile. Common causes include:

  • Gallstones

  • Liver diseases such as hepatitis, cirrhosis, or amyloidosis

  • Inflammation

  • Injury

  • Tumors

  • Scarring and narrowing of the bile ducts

Bile acid malabsorption occurs when the intestines have problems absorbing bile acid and attached fats. Diarrhea and fatty stools are common symptoms. Bile acid malabsorption can be caused by:

Some small intestine infections cause both diarrhea and poor fat absorption, such as:

Finally, the weight loss drug Xenical (orlistat) often causes yellow stools and diarrhea as side effects. Xenical’s primary mechanism of action is to interfere with the body’s ability to absorb fats which is how patients lose weight on this medication.

Should I be worried about yellow diarrhea?

See a healthcare professional if diarrhea lasts for longer than two days in adults or longer than one day in children. Also, see a healthcare provider if diarrhea is accompanied by other symptoms such as severe abdominal pain, high fever, or blood in the diarrhea. Symptoms of severe dehydration (shortness of breath, chest pain, confusion, dizziness) require immediate medical care.

Even if diarrhea is not present, see a doctor about chronic yellow (or pale) stools or oily, smelly stools. These may be signs of an underlying disorder. The most worrisome causes of yellow or oily stools may result in serious complications such as malnutrition, weight loss, anemia, gallstones, kidney stones, or loss of bone density (osteoporosis).

How is the cause of yellow diarrhea diagnosed?

No matter what the color, diarrhea is diagnosed in stages. In the first stage, healthcare providers assess for dehydration or electrolyte imbalances. Both these conditions need to be corrected quickly. They will look for symptoms such as:

  • Thirst

  • Dry mouth

  • Fatigue

  • Infrequent urination

  • Dark urine

  • Sunken eyes or cheeks

  • Lightheadedness

To figure out the cause of yellow diarrhea, the clinician will assess other symptoms, take a medical history, perform a physical examination, and possibly obtain lab work. Be prepared to answer questions such as:

  • How long have you had diarrhea?

  • Do stools smell particularly bad?

  • Do you feel bloated?

  • Have you lost weight?

  • Do you have abdominal pain?

  • Any family history of inflammatory bowel disease or celiac disease?

  • Any other symptoms?

  • Have you noticed the yellowing of your eyes or skin?

The healthcare professional will look for other symptoms such as anemia, malnutrition, mouth ulcers, rash, jaundice, abdominal pain, bloating, cramping, fatigue, and itching. At some point, a primary care provider may refer you to a doctor who specializes in the gastrointestinal system, called a gastroenterologist.

A precise diagnosis may require analyzing a stool sample and blood tests, including liver function tests. Other tests might include an abdominal X-ray, MRI, endoscopic ultrasound, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP), breath tests, urine tests, or an endoscopic examination of the small intestine.

Is yellow diarrhea contagious?

Most causes of yellow diarrhea are not contagious. However, yellow diarrhea due to giardiasis, a parasite infection, is contagious. People with giardiasis symptoms actively shed millions of giardia cysts in their stools … even weeks after the infection is over. The infection is spread when people ingest anything contaminated with feces containing cysts. People with giardiasis should take measures to prevent its spread by:

  • Regularly washing their hands with soap and water

  • Washing hands after using the restroom

  • Washing hands before preparing food

  • Not sharing towels or clothing with other people

How long does yellow diarrhea last?

Yellow diarrhea will last or recur for as long as the underlying cause is not resolved. Diarrhea itself can be managed with antidiarrheal medications, but the underlying cause of the yellow poop may still be present and have other symptoms. Yellow stools do not resolve until the underlying cause is addressed.

How to stop yellow diarrhea

Even a short bout of diarrhea requires some treatment. At the minimum, people with diarrhea need to replace the water being lost by drinking more water than usual. Electrolyte drinks will help restore depleted electrolytes. Occasional and brief bouts of diarrhea can be addressed with over-the-counter antidiarrheal medications such as Pepto-Bismol (bismuth subsalicylate). Some people turn to over-the-counter herbal or dietary supplements.

If diarrhea lasts for longer than two days, see a doctor. Treatments might include:

  • Hydration

  • Over-the-counter or prescription antidiarrheal medications or antibiotics

These treatments will all improve or relieve diarrhea. That leaves the problem of yellow or fatty stools. The causes are very diverse, so treatments vary profoundly. They can involve:

  • Dietary changes or restrictions, such as a gluten-free diet for celiac disease

  • Antibiotics or antimicrobial medications

  • Pancreatic enzyme replacement therapy (PERT)

  • Corticosteroids

  • Immune suppressants

  • Aminosalicylates

  • Shockwave lithotripsy (for gallstones)

  • Surgery

Living with yellow diarrhea

Diarrhea can be treated. However, some causes of yellow poop or diarrhea may be chronic or lifelong conditions. Some people may need to take pancreatic enzymes every time they eat. Here’s how to live with the chronic malabsorption problems that can cause yellow stools or diarrhea:

  • Follow the diet given by doctors or a nutritionist

  • Avoid all foods a nutritionist or healthcare provider tells you to avoid

  • Take supplements containing vital nutrients, including iron supplements, B12 supplements, and folic acid

  • Take medications as prescribed

  • If prescribed pancreatic enzymes take each dose right before eating every time

Most importantly, don’t panic

Occasional diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms are not a reason to panic, even if the diarrhea is alarmingly yellow. Let time and other symptoms guide you. If the diarrhea doesn’t get better after a couple of days or there are other concerning symptoms, such as blood in the diarrhea, see a healthcare provider. If stools remain stubbornly yellow for several days or there are other symptoms like weight loss, again, see a healthcare provider. In either case, the problem may be readily treatable.

Additional resources for people with yellow diarrhea

Test and diagnostics

Treatments

Scientific studies and clinical trials

Medically reviewed by Leslie Greenberg, MD
Board-Certified Family Physician

Leslie Greenberg, MD, is a board-certified practicing family physician with more than 25 years of doctoring experience. She was a psychology major at Northwestern University near Chicago, then graduated with an MD from the University of Nevada School of Medicine. She completed her family medicine residency at St. Joseph Hospital in Wichita, Kansas. She has trained more than 350 family medicine resident-physicians, been in private practice, and delivered babies for 22 years.

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