Rectal bleeding indicates the presence of fresh blood or blood clots in the stools and often on the toilet paper. Rectal bleeding is most often seen after passing stools and is usually indicative of hemorrhoids. However, the causes of rectal bleeding can be much more serious and may be cancer. Find out which rectal bleeding may indicate diseases.

Contents:

  1. Rectal bleeding - causes. Hemorrhoids
  2. Rectal bleeding - causes. Anal fissures
  3. Rectal bleeding - causes. Colon polyps
  4. Rectal bleeding - causes. Colon cancer
  5. Rectal bleeding - rarer causes

Rectal bleedingindicates fresh blood or a blood clot in the stools. Rectal bleeding is most often seenafter passing stoolsand is usually indicative of lower GI bleeding, but may also be the result of heavy upper GI bleeding with blood passing rapidly through the gut.

In the case of rectal bleeding, the physician should determine if the patient is bleeding fresh blood, whether it is mixed with the stool, or if it is onlyblood stains on the toilet paper.This allows you to roughly determine whether the bleeding comes only from the anus or if the bleeding has already occurred in the large intestine. He should also pay attention to accompanying symptoms, such as: abdominal pain, weight loss, weakness, dizziness, as well as determine whether the patient has inflammatory bowel disease, bleeding disorders, liver disease, or is taking medications that increase the likelihood of bleeding or the development of a chronic disease liver (including alcohol).

Rectal bleeding - causes. Hemorrhoids

The cause of rectal bleeding may be haemorrhoids, or haemorrhoids, hemorrhoids. These are varicose veins of the rectal plexus in the form of easily bleeding nodules. The main symptom of the disease is bleeding from the anus with fresh, bright blood. Blood stains may be visible on both the toilet paper and the stools. The accompanying symptoms are itching of the anus and its surroundings, as well as the feeling of incomplete bowel movements, which prompts a stronger pressure. The early stages of the disease can be treated conservatively (suppositories, ointments, sitz baths, regularization of bowel movements), advanced formsare treated surgically by excising the nodules along with the excess mucosa.

The main causes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding are hemorrhoids and anal fissure.

Rectal bleeding - causes. Anal fissures

An anal fissure is a narrow, long, and shallow rupture of the mucosa of the end of the anal canal (called anoderm), which is caused by excessive stretching of the anal mucosa.

Fresh cracks that appear suddenly are called acute anal fissures. Their symptom is rectal bleeding, as well as pain around the anus, which usually occurs during bowel movements and persists for some time afterwards. The pain is intense, stinging, although some call it "prickly". An acute anal fissure is usually accompanied by itching and burning in the anus, as well as a strong pressure on the stool. To treat an acute anal fissure, you should use a high-residual diet, medications that relax and soften the stool, anti-inflammatory drugs, medications that lower the tone of the sphincters, and also take a bath in warm water. When this treatment is unsuccessful (which is very rare in practice), surgery may be necessary.

Worth knowing

The presence of fresh blood only on the toilet paper or the surface of the formed stool indicates internal varicose veins or anal fissures, while dark blood mixed with the stool or clots are more common in pathologies located in the upper part of the intestine.

Pain is a frequently reported coexistent symptom of bleeding. This is typical for the presence of a rift.

Rectal bleeding - causes. Colon polyps

Polyps in the intestines look like little balloons. For good reason: they are formed due to the bulging of the mucosa towards the lumen of the intestine. Usually they do not cause any discomfort, although they do cause rectal bleeding. Pain and cramps in the lower abdomen can also be an uncharacteristic symptom of intestinal polyps. Many women compare it to the pain felt just before menstruation, while men recall it pain experienced with cystitis. Polyps should be removed as they easily become malignant. This can be done either during a colonoscopy (if they are not too large) or during surgery.

Rectal bleeding - causes. Colon cancer

Colorectal cancer is a cancer that most often manifests itself in adulthood. As much as 90 percent diagnosed cases of colorectal cancer concern people over 50 years of age, while the peak incidence is after the age of 60.

Rectal bleeding may indicate colorectal cancer, therefore it is an alarming symptom and in any case requires thorough proctological diagnosis.

Colorectal cancer may not cause any symptoms for a long time - they appear when the disease is already in a very advanced stage. Ailments that should arouse your concern include - apart from rectal bleeding - also sudden changes in bowel movements that cannot be explained by the diet (e.g. sudden onset of diarrhea with gas passing away), constipation due to intestinal narrowing, change in the shape of the stool (especially its thickness) as well as anemia, general impairment, weight loss, increased susceptibility to fatigue, lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, difficulty swallowing. Treatment depends on the stage of the disease.

Rectal bleeding - rarer causes

  • colonic diverticula - the symptoms of this disease are frequent constipation (sometimes also diarrhea), aching on the left side of the abdomen, as well as a feeling of incomplete bowel movements and the so-called empty pressures (i.e. those that do not lead to bowel movements) and indigestion.
  • inflammatory bowel diseases - e.g. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The dominant symptom is diarrhea with an admixture of blood and mucus, a feeling of urgency. They are particularly troublesome because patients may even have more than 20 bowel movements a day. This symptom is accompanied by abdominal pain, loss of appetite.
  • intestinal angiodysplasia - is a minor vascular malformation of the intestine. The hallmarks of the disease are recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding and the presence of blood in the stools.
  • solitary rectal ulcer - it is a mild disease of the rectum, the causes of which are so far unknown. Its main clinical symptom is bleeding with fresh blood from the rectum and traces of mucus in the stool. Some patients also complain of rectal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and a feeling of ineffective pressure.
  • parasitic diseases.
  • endometriosis.
  • Dieulafoy's colon syndrome.
  • ischemia in the course of vasculitis.

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