Bloody Bowel Movement
Common Causes of a Bloody Bowel Movement
Without seeming overly frightening, blood in your stool can be a potentially dangerous situation. Keep in mind that not every instance of a bloody bowel movement will mean you have colon cancer, as many fear. Even if it is cancer, colon cancer is easily treated if caught early!
Additionally, there are many reasons why a person may experience a bloody bowel movement. Many of these ailments are minute and require only dietary changes to reduce or eliminate the problem. Besides blood in the bowel, each ailment carries additional symptoms. Some of these include:
- Anal fissures, which are caused by a person straining while sitting on the toilet for a bowel movement. Usually, anal fissures go hand in hand with constipation.
- Campylobacter is present in uncooked or undercooked poultry. It is important to cook all poultry to 185ºF. Failure to do so can lead to abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
- Celiac Disease occurs when a person is allergic to wheat gluten. Abdominal pain and bloating are common symptoms. It is also common to have bloody diarrhea and occasionally pale stools.
- Colitis causes an inflamed large intestine. Symptoms include bloody mucus in the stool, abdominal cramping, and severe abdominal distress.
- Colon Cancer's key sign are polyps in the colon that bleed. These polyps are only visible through a flexible scope that is inserted through the rectum and into the large intestine. A bloody bowel movement is the main symptom.
- Crohn's Disease causes the intestines to become inflamed. The infection can result in blood coming into the fecal matter. Common symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, swelling, and tenderness.
- Diverticulitis is caused when fecal matter gathers in a fold or pocket in the intestines and become infected. Abdominal pain is usually very severe and there may be bloody mucus in the stool.
- E Coli Bacteria has been in the news lately. E Coli bacteria killed a few people in the fall of 2006 after it was found on organic spinach. E Coli is hard to kill making it exceptionally tough to avoid. Symptoms include bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and nausea.
- Entamoeba Histolytica is a parasite that is transferred to food sources and water sources through an animal's feces. The disease causes bloody diarrhea, rectal pain, fever, and abdominal pain.
- Gastroenteritis is a minor infection of the stomach or small intestine. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
- Hemorrhoids are varicose veins on the inner lining of the rectum. Often hemorrhoids are the result of frequent straining during a bowel movement, sitting for extremely long periods, or being overweight. At times, they may crack and lead to bleeding in the fecal matter.
- Rectal injury is often the result of anal sex. In this case, small cracks (fissures) around the anus or on the inner portion of the rectum occur and will cause a bloody bowel movement.
- Salmonella causes bloody diarrhea, severe headache, severe stomach cramps, and vomiting. Consuming uncooked meat causes the bacteria.
- Shigella's symptoms include abdominal pain, blood in the diarrhea, fever, nausea, and vomiting. Usually, the bacteria pass through fecal matter into water sources.
- Ulcers occur when the lining of the stomach or large intestine develop open sores. Often stress is to blame. With ulcers, small amounts of blood may leak out of the sore and into the fecal matter.
Not every bloody bowel movement case is dangerous. Quite often, a change in diet or exercise habits is all that is required to alleviate the problem. With bacterial ailments such as E Coli or Salmonella, keeping hydrated until the bacteria passes is the most important element in proper treatment.
Maintaining Bowel Health
A diet rich in fiber, low in saturated fats, and limited to lean meat cuts with restrictions on the amount of beef consumed per week is important. Studies are suggesting that red meat and low fiber diets are part of the reason colon cancer is one of the leading forms of cancer.
Smoking, excessive consumption of alcohol, and stress can all play a part in one's digestive health. Stress is known to lead to peptic ulcers. Smoking is linked to both ulcers and cancer. Alcohol is linked to stomach and esophagus lining irritation. All of these ailments can lead to a bloody bowel movement.
Seek medical care to rule out potentially deadly diseases like colon cancer. If you are certain this is not the case of your bloody bowel movement, odds are high that constipation and fissures are to blame. With constipation, the hard, packed bowel movement can tear the area surrounding the anus (fissures) causing a bloody discharge, often a scary amount, seen on the toilet paper or in the toilet water. Hemorrhoids are another concern. With hemorrhoids, varicose veins pop up on the surface of the rectum. They can split open and start bleeding.
If fissures and constipation are to blame for your bloody bowel movement, use Oxy-Powder® to rid your colon of packed fecal matter that can cause the colon to narrow. As the lining narrows, fecal matter becomes trapped behind the narrowing causing bowel movements to pack in and harden. Oxy-Powder® gently fizzes away the fecal matter ridding your colon off the grunge that can narrow the colon's passageways. Think of Oxy-Powder® as being similar to the drain cleaner that you use for hair clogs in your bathroom drain. As the passageways open back up, fecal matter easily moves through the colon and out through the anus. This helps eliminate constipation, hemorrhoids, and fissures.
