Bleeding from the Back Passage

Dear Ask The Doctor: I have a question and i was wondering if you can tell me what it means when you wipe AFTER USEING THE BATHROOM and there is blood on the toletpaper?

Dear Matthew: The presence of blood on toilet paper after a bowel movement is usually indicative of bleeding from the rectum or anus. This bleeding is most commonly due to the presence of haemorrhoids, secondary to constipation. Other causes of bleeding from the back passage include: diverticular disease (inflammation of an outpouching of the colon or large intestine); colitis (inflammation of the colon); polyps (slow-growing overgrowth on the surface of the colon); inflammatory bowel disease; malignant growth or angiodysplasia (vascular abnormality that causes bleeding from the large bowel). I advise consulting your family doctor for a detailed history of the bleeding and a physical examination. He may refer you for further investigation if appropriate in your case; including colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy which visualise the walls of the large intestine through a camera lens.