blood in stool

Whether you find blood in your stool when wiping away after a bowel movement or as the result of a test your doctor ordered, finding blood in your stool might be unsettling. Blood in the stool can indicate a serious problem, but it does not always. Here’s what you need to know about the potential reasons for bloody stools and what you should do if you suspect a problem, along with your doctor.

Causes Of Blood In Stool

Blood in the stool indicates that your digestive tract is bleeding someplace. Sometimes the amount of blood is so small that only a faecal occult test (which looks for hidden blood in the stool) can detect it. Other times, it may appear as bright red blood on toilet tissue or in the toilet after a bowel movement. Stool that is black and tarry may indicate bleeding higher up in the digestive tract.

List of potential causes of blood in the stool:

Anal fissure- a tiny crack or tear in the tissue lining the anus that resembles a paper cut or chapped lips. Fissures can be painful and are frequently brought on by passing a large, hard stool.

Diverticular disease- Diverticula are tiny pouches that stick out of the colon wall. Diverticula typically don’t create issues, but they can occasionally bleed or get infected.

Peptic ulcers- the top end of the small intestine’s duodenum or stomach that has an open sore on its lining. A bacterium called Helicobacter pylori is the primary cause of many peptic ulcers (H. pylori). Additionally, ulcers can be brought on by long-term use or high doses of anti-inflammatory medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.

Colitis- colonic inflammation. Infections and inflammatory bowel disease are a couple of the more prevalent causes.

Angiodysplasia- Bleeding is caused by a condition in which blood vessels are brittle and abnormal.

Polyps or cancer- Polyps are benign growths that have the potential to bleed, spread, and develop into cancer. The fourth most frequent cancer in the United States is colorectal cancer. It frequently results in bleeding that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Diagnosis

Any bleeding in the stool needs to be evaluated by a doctor. Any information you can provide regarding the bleeding will assist your doctor in identifying the blood’s source. An ulcer or other issue in the upper part of the digestive tract, for instance, would likely be the cause of a black, tarry stool. Bright red blood or faeces that are maroon in colour typically point to an issue with the lower digestive tract, such as diverticulitis or haemorrhoids.

The health care practitioner may request tests to identify the cause of bleeding after obtaining a medical history and performing a physical examination. Testing might involve:

EGD(Esophagogastroduodenoscopy)- A flexible tube with a small camera attached is inserted through the mouth, down the esophagus, and into the stomach and duodenum. This will help the doctor locate the bleeding’s origin. Small tissue samples can be obtained during endoscopy and examined under a microscope (biopsy).

Colonoscopy- an EGD-like procedure where the scope is inserted through the rectum to view the colon instead of the mouth. Colonoscopy can be used to obtain tissue samples for biopsies, just like an EGD can.

Nasogastric lavage – a test that could reveal to your doctor whether the upper or lower digestive tract is bleeding. During the surgery, a tube that is introduced into the stomach through the nose is used to remove the stomach’s contents. If there is no sign of bleeding in the stomach, the bleeding may have stopped or is likely to be in the lower digestive tract.

Enteroscopy- a procedure used to look inside the small intestine that is comparable to colonoscopy and EGD. In some instances, this entails ingesting a capsule that contains a tiny camera and transmits images to a video monitor as it travels through the digestive system.

Radionuclide scanning- A procedure that involves injecting minute amounts of radioactive material into a vein, followed by the use of a special camera to view images of blood flow in the gastrointestinal tract and identify areas where bleeding is occurring.

Barium X-ray- a process that makes the digestive tract visible on an X-ray using the contrast agent barium. The barium can be inserted into the rectum or swallowed.

Angiography- a process where a special dye is injected into a vein to make blood vessels visible on an X-ray or computer tomography (CT) scan. As dye leaks out of blood vessels at the bleeding site, the procedure detects bleeding.

Laparotomy- an operation where the abdomen is opened and examined by the surgeon. If other tests are unable to identify the source of the bleeding, this may be required.

Accompanying Symptoms- Someone who has blood in their faeces may not be bleeding and may not have mentioned any symptoms. On the other hand, depending on the origin, location, extent, and severity of the bleeding, individuals could also experience nausea, vomiting, weakness, breathing difficulties, diarrhoea, palpitations, fainting, and weight loss.

Treatments Of Blood In Stool

A doctor may halt acute bleeding using one of numerous methods. Endoscopy is frequently used to inject medications into the bleeding area, treat the area with a laser or electric current, or put a band or clip on the bleeding vessel. The doctor may employ angiography to inject medication into the blood vessels to reduce bleeding if endoscopy is unable to do so.

The goal of treatment, in addition to halting the bleeding right away, is to prevent it from happening again. Depending on the underlying reason, several medications may be used for treatment, such as antibiotics to treat H. pylori, ones to reduce stomach acid, or anti-inflammatory drugs to treat colitis. Polyps and colonic tissue affected by cancer, diverticulitis, or inflammatory bowel disease may require surgery to be removed.

However, depending on the underlying problem, treatment can just entail easy DIY tasks. These include having a Sitz bath, which involves sitting in warm water to ease fissures and hemorrhoids, and eating a high-fiber diet to relieve constipation, which can cause and aggravate hemorrhoids and anal fissures.