Hi,

Thanks for writing in.

Bright red colored blood in your stool commonly arises from sigmoid colon / rectum. Per rectal examination with colonoscopy will identify the site and severity of bleeding.

Most likely clinical condition that can cause such bleeding are -
1] Hemorrhoids
2] Polyps
3] Anal fissure
4] In addition excess straining while passing stool / constipation can result in minor trauma in the lower sigmoid colon / rectum resulting in bright fresh red colored stool.

Other less common conditions which need to be ruled out are:
1] Diverticulosis
2] Vascular malformations like angiodysplasia.
3] Bacterial enterocolitis.
4] Inflammatory bowel disease.

That being said, what you need to do are:

1. Look for few symptoms to suspect particular condition.
E.g. Pain while passing stool is in anal fissure; Some mass either feeling at anus/protruding out of anus seen in haemorrhoids; Alternate constipation and diarrhea seen in inflammatory bowel disease; While colonoscopy will be required to confirm conditions like diverticulosis/polyps.
2. Avoid straining while passing stools
3. If you have constipation, stool softeners such as laxatives, plenty of fluid intake and high fiber diet are helpful
4. Get Hemoglobin levels checked to rule out anemia as you have weakness.
5. If symptoms are persisting for a long time, consult a surgeon. As suggested earlier per rectal examination and colonoscopy will be needed to confirm the cause.

Hope this comprehensive view about blood in stools is useful and helpful to you. In case of doubt, I shall be happy to guide you further.

Best Regards
Dr. Neelam

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