


The symptoms of hemorrhoids tend to come and go and can usually be treated successfully at home. Many people don’t even realize they have hemorrhoids until one bleeds. You’ll most often notice the blood when wiping. They are swollen veins in or around the anus that may bleed if you scratch them or if one develops a blood clot. Hemorrhoids are the most common cause of bleeding with a bowel movement. Common causes of bright red blood in the stool include: Hemorrhoids The colon has a lot of blood vessels, which means an injury to the colon can cause bright red rectal bleeding. What does bright red blood in stool mean?īright red blood is from your colon or rectum – near the end of your digestive tract. And the most common cause is also one of the less serious. Blood in the stool can have a number of causes ranging from serious to easily treated. You may have heard that blood in the stool can mean cancer – but it usually doesn’t. Seeing blood in the toilet bowl can be scary. Read more to learn about when you should see a doctor. But there are times when it could be a serious health condition. Is bright red blood in stool serious? Most of the time, it’s not. And if it’s bright red, it is from the end of your digestive tract and hasn’t traveled far. Maroon or dark blood typically means the bleeding originates higher up in the colon or the small bowel. Many people won’t recognize dark, tarry stool as containing blood, but very few mistake bright red blood in the toilet bowl for anything else.ĭid you know that the color hints at which part of your digestive tract is bleeding? The darker the blood, the longer it’s had to travel through your digestive tract.ĭark, tarry-looking stool generally contains blood from the stomach, such as a bleeding ulcer. It can range from dark and tarry to a coffee ground consistency to bright red. Blood in the stool isn’t always visible to the naked eye, but it can be alarming when it is.
