Black tarry poop and feeling faint
Your stool looks black, sticky and tar-like. It may smell strong and strange. At the same time, you feel faint, dizzy or weak, often when you stand up.
Black tarry stool usually means blood from the stomach or upper gut. Blood turns dark and tarry as it moves through you. A bleeding ulcer, which is a sore in the stomach lining, is one common cause.
Feeling faint suggests you may have lost a fair amount of blood. You may also look pale, sweat, or feel your heart pound. Iron pills and some foods can darken stool too, but they do not make you faint.
When to see someone
Go to an emergency room now, or call an ambulance. Black tarry stool with faintness can mean you are bleeding inside. Get help right away if you also vomit blood or dark grains like coffee grounds, pass out, sweat, gasp for air, or have sharp belly pain.
Below are folk and traditional remedies people have used for stomach ulcers. Each one carries an evidence grade, which shows how much research stands behind it. None of them stand in for emergency care when there is bleeding.



