Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding: Introduction

Bleeding from the rectum or anus is a serious symptom. The first or most noticable symptom may be bloody stool or bloody diarrhea. The condition may be caused by gastrointestinal bleeding. Any bleeding symptom needs prompt professional medical advice.

» Review Causes of Rectal bleeding: full list

Causes of Rectal bleeding:

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

• Hemorrhoids - usually bright red blood in stool or on toilet paper.
• Anal fissure
• Gastrointestinal bleeding
• Ulcerative colitis
• Intestinal polyps
• Rectal cancer
• Colon cancer
• Diverticular disease
• Jejunal diverticula
• Peptic ulcer - may cause black stool
• Intussusception
• Esophageal bleeding (type of Gastrointestinal bleeding) - see causes of esophageal bleeding
  • Esophageal varices
• Meckel's diverticulum
• Certain drugs
• See also causes of blood in stool, dark stool, black stool or other bleeding symptoms
• Anal fistula (type of Fistula)
• Perianal haematoma
• Condylomata
• Anal trauma
• Malignancy
• Squamous carcinoma
• Adenocarcinoma
• Paget's disease
• Malignant melanoma
• Bowen's disease
• Basal cell carcinoma
• Angiodysplasmia
• Rectalischemia
• Tuberculosis
• more causes...»

See full list of 259 causes of Rectal bleeding

» Review Causes of Rectal bleeding: full list

Causes of Types of Rectal bleeding:

Review the causes of these more specific types of Rectal bleeding:

• Bloody stool (343 causes)
• Anal bleeding (13 causes)
• Bloody diarrhea (73 causes)
• more types...»

Review causes of types of Rectal bleeding in more specific categories:

• Rectal bleeding in children (42 causes)
• Rectal bleeding in pregnancy (8 causes)
• more types...»

See full list of 12 types for Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding: Marketplace Products, Discounts & Offers

Products, offers and promotion categories available related to Rectal bleeding:

• Digestive Health
• more product offers...»

Causes of General Symptom Types

Research the causes of these more general types of symptom:

• Bleeding symptoms (1295 causes)
• Bloody stool (343 causes)
• Anal symptoms (264 causes)
• Digestive symptoms (4279 causes)
• Stool symptoms (2187 causes)
• Stool color (315 causes)
• Abdominal symptoms (3027 causes)
• Bowel problems (2267 causes)
• more symptoms...»

Causes of Similar Symptoms to Rectal bleeding

Research the causes of these symptoms that are similar to, or related to, the symptom Rectal bleeding:

• Rectal pain (24 causes)
• Constipation (702 causes)
• Rectal itch
• Stool symptoms (2187 causes)
• more symptoms...»

Diagnostic Guides for Rectal bleeding

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

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

Rectal bleeding: Undiagnosed Conditions

Conditions that are commonly undiagnosed in related areas may include:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders that can remain Undiagnosed:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Undiagnosed
  • Celiac Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Heartburn -- Undiagnosed
  • GERD -- Undiagnosed
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Undiagnosed
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Undiagnosed
  • Pancreatitis -- Undiagnosed
• more undiagnosed conditions...»

Hospitals & Clinics: Rectal bleeding

Research extensive quality ratings and patient safety measures for hospitals, clinics and medical facilities in health specialties related to Rectal bleeding:

• Digestive Health (Gastroenterology) -- Hospital Quality Ratings
• more quality ratings...»

Research Hospital & Clinic Quality Ratings » »

Rectal bleeding: Research Related Doctors & Specialists

• Digestive Health Specialists (Gastroenterology):
  • Gastroenterology (Digestive Specialists)
  • Pediatric Gastroenterology (Child Digestive Health)
• Rectal/Anal Health Specialists (Proctology):
  • Proctology (Anal/Rectal Specialist)
  • Colon & Rectal Surgery
• Blood Health Specialists (Hematology):
  • Hematology (Blood Specialists)
  • Pediatric Hematology / Oncology (Child Cancer/Leukemia)
  • Hematopathology (Blood Diagnostics)
• more specialists...»

Other ways to find a doctor, or use doctor, physician and specialist online research services:

• Rate Your Doctor by Taking a Survey Online
• Research Your Doctor
• View Online Patient Surveys from Other Patients of Your Doctor
• Research local doctors and specialists including ratings, affiliations, and sanctions.

Misdiagnosis and Rectal bleeding

Unnecessary hysterectomies due to undiagnosed bleeding disorder in women: The bleeding disorder called Von Willebrand's disease is quite common in women, but...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel syndrome, is over-diagnosed, whereas other...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 ...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 " digestive...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. food poisoning). In fact, it's more likely to be an infectious diarrheal illness (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 malabsorption disorder with a variety...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 known...read more »

Meckel's diverticulum: Meckel's diverticulum is one of the major causes of lower gastrointestinal bleeding in children.Meckel's diverticulum is a remnant of the omphalomesenteric duct and the condition occurs in...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Rectal bleeding

Rectal bleeding: Related Rare Diseases

Rare types of medical conditions and diseases in related medical categories:

• Chronic Digestive Disorders -- Rare Types:
  • Crohn's Disease -- Rare Types
  • Ulcerative Colitis -- Rare Types
  • Celiac Disease -- Rare Types
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease -- Rare Types
  • Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Carcinoid Syndrome -- Rare Types
  • Pancreatitis -- Rare Types
  • Gallstones -- Rare Types
  • Lactose Intolerance -- Rare Types
• more rare diseases...»

Diagnostic tests for Rectal bleeding:

Various tests are used in the diagnosis of Rectal bleeding. Some of these are listed below :

• Physical examination
  • Pulse rate and blood pressure lying and sitting to assess the amount of blood loss
  • 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.
• more tests...»

See full list of 22 diagnostic tests for Rectal bleeding

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

During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in their assessment of Rectal bleeding. 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 rectal bleeding? - to establish if acute or chronic.
• How often does the rectal bleeding occur?
• 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.
• Is the blood on the toilet paper only? - this suggests an anal cause.
• more questions...»

See Diagnosis Checklist for Rectal bleeding (24 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 Rectal bleeding) may include:

• Diarrhea and/or mucous? - if associated with rectal bleeding 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.
• Easy bruising? - purpura ( multiple small hemorrhages into the skin or mucous membranes); petechiae (small pinhead size purpura); ecchymoses ( large purpura) - may suggest a bleeding disorder.
• 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, thrombosed hemorrhoid or ulcerative proctitis.
• more symptoms...»

See Diagnosis Checklist for Rectal bleeding (24 listings)

Home Diagnostic Testing and Rectal bleeding

Home medical tests possibly related to Rectal bleeding:

• Colon & Rectal Cancer: Home Testing
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Tests
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Tests
• Fatigue: Related Home Tests:
  • Home Anemia Tests
  • Home Thyroid Gland Function Tests
  • Home Adrenal Gland Function Tests
  • Home Calcium Deficiency Tests
  • Sleep Apnea Testing
  • Home HIV Tests
• Home Anemia Diagnostic Tests
• Food Allergies & Intolerances: Home Testing:
  • Home Food Allergy Tests
  • Home Food Intolerance Testing
  • Home Water Testing
  • Home Lead Poisoning Tests
  • Home Heavy Metal Poisoning Tests
• Digestive-Related Home Testing:
  • Home Stomach Ulcer Tests
  • Home Colorectal Cancer Test Kits
  • Home Fecal Occult Bleeding Test Kits
• more tests...»

Stories from Users for Rectal bleeding

Real-life user stories relating to Rectal bleeding:

• Rectal Bleeding ONLY while menstruating
• Rectal bleeding
• Per doc, "I'm stumped"
• All blood tests come back negative
• Rectal Bleeding
• Rectal itching and bleeding and pain
• Blood in toilet
• All blood tests come back negative
• Blood on toilet paper/stool surface
• Prolonged Rectal Bleeding
• rectal bleeding while menstruting
• rectal bleeding
• Rectal Bleeding
• 45 year old Male felt a rupture followed by rectal bleeding
• IBD(U/C) & rectal bleeding for six weeks!
• bleeding rectum
• rectal bleeding frequency and colon cancer

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

• Cardiovascular (Heart and Blood Circulation) (333)
  • Chest pain and shortness of breath
  • Purple-blue skin color
  • Palpitations, inner left arm pain
  • Hand numbness
  • Need help with diagnoses
  • More user stories
• Allergic/Immunologic (157)
  • Chronic hives
  • Non-stop itching, no rash
  • Spontaneous flushing and redness of face and body.
  • Swelling & itching
  • Problems with my scalp can anyone help me
  • More user stories
• Gastrointestinal (Food - from entry to exit) (775)
  • Bloating/Distention/Intestinal Gas
  • Intense Abdominal Pain
  • Feels like a baby kicking-not pregnant
  • Help Please! Extreme Abdominal Pain/Gas/Bowel Symptoms ++
  • Explosive Diarrhea after eating
  • More user stories

Videos for Rectal bleeding

Patient Surveys for Rectal bleeding

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Medications or substances causing Rectal bleeding:

The following drugs, medications, substances or toxins are some of the possible causes of Rectal bleeding 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.

• Certain drugs cause gastric bleeding or gastrointestinal bleeding
• Steroids, NSAIDs
• See also drug causes of gastrointestinal bleeding
• Phyhllocontin
• Truphylline
• Aminophyllin
• more causes...»

See full list of 57 medications causing Rectal bleeding

Drug interactions causing Rectal bleeding:

When combined, certain drugs, medications, substances or toxins may react causing Rectal bleeding 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.

• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Mevacor (Lovastatin) interaction
• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Advil (Ibuprofen) interaction
• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Motrin (Ibuprofen) interaction
• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Nuprinl (Ibuprofen) interaction
• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Aleve (Naproxen) interaction
• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Naprosyn (Naproxen) interaction
• Coumadin (Warfarin) and Ansaid (Flurbiprofen) interaction
• more interactions...»

See full list of 87 drug interactions causing Rectal bleeding

Organs affected by Rectal bleeding:

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

• Large bowel
• Rectum
• Small bowel
• Stomach

Detailed list of causes of Rectal bleeding

The list below shows some of the causes of Rectal bleeding mentioned in various sources:

• Abdominal Cancer - blood in stool
• Abdominal Neoplasms - blood in stool
• Acinic cell carcinoma - blood in stool
• Acorn poisoning - bloody diarrhea
• Acute Gastritis - blood in stool
• more causes...»

See full list of 259 causes of Rectal bleeding

How Common are these Causes of Rectal bleeding?

This information refers to the general prevalence and incidence of these diseases, not to how likely they are to be the actual cause of Rectal bleeding. Of the 259 causes of Rectal bleeding that we have listed, we have the following prevalence/incidence information:

• 2 causes are "very common" diseases
• 7 causes are "common" diseases
• 5 causes are "uncommon" diseases
• 1 causes are "rare" diseases
• 18 causes are "very rare" diseases
• 236 causes have no prevalence information.

See the analysis of the prevalence of 259 causes of Rectal bleeding

Conditions listing symptoms: Rectal bleeding:

The following list of conditions have 'Rectal bleeding' 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 Rectal bleeding Based on Risk Factors

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