What Are The Causes Of Bloody Stool?
Finding blood in your stool can be an alarming experience. Regardless of how much you know about health care, everybody knows that bloody stool is simply not right. The appearance of bloody stool causes a whole range of possibilities to race through your mind, none of them good. What are the causes of bloody stool? What are the most likely possibilities and what should you do about it?
In very normal terms, bloody stool means that there's some sort of injury or disorder placed somewhere in your digestive tract. Unfortunately, that doesn't narrow things down very much, because your digestive tract can refer to approximately any location in the middle of your mouth and your anus. One of the ways that you and your doctor can start to zero in on the likely location of the qoute is by the color of the blood.
As a rule, the closer the source of bleeding is to the anus, the brighter red the blood will be. This is because the bacteria in your digestive theory works to break down the blood as it passes through. So the longer blood stays in your digestive tract, the darker it will become. The color of the bloody stool can range from moving red through maroon and black, all the way to occult (or hidden).
There is a great deal of emphasis on the color because this is how your doctor will begin to diagnose the causes of bloody stool. If the bloody stool is moving red, then there's a good opening the blood was essentially added on the way out by hemorrhoids or anal fissures. Obviously, although these causes of bloody stool can be uncomfortable, they are relatively minor and precisely treated. You might want to try a natural colon cleanse. Regular cleansing can approximately eliminate constipation that lead to hemorrhoids or anal fissures. Even a one-time colon cleanse can help.
The causes of bloody stool that is more maroon in color lie farther up the digestive tract. If you have intestinal polyps, these may sometimes bleed and cause maroon-colored stool. The most serious possibility is that some of these polyps have begun to make into colon cancer. That's why you should never delay contacting your doctor if you're concerned about the causes of bloody stool. Early activity could conceivably save your life. Bloody stool that is maroon in color could also be caused by inflammatory bowel disease or diverticulosis. However, most doctors agree that diverticulosis causes valuable bleeding and is therefore relatively easy to diagnose.
Some population have black and tarry stools with an especially foul odor. If the blood in your stool has turned black, that means it has spent a longer time passing through your digestive tract. The causes of bloody stool that is black and tarry (or sticky) may lie not in your colon, but rather in your stomach or small intestines. The blood has been turned black by the activity of bacteria in your system. Doctors refer to black bloody stool as "melena."
There is a possibility that the appearance of your stool was changed by something in your diet. Some foods, supplements and medicines have a tendency to turn your stool black. Licorice, iron pills, Pepto-Bismol and blueberries can succeed in black-colored stools. Beets and tomatoes, on the other hand, have a tendency to turn your stools reddish on some occasions. However, this doesn't occur all the time and not everybody experiences this symptom. Most of the time when you see red, you should assume it's blood and act accordingly.
Although not all of the causes of bloody stool are serious, there's only one safe procedure of activity if you spot bloody stool in your toilet. See a doctor. There's a good opening that the causes of bloody stool are relatively minor and precisely treated. However, you should allow a health pro to make that determination. Self-diagnosis is not recommended, especially when there could be more serious causes of bloody stool. Colon cancer causes the second top number of cancer deaths in the United States, but up to 90 percent of cases could be prevented with early detection and treatment.
Calling your doctor and discussing the color of your stool is not something that you would ordinarily look forward to doing. However, don't let embarrassment keep you from doing the right thing. Don't take chances with your health.
