Bowel Problems

Dear Ask The Doctor: I have sudden urges to have a bowel movement, up to 10 times per day. The is always a large amount of bright red blood, both in the stool and in the bowl. I have no cramps, no pain, no weightloss. I have has three colonoscopys, and a dye test,with three different doctors. None of the found anything wrong. A few polyps were removed during the first scope. I eat properly, don't smoke or drink alchol and exercise atleat three time per week.

Dear Doreen: I understand your concern about increased bowel movements containing blood. In my opinion, since there is not much information I will suggest you to consult a Gastroenterologist. Firstly to rule out an infection, some gastrointestinal infections might cause hemorrhagic diarrheas and depending on the entity causing it, different medication might be needed. However other symptoms such as abdominal cramping or fever might be present.

On the other hand, since you had a history of polyps, but you don’t mention when you had your last Colonoscopy. If more than five years passed since your last one, it would be recommended for you to get another one to evaluate possible bleeding polyps. If Colon cancer runs in the family, this would matter even more. Certainly causes like bacterial or viral infection, ulcerative colitis or proctitis, Crohn's colitis, ischemic colitis or proctitis might need to be ruled out. I wish you the best.