Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding: Introduction

Rectal bleeding is an abnormal condition in which there is bleeding from the rectum or blood that accompanies or is mixed in with feces. Rectal bleeding can be the result of a wide variety of conditions, such as hemorrhoids, diverticula, inflammatory bowel disease, rectal prolapse, colorectal cancer, rectal abscesses, intestinal infections, peptic ulcer, intestinal polyps, constipation, or anal fissures.

Rectal bleeding can indicate a mild condition, such as hemorrhoids, or it can accompany a serious, even life-threatening condition, such as esophageal varices.

Rectal bleeding can appear in a variety of forms. There may be small amounts of bright red blood that is mixed with stool or that shows up on toilet paper after wiping. Bright red blood can also be discharged from the rectum in small to massive amounts without an accompanying bowel movement. Blood clots can also be present with rectal bleeding.

Another type of rectal bleeding occurs when there is blacken blood mixed in with stool. Stools may appear black and tarry, or maroon in color. Blood in the stool may also be in such small quantities that it cannot be seen by the naked eye. This is called fecal occult blood, and may indicate a serious condition.

There are many symptoms that can accompany rectal bleeding, depending on the cause of the bleeding. Symptoms often involve the gastrointestinal system but can affect body systems as well. For more details about symptoms, see symptoms of rectal bleeding.

Diagnosing rectal bleeding and its cause begins with taking a thorough personal and family medical history, including symptoms, and completing a physical examination. A digital rectal examination and testing for fecal occult blood are generally performed at this time. A digital rectal examination involves inserting a finger into the rectum to feel for any abnormalities and obtain a sample of stool.

The stool sample is then tested for fecal occult blood, which can indicate invisible, hidden blood in the stool. Your health care provider may also examine the rectum using an anoscope, which is inserted a short way into the rectum to look for causes of rectal bleeding.

Making a diagnosis of rectal bleeding may also include performing special imaging tests to see a picture of the insides of the gastrointestinal tract. These may consist of some combination of tests, such as a barium X-ray, CT scan, MRI, and a variety of tests using video imaging technology. These include sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy. These tests involve passing a small flexible tube fitted with a camera through the anus into the colon to look for abnormal areas and sites of bleeding. During this procedure, samples of tissue may be taken to be tested to confirm a diagnosis. The upper areas of the gastrointestinal tract can be examined in a similar way through the mouth and esophagus in an endoscopy procedure.

A diagnosis of rectal bleeding and its cause can easily be delayed or missed because tiny amounts of blood may not be noticeable. For information on misdiagnosis, refer to misdiagnosis of rectal bleeding.

Treatment of rectal bleeding varies greatly depending on the cause and a variety of other factors. Some conditions can be easily and successfully treated, while other may require intensive treatment. For more information on treatment, refer to treatment of rectal bleeding. ...more »

Rectal bleeding: Bleeding from the rectum or anus is a serious symptom. The first or most noticable symptom may be bloody stool or bloody diarrhea. The condition may ... more about Rectal bleeding.

Rectal bleeding: A condition which is characterized by bleeding from the rectum. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Rectal bleeding is available below.

Rectal bleeding: Symptoms

The types of symptoms of rectal bleeding and its causes can vary widely. The severity of symptoms can run the gamut from mild to extreme. The presentation of symptoms depends on the cause, the presence of coexisting diseases, the age of the patient, and other factors.

Rectal bleeding in itself may be bright red to dark red to black in color. Rectal bleeding is often mixed with stool, ...more »

Rectal bleeding: Treatments

Treatment plans for rectal bleeding is individualized depending on the cause, the presence of coexisting diseases, the age of the patient, and other factors.

Many causes of rectal bleeding, such as hemorrhoids, anal fissures, rectal abscesses or constipation can often be effectively treated with relatively simple measures. These may include changes in diet, drinking lots ...more »

Alternative Treatments for Rectal bleeding

Alternative treatments or home remedies that have been listed in various sources as possibly beneficial for Rectal bleeding may include:

• Rinse anal area with water, not toilet paper
• Ghee-topical
• Castor oil-topical
• Avoid caffeine
• Avoid acidic foods
• more treatments »

Rectal bleeding: Misdiagnosis

Rectal bleeding is a symptom of many different conditions, so a thorough medical evaluation is needed to ensure an accurate diagnosis of the disease or condition that is causing rectal bleeding. Even if rectal bleeding appears to be caused by obvious hemorrhoids, some patients may also need a colonoscopy to ensure that bleeding isn't also coming some ...more »

Symptoms of Rectal bleeding

Read more about symptoms of Rectal bleeding

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Rectal bleeding:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• more...»

Wrongly Diagnosed with Rectal bleeding?

• Misdiagnosis of Rectal bleeding
• Hidden causes of Rectal bleeding (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Videos for Rectal bleeding

See full list of 4 related videos

Rectal bleeding: Related Patient Stories

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• IBD(U/C) & rectal bleeding for six weeks!

Causes of Rectal bleeding

Read more about causes of Rectal bleeding.

More information about causes of Rectal bleeding:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Rectal bleeding (54 listings)
• Drug interactions causing Rectal bleeding (87 listings)
• Rectal bleeding as a complication caused by other conditions
• Rectal bleeding as a symptom

Disease Topics Related To Rectal bleeding

Research the causes of these diseases that are similar to, or related to, Rectal bleeding:

• Lower gastrointestinal bleeding
• GI bleeding
• Lower GI bleeding
• Gastrointestinal hemorrhage
• GI hemorrhage
• more related diseases...»

Medical Textbooks Online about Rectal bleeding

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Rectal bleeding: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available for Rectal bleeding:

• Digestive Health
• more product offers...»

Rectal bleeding: Undiagnosed Conditions

Commonly undiagnosed diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders that can remain Undiagnosed:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Celiac Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Heartburn -- Undiagnosed
  • GERD -- Undiagnosed
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Pancreatitis -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Misdiagnosis and Rectal bleeding

Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The digestive system contains a variety of ...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. food...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known...read more »

Meckel's diverticulum: Meckel's diverticulum is one of the major causes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in children.Meckel's diverticulum is a remnant of the omphalomesenteric duct and the...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding: Research Doctors & Specialists

Research related physicians and medical specialists:

• Digestive Health Specialists (Gastroenterology):
  • Gastroenterology (Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Health)
• Rectal/Anal Health Specialists (Proctology):
  • Proctology (Anal/Rectal Specialist)
  • Colon & Rectal Surgery
• Blood Health Specialists (Hematology):
  • Hematology (Blood Specialists)
  • Pediatric Hematology / Oncology (Child Cancer/Leukemia)
  • Hematopathology (Blood Diagnostics)
• more specialists...»

Other doctor, physician and specialist research services:

• Rate Your Doctor Online
• Research Your Doctor Online
• Review Patient Surveys About Your Doctor
• Research local specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Hospitals & Clinics: Rectal bleeding

Research quality ratings and patient safety measures for medical facilities in specialties related to Rectal bleeding:

• Digestive Health (Gastroenterology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more hospital ratings...»

Hospital & Clinic quality ratings » »

Choosing the Best Hospital: More general information, not necessarily in relation to Rectal bleeding, on hospital performance and surgical care quality:

• 50 Best Hospitals Report
• Outstanding Patient Experinece Award Winning Hospitals
• Women's Health Best Hospitals
• Patient Safety
• Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence Study (2009)

Rectal bleeding: Rare Types

Rare types of diseases and disorders in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Rare Types
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Rare Types
  • Celiac Disease -- Rare Types
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Rare Types
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Pancreatitis -- Rare Types
  • Gallstones -- Rare Types
  • Lactose Intolerance -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Evidence Based Medicine Research for Rectal bleeding

Medical research articles related to Rectal bleeding include:

• Unfractionated or low-molecular weight heparin for induction of remission in ulcerative colitis
• Laparoscopic sigmoid resection for diverticulitis decreases major morbidity rates: a randomized control trial: short-term results of the Sigma Trial
• What proportion of otherwise well elderly men with visible haemorrhoids on proctoscopy and recurrent fresh rectal bleeding also have a bowel malignancy?
• In patients presenting with occasional rectal bleeding, with a history of IBS and previous diagnosis of haemorrhoids, when should they be referred for a repeat colonoscopy or barium enema?
• Should all patients with rectal bleeding be referred for further investigations even if have strong history and examination consistent with haemorrhoids?
• Diagnostic utility of alarm features for colorectal cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis
• Lower gastrointestinal events in a double-blind trial of the cyclo-oxygenase-2 selective inhibitor etoricoxib and the traditional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac
• more research...»

Click here to find more evidence-based articles on the TRIP Database

Rectal bleeding: Animations

More Rectal bleeding animations & videos

Reseach about Rectal bleeding

Visit our research pages for current research about Rectal bleeding treatments.

Statistics for Rectal bleeding

• Medical statistics for Rectal bleeding
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Rectal bleeding
• Death and Mortality statistics for Rectal bleeding
• Society statistics for Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding: Broader Related Topics

• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• more types...»

Types of Rectal bleeding

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