What color is the stool in norovirus diarrhea?
Mar 12, 2025
Source: Cainiu Health
Dr. Shen Yonghua
Introduction
Under normal circumstances, the stool color of diarrhea caused by norovirus infection is typically yellow or yellow-green, and may also appear as white or colorless watery stool. In daily life, it is important to pay attention to personal hygiene and develop the good habit of washing hands frequently, especially before meals and after using the toilet. Hands should be thoroughly washed with soap or hand wash under running water to reduce the chance of hand-to-mouth transmission of the virus.
Under normal circumstances, the stool color of diarrhea caused by norovirus infection is typically yellow or yellow-green, and may also appear white or colorless and watery. The specific analysis is as follows:
Normally, bile pigments in human bile give stool its characteristic color. Norovirus primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract and generally does not directly interfere with the secretion or excretion of bile. Therefore, the stool usually maintains a yellow or yellow-green tone due to the action of bile. When diarrhea is severe, rapid intestinal peristalsis may prevent adequate mixing of bile and food, or excessive intestinal fluid secretion may lead to watery stool. In these cases, the stool may appear white or transparent due to reduced solid content, increased water content, and insufficient contact time with bile and other coloring substances in the intestines.
In daily life, attention should be paid to personal hygiene, and frequent handwashing should be practiced, especially before meals and after using the toilet. Hands should be thoroughly washed with soap or hand wash under running water to reduce the chance of hand-to-mouth transmission of the virus.
