Benign and malignant reasons for rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding can be a common symptom. Especially if you fit in with a younger age group, rectal bleeding is rarely serious though it can be. The risk of a more worrying underlying cause (such as bowel cancer) increases with age, so it's best to consult your doctor to get checked. I give you the low-down on possible reasons as to why you may bleed from your back passage, and list of positive actions about it.

Benign reasons for rectal bleeding

If you bleed from your back passage simultaneously as or simply after painful or uncomfortable emptying of your bowels, the probability is that you have a benign underlying cause for example an anal fissure or haemorrhoids - particularly if the blood looks bright red or drips to the toilet pan.

Other non-cancerous reasons for rectal bleeding

Many other conditions may cause rectal bleeding, some benign plus some more serious. Here's an introduction to some reasons for rectal bleeding, beginning with the least serious one:

Diverticular disease: Constipation - whenever you persistently have to strain to defecate - may cause small pouches, or diverticula, how big a pea or a grape to form inside the wall of your bowel. These pouches can become inflamed or infected - an ailment called diverticulitis.

This issue can cause pain within the lower left side of your abdomen that opening your bowels or passing wind often relieves. Intermittent diarrhoea or constipation are typical signs of diverticular disease, and you'll also pass blood from your back passage. Distinguishing diverticular disease from other conditions without further tests can be impossible, and so make sure that you may well ask your doctor to check you over.

Inflammatory bowel disease: Ongoing rectal bleeding as well as loose stools are closely related to an inflammation of the bowel. Both main the weather is called ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, and diagnosis is usually made by a specialist after referral by your doctor. Diagnosing these conditions usually involves exploring the inside of your bowel having a flexible fibre-optic telescope and taking some tiny tissue samples.

Bowel cancer

Cancer from the large bowel (which may be colon or rectal cancer) is one of the most common cancers in the UK and it is the second leading cause of death from cancer. Rectal bleeding may be the only symptom of bowel cancer (particularly as you get older from the age of 40 onward), and the chances of you having bowel cancer increase if you have additional symptoms. Consulting your doctor to rule out bowel cancer due to rectal bleeding is especially important when the following circumstances affect you:

You're over the age of 40.
You notice a big change in bowel habit to looser stools and/or increased frequency of opening your bowels.
You notice blood mixed in with your stool.
You've rectal bleeding with no anal symptoms.
You suffer from persistent abdominal pain.
You experience general symptoms such as weight loss, lack of appetite, tiredness, sweats, feeling unwell and sweats.
You leak faeces in the lack of an acute bowel infection.

Remember that haemorrhoids and cancer may sometimes co-exist - particularly while you get older.

Most people feel worried and embarrassed when visiting their doctor with problems of the back passage, perhaps because they worry it may be cancer or because they dread the thought of being examined or investigated in such an intimate area. The quicker your doctor checks your symptoms, however, the better - if caught in its initial phases, bowel cancer can be cured completely!

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