May 25, 2012
Topics A-Z Digestive Disorders Bloody stools
Bloody stools |
|
Dear Ask The Doctor: I have recently been passing very long stools that sometimes seem to have blood in them (a reddish film leaches out from the end when it's in the toilet) and is often in pain before and when he goes to the toilet. I am normally a fit an healthy person, 31 years old, with a healthy diet. My stools have gotten a lot bigger lately (and are usually a couple of times a day). Recently I am eating more fruit, however I'm isn't consuming more food than usual. What do you think is going on? Dear Guy:Bright red blood in the stool suggests bleeding from lower end of the gastrointestinal tract. This can be due to a number of reasons including a gastro-intestinal infection, inflammation of the colon, haemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, and some rarer disorders such as angiodysplasia and malignant growth. I advise attending your family physician for a detailed history of the bleeding and a clinical examination. He may perform routine blood tests and refer you to a gastroenterologist for further investigations such as colonoscopy or sigmoidoscopy, which visualise the colon through a camera lens. |
|
| Last Updated ( Saturday, 21 August 2010 ) |
|
|
|
|
