Blood on toilet paper.

Hi, i am a 21 year old male, i don't smoke, i don't take any drugs of any kind besides benadryl, and my family has never had any cancer in it. For about 2 weeks i have had this slight pressure on the lower right side of my stomach area right about my pelvis, and by slight i mean just enough to notice something is not right, at first i thought it may be a strained muscle or something of that nature but then i noticed some changes in my bowel movements, last week i had maybe 4 straight days of explosive diarrhea, then when it stopped i noticed some blood in my stool and on the toilet paper after i wiped, right when i was just starting to freak out, the bleeding stopped and my bowel movements were normal, as of yesterday i have become constipated, which i have never been constipated since i can remember and i just noticed some blood again on the toilet paper after i wiped today. i am out of work right now and do not have health insurance, so i need to know if it could be something serious and need immediate attention or can it wait until i get a new job with benefits.

Thanks for any help.

[TrudieC]

Any change in bowel habits needs attention.  It is possible you may have Crohn's or Ulcerative Colitis.  These often start around your age.  If left untreated and the diarrhea and bleeding becomes worse you can end up in the hospital getting hydrated, having blood transfusions, or even having your bowel perforate requiring emergency surgery.  You really need to be seen by a gastroenterologist or doctor of internal medicine and have a colonoscopy to be diagnosed.  If there is any way to find funds to make this happen it will be worth your while.  If you let it progress you may not be able to work should you find a job.

[Papabotts]

Before you start freaking out, there are a million reasons you can find blood on your tp, especially if you've had recent dirrhea, you may just have worn out the sensetive tissues back there. Is there blood in your stool that you can see? Thats a different story. And before I freak, I'd take what they call an occult blood test which is simple. You take a posicle stick and scrape a sample of your stool onto the test paper and they test it for blood in your stool and can go from there.
  The life of many intestinal disorders or bacteria/flora can be a couple or a few weeks before your body fights it off. But before you go off telling yourself you have Crohn's or even IBD, I'd go get some teste if things don't clear up in a few more days.
  They need to check your white clood cell count too to see if your body is fighting off an infection. Rather than self medicate or freak out, go see a good gastroenterologist and get a good look see!