Causes of Blood in Stool
Seeing blood in your toilet or on the toilet paper can really send you into a panic. Believe it or not, blood in your stool is more common than you think and, in most cases, it doesn’t mean anything life-threatening.
Here are the 5 most common causes of blood in the stool:
- Hemorrhoids
Most likely, if you’re seeing a bit of bright red blood on your toilet paper or in the toilet, you have hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids can be either internal or external and both can cause a minor GI bleed. They occur when the veins surrounding the lower part of the rectum become inflamed due to chronic diarrhea or straining due to constipation.
You can treat hemorrhoids naturally with witch hazel. Just pour witch hazel onto a clean cotton ball and place it on inflamed anal tissue. Leave on overnight.
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Irritable bowel syndrome is considered a functional disorder, meaning though intestinal examination reveals no physical damage, symptoms are still present. It is believed that IBS is caused by the way the intestines react to emotional trauma and stress.
Symptoms of IBS include bloating, intestinal cramping relieved by a bowel movement, diarrhea alternating with constipation, and urgent need to evacuate the bowels. This frequent change in bowel habits can cause inflammation of the intestines and hemorrhoids, which can cause blood in the stool.
- Anal Fissures
An anal fissure is a tear in the lining of the anus. Anal fissures can be caused by chronic constipation, prolonged bouts of diarrhea, spastic colon, and anal sex. Symptoms of anal fissures include blood in the stool, anal burning and itching, painful urination, and mucosal discharge. High-fiber foods and supplements, anti-inflammatory creams, and sitz baths help relieve the discomfort of anal fissures until they heal on their own.
- Ulcerative Colitis
Ulcerative colitis is a type of inflammatory bowel disease associated with bloody diarrhea, abdominal cramping, flatulence, and inability to control bowel movements. Ulcerative colitis occurs when the inner lining of the colon becomes inflamed and ulcerated.
- Crohn’s Disease
Unlike ulcerative colitis, which causes inflammation in the lower intestines, crohn’s disease can occur anywhere in the digestive tract from the mouth to the rectum.
Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune disease. This means your immune system mistakes parts of your digestive system for a foreign invader and begins to destroy it.
Symptoms of crohn’s disease include abdominal cramping, blood in the toilet, persistent diarrhea, anal fistulas, fatigue, fever, loss of appetite, constipation, sudden weight loss, and eye inflammation.
Treating Digestive Diseases Naturally
No matter what type of digestive condition you’re suffering from, you can get your symptoms under control by changing your diet. Organic vegetables, fruits, beans, seeds, legumes, meat, poultry, wild-caught fish, coconut oil, butter, and yogurt are all examples of healthy, digestive-system-healing fare to stock up on.
Adding a high-quality probiotic supplement to your diet can also help. Probiotics are the live, active cultures found in yogurt and sauerkraut. They help heal intestinal inflammation, improve your digestion, and stabilize your immune system function. A bulk fiber supplement, such as psyllium, treats both chronic diarrhea and constipation when taken regularly with plenty of water.
When you see blood in your toilet, it can be really frightening. If you’ve never experienced a GI bleed before, get in contact with your doctor to rule out anything serious. In the end, dietary changes and natural remedies can help get your digestive distress under control so you can return to health.
