Blood in Stool

[shanna12]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me. I am only 22 years old an recently have been put on high blood pressure meds. I was wondering if this could have anything to do with bright red blood in my stool. I have been on the meds about a month and the blood just started about a week ago. I have never had the ideal "bowel movement" I tend to have cramping and a urge to use the bathroom. The blood is not little its enough to see on toliet paper. If anyone could help me.Thanks!

[jdwithhcv]

Red blood in the stool can be very serious.  Do not ever ignore bleeding from the rectum.  Ask your doctor about this.  Good luck.

jd

[Heather93]

Dear Shanna....red blood in the stool is NOT something to panic about but it very common...especially with irritable bowel syndrom which it sounds to me like you have. Red blood is topical in nature unlike deep internal bleeding due to ulcers.

Get a good fiber laxative or eat fruits and vegetables with the skins on them. A diet high in fiber should completely eleviate your bleeding symptoms as well as the cramping and straining.

If the bleeding is only happening when you use the bathroom and it's a moderate amount of red blood then you should be ok. If the bleeding exceeds what you would find from a cut but literally pours out of your body....or turns black in the stool....then you have reason to seriously worry.

[Morecambe]

Hi - rectal bleeding is never normal and should always be medically investigated.  Type in rectal bleeding to google and click on one of the many sites that describe this condition.  The Mediicinenet site is particularly informative.

You are probably far too young to have developed the more sinister complaints that are listed on the Medicinenet site - but do seek medical advice.  Unless your doctor can state with certainty that the cause if your bleeding is minor (such as anal fissure or haemorrhoids etc) then ask for a colonoscopy.

regards
Morecambe