youll find one big, recurring piece of advice: See a doctor.
Still, as you know from a lifetime of pooping, rectal bleeding isnt a typical thing.
Rectal bleeding typically refers to bleeding coming from your lower colon or rectum.
zhihao/Getty Images
But blood in your poop can also come from other areas of your digestive system.
Bloody poop causes
Unless you happen to be a gastroenterologist (in which case, very cool!
), it’s hard to determine on your own why you have blood in your poop.
Thats why the See your doctor recommendation comes up so frequentlyand for good reason.
(Well talk a bit more about this jot down of cancer below.)
Still, sometimes it’s possible for you to try out a few things on your own.
Of course, the advice is a little different depending on what you might be dealing with.
Here are the most common reasons you might be pooping blood.
Sometimes you wont even realize you have hemorrhoids, but pushing in the bathroom can make a hemorrhoid bleed.
Blood from hemorrhoids is typically bright red.
Hemorrhoids usually clear up on their own.
Still, they can stick around and cause persistent bleeding, Dr. Farhadi says.
You usually get ananal fissurewhen you expel an extraordinarily hard or large poop.
As you could imagine, that can cause pain and bleeding.
Other causes of anal fissures includeconstipation,chronic diarrhea, and giving birth.
Complications of these common pouches include rectal bleeding.
Diverticular bleeding sometimes stops on its own.
Most of these polyps are harmless, but in rare cases, they can develop intocolon cancerover time.
A healthy amount ofE.
The good news: Healthy adults usually recover from E. colirelated issues in about a week.
In general, resting and drinking plenty of fluids to help prevent dehydration is the main thing to do.
This dark stool is also known as melena and can have a consistency like peanut butter.
A doctor may also recommend surgery if other treatments havent helped as much as they should.
Keep in mind that your treatment options may change over time based on new research and newly available therapies.
ensure you have ongoing conversations with your doctor about which treatment options might be best for you.
Bright red rectal bleeding can sometimes be due tocolorectal cancer, according to theAmerican Cancer Society(ACS).
(However,colorectal cancer rates are significantly risingin younger people too.)
Endoscopy.This diagnostic test involves a gastroenterologist placing an endoscope into your gastrointestinal tract.
When performed through the mouth, this is known as an upper endoscopy.
When performed through the anus, its a colonoscopy.
If you’re experiencing red blood in your poop, the gastroenterologist will usually start with a colonoscopy.
If youre experiencing poop with dark or black blood, your gastroenterologist will usually start with an upper endoscopy.
Of course, there are exceptions to these rules.
Being careful not to use painkillers over longer periods may help prevent peptic ulcers in the future.
That bleeding is most likely due to a hemorrhoid or anal fissure.
Your butt has a hard job to do, so bleeding can just come with the territory sometimes.
The same goes for if your bleeding persists for days or goes away and comes back seemingly at random.
Even if it doesnt, its still a good thing to mention the next time you visit your doctor.
Your other symptoms matter too.
This is another time that anal bleeding should mean an immediate trip to the doctors office.
However, its crucial to put it into context.
