Blood in stool question

[Caribou93]

Hello all (again)

I was just wondering if someone could possibly answer a question that I have about an on and off again issue.

In early January of this year I saw what looked like blood in my stool (not a lot, but enough for me to notice it). Well, I ended up going to my doctor 3 times (once for the first visit, then the next two were follow ups), and by the 3rd visit, my doctor did not seem concerned as my blood work was fine and there was no indication of blood loss...I.E. from a possible polyp or tumor.

Well, that was back in May when I had my last blood test. Fast forward to now, and I have seen small dots of blood in my stool twice...once this morning, and the other time two days ago. It wasn't a lot, and I had to really look for it to find it - or I had to double take and say is that red?

But, I just wanted to ask anyone if I should go back to the doctors or not. I mean, my stomach doesn't hurt me. I mean, I have the same lower right pain I have had for years now, that hasn't changed. But, I just worry that it was a polyp or something that has grown and now I have cancer. This started about 8.5 months ago, give or take a few days.

One more thing I want to add, the past two times I've seen the blood (or what I think is blood), it looks like the red is a part of my stool, it's not drops of it, but it's in the stool. And I would say the spot is roughly the size of a pencil eraser. I'm just kind of confused and worried all at the same time...because it's almost like an orange reddish color. Like I said, I worry that it's a polyp that's bleeding, or a tumor that's starting to get larger. My stools aren't flat or thin, I just see this and it kind of freaks me out.

[KK77]

You're looking too hard and over-thinking, which points to work still being needed on your anxiety levels. What you describe is probably due to something innocent like a small rupture caused by straining etc. Unless you notice a lot of blood when you wipe, or your bowel habits change dramatically, I wouldn't worry.

[Bike Rider]

Hemorrhoids or a fissure, I have one and I get the same symptoms as you. Had it over 40yrs now.

[orthagonal]

It's almost certainly hemorrhoidal or fissure bleeding. Bright red blood is a very poor diagnostic indicator for CRC, especially in people under 50 or in the absence of additional symptoms. However...

I dealt with bleeding for years and years and while I assumed it was just hemorrhoidal bleeding, every time it happened I had that fear in the back of my head. So I went ahead and had a colonoscopy at the age of 37. And you know what, it was what I thought it was. The fear in the back of my head was gone. So if you can get it through your insurance, you might consider getting one. The prep day sucks, but the procedure is a piece of cake if you get sedation (most places only do it under sedation as far as I know, in the US anyway). Then you won't have to worry about it for ten more years.

[au Lait]

What you're describing doesn't sound like blood, but rather digested food material. Red foods can come out red on the other end if they didn't get fully digested. Foods like beet root, red peppers, and tomatoes can all look like what you're describing. You can also get a little blood in your stool from straining too hard, constipation, or wiping your bum too aggressively (lol sorry for being graphic). The process of digestion itself causes food to change colors. Sometimes things just look red due to that, but it's not blood. If it were blood there'd be no question in your mind; you'd know what it was right away. It would be either bright red or black, not orangish.

If your dr already ran tests and they all came back normal then I'd say you've got nothing to worry about. When Drs worry about blood in the stool, they're looking either for large amounts of blood (not just a small spot) or black stool. A little red spot now and then is typically not a cause for concern. I've experienced what you're describing too and I think it's normal.

[Annaboodle]

Like Au Lait said above, it could be digested food material. I spend way more time than I'd like peering at the stools of a 3 year old toddler and also a puppy to see how their bowels are doing. With the toddler red foods like peppers and tomatoes appear sometimes as tiny coloured parts of the stool, beetroot shows up as streaks, sweetcorn and rice also make an appearance. With the dog, he doesn't chew his food enough/at all if it's not mushed down to nothing, and I spent last week worrying he had worms (he doesn't - it was grains of rice from these dog treats he has). Sorry, that's far too much information about my dog's arse, lol, but you get the idea.

Otherwise I'd be thinking maybe piles or a fissure. I've had both over the years and they're extremely common.

[Ozcar]

Hemorrhoids or anal fissure for sure, had them before and seen a lot of bright red blood, it can even cause infection and fever sometimes, one time while i was traveling, i passed a hard stool and aggravated the area which caused a fissure, saw small specks of blood coming even on the tissue all night, caused me to get a fever and literally almost had to go to hospital the next day but luckily the Tylenol and suppositories i got from a local pharmacy worked.