Symptom: Bloody stool

Introduction: Bloody stool

Blood in the stool may be a sign of rectal bleeding or gastrointestinal bleeding. Certain conditions may lead to bloody diarrhea. Any bleeding symptom needs prompt professional medical advice.

» Review Causes of Bloody stool: full list

Causes of Bloody stool:

The following medical conditions are some of the possible causes of Bloody stool. There are likely to be other possible causes, so ask your doctor about your symptoms.

• Bloody diarrhea
• Bloody mucus in stool
• Gastroenteritis
• Internal bleeding
• Some possible causes of bloody diarrhea include:
  • Gastroenteritis
  • Regional enteritis
  • Colitis
  • Rectal bleeding
  • Acute digestive infection
  • Chronic digestive infection (see Digestive symptoms)
  • Acute food poisoning
  • Campylobacter food poisoning
  • Salmonella food poisoning
  • Shigella food poisoning
  • E-coli food poisoning
  • Entamoeba histolytica
  • Inflammatory bowel disease
  • Ulcerative colitis
  • Crohn's disease
  • Celiac
  • Ichemic colitis
  • Diverticulitis
  • Colorectal cancer
  • CMV - with AIDS or immune compromise
  • See also causes of bloody diarrhea and causes of rectal bleeding
• Rectal bleeding - see also various causes of rectal bleeding such as:
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Anal fissures
  • Rectal injury

See full list of 241 causes of Bloody stool

» Review Causes of Bloody stool: full list

Causes of Types of Bloody stool:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Bloody stool:

• Bloody diarrhea (48 causes)
• Rectal bleeding (157 causes)
• Anal bleeding (13 causes)

More types of Bloody stool

Bloody stool: Multiple Symptom Checker

Listed below are some combinations of symptoms associated with Bloody stool, as listed in our database. Visit the Multiple Symptoms Checker, to add and remove symptoms and research your condition.

Multiple Symptom Checker - Other Symptoms

• Bloody stool: Multiple Symptom Checker

Multiple Symptom Checker Combinations

• Bloody stool and Digestive symptoms (135 causes)
• Bloody stool and Stool symptoms (129 causes)
• Bloody stool and Bleeding symptoms (128 causes)
• Bloody stool and Bowel problems (126 causes)
• Bloody stool and Abdominal symptoms (121 causes)
• Bloody stool and Buttock bleeding (120 causes)
• Bloody stool and Stool color (118 causes)
• Bloody stool and Pain (113 causes)
• Bloody stool and Nerve symptoms (110 causes)
• Bloody stool and Sensations (110 causes)
• Bloody stool and Abdominal pain (100 causes)
• Bloody stool and Anal symptoms (97 causes)
• Bloody stool and Bowel movements (89 causes)
• Bloody stool and Diarrhea (76 causes)
• Bloody stool and Bowel incontinence (75 causes)
• Bloody stool and Vomiting (73 causes)
• Bloody stool and Swelling symptoms (61 causes)
• Bloody stool and Weight loss (58 causes)
• Bloody stool and Fever (57 causes)
• Bloody stool and Gastrointestinal bleeding (57 causes)

See full list of 840 Multiple Symptom Checker combinations related to Bloody stool

Home Diagnostic Testing and Bloody stool

Home medical tests possibly related to Bloody stool:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• Fatigue: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Anemia Tests
  • Home Thyroid Function Tests
  • Home Adrenal Function Tests
  • Home Calcium Deficiency Tests
  • Home HIV Tests

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Bleeding symptoms (914 causes)
• Stool symptoms (768 causes)
• Stool color (181 causes)
• Rectal bleeding (157 causes)
• Bowel problems (824 causes)
• Anal symptoms (170 causes)
• Digestive symptoms (2184 causes)
• Abdominal symptoms (1394 causes)

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Bloody stool

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Bloody stool:

• Diarrhea (830 causes)
• Bloody diarrhea (48 causes)
• Stool color changes (181 causes)
• Stool symptoms (768 causes)
• Rectal bleeding (157 causes)
• Anal bleeding (13 causes)
• Dark stool (37 causes)
• Red stool
• Orange stool
• Blood in urine (284 causes)

Diagnostic Guides for Bloody stool

Medical Books Excerpts Read excerpts from published book sections related to Bloody stool from the following published medical books for more detailed information about Bloody stool. Free access (no registration): read all online diagnostic book sections about Bloody stool

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Misdiagnosis and Bloody stool

Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but often fails to be correctly diagnosed. Women with the condition tend to have heavy...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance. The digestive system contains a variety of "good"...read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad" bacteria, but can also kill the "good" bacteria in the gut. This leads to "...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Bloody stool

Diagnostic tests for Bloody stool:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Bloody stool. Some of these are listed below :

• Physical examination
  • Pulse rate and blood pressure lying and sitting to assess the amount of bleeding
  • Look for signs of shock due to massive blood loss e.g. cold extremities, clammy skin, shortness of breath, anxiety, low blood pressure, elevated pulse rate
  • Examine for signs of chronic liver disease and portal hypertension e.g. bruising, jaundice, enlarged liver and spleen, abdominal distension due to ascetic fluid, ankle swelling
  • Abdominal palpation for mass or tenderness

See full list of 17 diagnostic tests for Bloody stool

Diagnosis Checklist: Questions your doctor may ask (and why!)

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Bloody stool. Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information you can share with your doctor about your symptoms may help them with their diagnosis. Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:

• How long have you been having the bloody stool? - to establish if acute or chronic.
• Is it severe? - presence of severe rectal bleeding would suggest angiodysplasia, ulcerative colitis, amebic dysentery, bacillary dysentery, intussusception, mesenteric thrombosis or embolism, diverticulitis, ischemic colitis and coagulation disorders. The site of the bleeding can be anywhere in the gastrointestinal tract since massive bleeding even from the stomach or duodenum may pass rapidly to rectum without becoming discolored to form melena (black tarry stool).
• Is the bleeding mixed well with the stool? - suggests colon cancer, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, Meckel's diverticulum, diverticulitis, large polyp and coagulation disorder. If blood is on the toilet paper only it suggests anal cause.
• Is stool black and tarry? see black stool - usually due to bleeding from the upper gastrointestinal tract.
• What is the color of the blood?

See Diagnosis Checklist for Bloody stool (19 listings)

Diagnosis Checklist: Associated symptoms your doctor may ask about (and why!)

Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse your condition. The symptoms your doctor may ask about (in association with Bloody stool) may include:

• Diarrhea and/or mucous - would suggest ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, amebic dysentery or bacterial dysentery (e.g. shigella, salmonella, campylobacter jejuni, yersinia enterocolitica, enteroinvasive and enterohemorrhagic E.Coli).
• Fever - may suggest bacterial dysentery, amebic dysentery, chronic liver disease secondary to alcoholism, ulcerative colitis.
• Symptoms of intestinal obstruction? - e.g. colicky abdominal pain, vomiting, abdominal distension and absolute constipation - would suggest intussusception, mesenteric thrombosis, or embolism.
• Painful bowel movements? - anal fissure or thrombosed hemorrhoid.
• Sensation of urgency or unsatisfied defecation? - suggest a rectal cause.

See Diagnosis Checklist for Bloody stool (19 listings)

Stories from Users for Bloody stool

Real-life user stories relating to Bloody stool:

• extremely painful bowel movements
• Bloody Stool. Afraid to see the doctor. Please Help!
• Blood in urine & feces...Anyone???
• Lack of Bowel Movement for 4 days, extreme gas pains,
• Blood in stool
• Per doc, "I'm stumped"
• Blood in feces
• Bloody Stool-Help!
• GI Mystery
• Severe pain acts as a warning before bowl movement
• Blood in Stool
• Bloody Spit
• Intense Painful Bowel Movements
• Bloody Stools, urgent help!!
• Help!!! Painful Bowel Movements!
• Undiagnosed GI Symptoms- Need Help.
• Strange Bowel Movements
• Big feces, blood in poop
• Blood in toilet
• Bowel movements that burn skin severly

Symptom specific forums: The following patient stories in our interactive forums and message boards relate to Bloody stool or relevant symptoms:

• Cardiovascular (Heart and Blood Circulation) (171)
  • Chest pain and shortness of breath
  • Hand numbness
  • Purple-blue skin color
  • Need help with diagnoses
  • Anxiety and high BP
  • More user stories
• Gastrointestinal (Food - from entry to exit) (452)
  • Bloating/Distention/Intestinal Gas
  • Intense Abdominal Pain
  • Help Please! Extreme Abdominal Pain/Gas/Bowel Symptoms ++
  • Feels like a baby kicking-not pregnant
  • 7 year old with severe heartburn/stomach aches
  • More user stories
• Allergic/Immunologic (88)
  • Chronic hives
  • Spontaneous flushing and redness of face and body.
  • Non-stop itching, no rash
  • Swelling & itching
  • Problems with my scalp can anyone help me
  • More user stories

Videos for Bloody stool

Patient Surveys for Bloody stool

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Causes of Bloody stool listed in Disease Database:

Other medical conditions listed in the Disease Database as possible causes of Bloody stool as a symptom include:

• Alosetron
• Anal cancer
• Anal fissure
• Ancylostoma duodenale
• Angiodysplasia
• Angiostrongyliasis
• Anthrax
• Arsenic trioxide
• Arsenicals
• Bacillary dysentery
• Balantidiasis
• Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome
• Bowel strangulation
• Carbamoylphosphate synthetase deficiency
• Cholesterol embolism
• Clopidogrel
• Colchicine
• Colitis cystica profunda
• Colonic diverticulitis
• Colonic diverticulosis

See full list of 241 causes of Bloody stool
- (Source - Diseases Database)

Medications or substances causing Bloody stool:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Bloody stool as a symptom. Always advise your doctor of any medications or treatments you are using, including prescription, over-the-counter, supplements, herbal or alternative treatments.

• High-dose aspirin
• NSAIDs
• Some drugs that may cause bowel ulceration and thus blood in stool are:
  • Certain antibiotics
  • Clindomycin

See full list of 52 medications causing Bloody stool

Definitions of Bloody stool:

Bleeding in any segment of the GASTROINTESTINAL TRACT from ESOPHAGUS to RECTUM.
- (Source - Diseases Database)

Organs affected by Bloody stool:

The list of organs typically affected by Bloody stool may include, but is not limited to:

• Large bowel
• Small bowel
• Stomach

Detailed list of causes of Bloody stool

The list below shows some of the causes of Bloody stool mentioned in various sources:

• Abdominal arteriosclerosis
• Abdominal Cancer - blood in stool
• Abdominal Neoplasms - blood in stool
• Acinic cell carcinoma - blood in stool
• Acute digestive infection

See full list of 241 causes of Bloody stool

How Common are these Causes of Bloody stool?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Bloody stool. Of the 241 causes of Bloody stool that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 5 causes are "very common" diseases
• 11 causes are "common" diseases
• 8 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 1 causes are "rare" diseases
• 23 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 201 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 241 causes of Bloody stool

Conditions listing symptoms: Bloody stool:

The following list of conditions have 'Bloody stool' or similar listed as a symptom in our database. This computer-generated list may be inaccurate or incomplete. Always seek prompt professional medical advice about the cause of any symptom.

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Causes of Bloody stool Based on Risk Factors

This information shows analysis of the list of causes of Bloody stool based on whether certain risk factors apply to the patient: