Blood in the stool or rectal bleeding can be frightening, signalling a serious problem. It means there is bleeding somewhere in your digestive tract. Sometimes, the amount of blood is so small that it can only be detected through a fecal occult test by healthcare professional, or it may visible on toilet tissue or toilet bowl after a bowel movement as bright red blood.

 

It is important to know what is your poop colour. Blood in stool is the most common symptom for 𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐝𝐬 and 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫. Bleeding that happens in the upper part of the digestive tract such as cecum, colon and rectum may make stool appear in 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐧 or 𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫.

 

𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 usually indicates a problem in the lower part of the digestive tract. For example, while stools passing through the haemorrhoids, bright red blood can occur and appear on the surface of stool, but not mix together with stool.

 

The closer the bleeding site is to the anal canal (opening which stool passes), the brighter red the blood will be. The further the bleeding site, the longer the duration of blood remains in the digestive tract, the colour in the stool will change from bright red, to maroon, and to black.

 

It is important to get a doctor to evaluate or check when there is bleeding in the stool. Let the doctor locate the bleeding site, prescribe appropriate medication or recommend treatment based on the diagnosis.