What Do Bloody Stools Indicate?

Having blood in your feces can be scary. Fortunately, it doesn’t always signal a life-threatening problem. Bloody stools indicate that bleeding is occurring some place in your gastrointestinal tract. You may see blood on toilet paper or in the commode. Or you might be unaware of any bleeding. Amounts can be so tiny and hidden in your feces that detection requires a fecal occult test. explain potential causes, tests, and treatments.

Possible Sources

• Hemorrhoids: Enlargement of these anal tissue masses may initiate mild bleeding. For extreme pain and itching, consult your doctor for treatment options. Shop for various affordable hemorrhoid remedies.
• Anal fissures: Passing large, hard bowel movements can create small, painful tears or cuts in the tissues lining your anus. Bright red blood may be visible in the commode or on toilet tissue.
• Diverticular disease: Small diverticula pouches project from your colon wall. They aren’t problematic usually, but bleeding and infections are possible.
• Peptic ulcers: Helicobacter pylori ( pylori) bacterial infections can create open sores in your stomach or upper small intestine and dark, bloody stools.
• Colitis: Infections and inflammatory bowel disease can trigger this inflamed colon condition that includes abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea.
• Esophageal problems: Tears and varicose veins in your esophagus can induce blood loss.
• Angiodysplasia: This condition involves bleeding in abnormally fragile blood vessels.
• Colon polyps: These benign growths can increase in size, bleed, and develop into cancer.
• Colorectal cancer: The third most prevalent American cancer causes internal bleeding that patients can’t notice visually.

Diagnostic Tests

See your doctor to evaluate any bloody poop. Providing details can help him locate the bleeding site. Bright red blood and maroon-colored poop typify lower digestive tract problems like hemorrhoids and diverticulitis. Black, tarry feces tend to stem from ulcers and other upper digestive tract conditions. Also explain any additional symptoms. Depending on your bleeding’s cause, location, severity, and duration, you could experience chest and/or abdominal pains, diarrhea, vomiting, weakness, weight loss, palpitations, breathing difficulties, fatigue, and/or fainting. After a medical history review and physical examination, your doctor might order one or more of these tests to pinpoint your bleeding’s source: Lab tests: Various tests can spot anemia, H. pylori bacterial infections, and blood clotting problems. Nasogastric lavage: Your radiologist will insert a tube through your nose into your stomach to remove your stomach’s contents. If no blood is evident, your lower GI tract is probably the source of your bleeding. Or it could have stopped. Barium X-ray: For this procedure, you may swallow a barium contrast liquid so your digestive tract will be visible on X-rays. Or your radiologist might insert the barium enema substance through your rectum. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD): Your doctor will insert a flexible tube through your mouth, down your esophagus and into your duodenum and stomach. Using the small camera on the endoscope’s end, he’ll look for your bleeding source. He also might collect some tissue samples to conduct a biopsy via microscope. Colonoscopy: Although this procedure is similar to the EGD, your doctor inserts the scope through your rectum to examine your colon. Like the EGD, he can snip off tissue samples for a biopsy. Enteroscopy: Comparable to the two previous tests, this procedure examines your small intestine. You may swallow a capsule containing a miniature camera that will transmit images to a video monitor while passing through your digestive tract. Angiography: A radiologist will inject a vein with dye to inspect your blood vessels on a computerized tomography (CT) scan or X-rays. He can detect dye leaking from your blood vessels to pinpoint your bleeding site. Radionuclide scanning: After injecting a vein with radioactive material, your radiologist will use a camera to examine images of your blood flowing in your digestive tract. This will allow him to discover where your bleeding is occurring. Laparotomy: If the above tests can’t find your bleeding cause, your doctor may perform this surgical procedure that opens and explores your abdomen.

Treatment Options

Your physician will recommend treatments based on your unique diagnosis. They’ll address your bleeding cause to prevent its return. Depending on the source, medications could include antibiotics that treat H. pylori, antacids to suppress stomach acid, and anti-inflammatory medicines for colitis. Search CanadianPharmacyMeds.com for these prescription drug types. For more minor cases, lifestyle changes can be beneficial. Following a fiber-rich diet can ease constipation that aggravates hemorrhoids or anal fissures while warm sitz baths can minimize rectal pain. Several medical techniques can stop severe bleeding. Using an endoscope, your doctor may inject chemicals at your bleeding site, treat it with a laser or electric current, or close a bleeding vessel with a clip or band. If endoscopy doesn’t control your bleeding, angiography might be necessary to inject a medicine into your blood vessels that will stop your bleed loss. You might need surgery to remove polyps or any part of your colon that diverticulitis, inflammatory bowel disease, or cancer has damaged.