Blood on underwear and toilet tissue - so scared again

[BrokenGirl]

I'm getting myself into a state of panic again and I can't stop it.

After my bowel movement this morning I thought everything was fine, normal. I went for a walk after that and I thought I felt a bit sore in that area. When I came home I went to the toilet and saw a small bit of blood on my underwear. So I wiped near my back passage and saw some bright red blood on the toilet tissue. Instant panic.
I had one or two piles years ago but haven't had any problems from them in years. I'm trying to rationalise but I'm slipping. There wasn't a huge amount of blood but I'm really scared. My HA is definitely flaring up lately but my mind is telling me this isn't HA, it's the big c. And if it isn't bowel cancer could it be anal/rectal cancer?
I'm 42 btw. And I didn't strain during my bowel movement this morning. It was a bit on the loose side. My stomach has been making weird noises the past hour or two (no idea if that could even be connected the the blood or not).
I really need some advise here. Am I slipping down the HA rabbit hole again or have I a right to be so concerned?

[Fishmanpa]

have I a right to be so concerned?

Not in my opinion. A fissure or piles/hemmies is the most likely culprit.

Positive thoughts

[nomorepanic]

Sounds like a pile to me as well

[BrokenGirl]

Thanks for your reply Fishman and Nicola
But what I can't get out of my head is that I think I read that fissures and hemmies are usually brought on by straining, which I definitely didn't do.
And I haven't had problems with my hemmies for years - actually thought they were gone (not sure if they actually ever go away once you get them).

The fact that I feel a tiny bit sore down there is making me think anal/rectal cancer. Not sure if the symptoms of those are the same as bowel cancer, but at least i won't google that one. Hopefully I might be getting the googling symptom under control, but unfortunately I can't ever unlearn what I've read in the past.

[nomorepanic]

No they are not - I never strain and I have piles that bleed.

[BrokenGirl]

Sorry Nicola - I must have misread things so. Of course the HA mind will do that anyway.

Do you know if piles ever fully go away? I'd say the last time I had problems with them was 3 or 4 years ago. Are they always there but just not bothering you for a while once you get them?
I suppose if I did strain it would make it easier for me to believe that it was the pile flaring up

[nomorepanic]

I think they come and go - well mine do and they do cause a lot of blood, to the extent that it is literally dripping into the toilet bowl sometimes.

You should of course always get this confirmed that this is the cause of your bleeding.

[Toby2000]

Don't let your mind even consider jumping to the worst case scenario until a doctor rules out piles which is obviously so easy for them to do and even then, in these cases (especially on this site) it's almost always something benign and innocent. But yeah it's most likely piles, especially as you have a history of them