Bright red blood in stool

[bbman]

I am a 43 year old male white, in good health. About 10 days ago I developed a hemmorroid and treated it with Preparation H. The ointment helped, but I still found myself after going to the bathroom wiping hard and then apply pressure to the rectum to satisfty the discomfort and itching. Afterwards I would be a little iritated. Last night and today, when I had a bowel movement, I noticed bright red blood in the water of the toilet bowel around the stool. A few minutes ago, I went to the bathroom and went a small amount and found bright red blood scratched into the side of the stool, just on a portion of one side of each stool.

Can this bright red blood be associated to my previous problem, or is it totally unrelated?

Please naswer in detail

Thank you

[Kevin Pho, MD]

Hemorrhoids are one of the more common causes for blood in the toilet.  Other causes include colorectal cancer, anal fissures, diverticulosis, inflammatory bowel disease, or a polyp.  

I would suggest an endoscopy as the next step.  Either a flexible sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy would provide a more comprehensive evaluation of what may be causing the bleeding.

If you have a family history of colon cancer, a colonoscopy is mandatory.  

These tests can be arranged through your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.

[surgeon]

It's hard to answer in detail without knowing all the details. First, is the diagnosis of hemorrohoid your own, or did you see your doctor? A hemorrhoid can certainly cause bright red blood of the type you describe, and is in fact the most common cause. It's possible that you had a perianal hematoma (blood clot near the anus, often mistakenly called a hemorrhoid) which worked to the surface and bled. It's also possible for blood on the stool and in the bowl to be due to other things, such a  fissure (tear in the skin), polyp, cancer. So it's best to be evaluated by your doctor who can actually see what's going on and decide if anything else needs doing. Odds are it's the "hemorrhoid," but there's no way to be sure via online diagnosis.