Blood in your stool means there is bleeding in the digestive tract. The bleeding may be caused by a variety of conditions, including:
- Polyps – Abnormal growths on the lining of the colon or rectum
- Hemorrhoids – Swollen veins in your anus or rectum
- Diverticulosis – A condition with small pouches in the inside wall of the colon that can become infected or perforate
- Ulcers – Sores in the lining of the digestive tract
- Colitis – A type of inflammatory bowel disease
- Colorectal Cancer – Cancer of the colon or rectum
When colon cancer develops in the colon or rectum, it can cause small cuts or tears in the lining of the bowel, leading to bleeding. Testing your stool for blood is a non-invasive test you can do at home that can detect colon cancer early, when treatment may be most effective.
Any time there is concern about bleeding in the digestive tract, a doctor may check your stool for blood. Common uses include diagnosing the cause of anemia and differentiating between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which usually doesn’t cause bleeding, from inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is likely to cause bleeding.