Diagnosis of blood in the toilet

Finding blood in the toilet can be one of the most worrying things that can happen to someone, although perhaps surprisingly it is very common. Not only is it common, but the vast majority of problems that cause blood in the toilet to appear can be easily cured, and aren't serious in the slightest. The sheer range of different causes of blood being excreted during urination or faeces excretion means that diagnosing the problem is the most important action to be taken, before panicking that is.

Most of the causes of finding blood in the toilet are either recurring over time, or will happen each time you pass either a stool or water. Some times however there is no apparent cause, and the blood is found only once and doesn't recur. In these cases the bleeding is usually only minimal and will occur without any accompanying pain or other symptoms. In this case there is generally nothing to worry about, and is generally caused by something as benign as a larger than usual stool.

The passing of blood in faeces is a very common thing for people to encounter at some time of their lives. The actual amount of blood that is needed for the water in the toilet to be turned slightly red is actually very little, and gives the false impression that there is more than there actually is. The reality is usually that whatever the cause, there is most often little to worry about.

Haemorrhoids are probably the most common cause of blood being passed in stools, and despite the popular misconception they in fact can't always be felt. Although usually they are painful, and often at least partially visible, this isn't always the case. Some haemorrhoids are actually inside the anus, and are painless as well, meaning that the only symptom is usually blood being passed into the stools.

Fissures around the anal opening are another common cause of blood being passed into the faeces as well. This is basically when skin around or just behind the anus splits and can bleed, causing this blood to pass into the toilet. This usually heals by itself, and lacks a specific cause in most cases.

In certain cases the cause of blood being found in the toilet can be as simple as a change of diet, or from eating something that you are mildly allergic to. For example if you eat something very hot and spicy, then this can often cause mild inflammation inside your body and in turn can cause a little blood to be passed.

One of the most rare causes of blood being passed into the stools is from cancer somewhere along the digestive tract. This blood tends to be darker because it is from further up the digestive tract. The majority of the time the blood seen in the toilet is fresh and bright red, meaning cancer usually isn't the cause.

Another of the more rare causes of blood being passed into the toilet is from unusual trauma to the surface of the body. This often causes blood to pass into various organs and parts of the digestive and urinary tract. Although this isn't encountered often by most people, if you have encountered some kind of trauma then blood in the toilet is often one of the temporary side effects. The most common cause of this is encountered by boxers having been punched a lot to the body, although there are more pedestrian causes as well.

Blood in the urine is probably slightly less common than blood in the faeces, but similarly can have a range of different causes. Most of these again are either benign or not serious, but should still all be checked out by a trained medical professional. The majority of these type of causes tend to be very painful as well, which of course make them very easy to spot as well.

The most common cause of blood in the urine is through urinary tract infections that are usually caused by bacteria entering the tract itself. These are usually, but not always very painful, and will in themselves cause you to seek medical attention immediately. The good thing is however that they are generally easily treated with antibiotics and can be cleared up in a relatively short space of time.

Kidney problems are another common cause of blood being passed into the urine, and these will often cause rather painful symptoms as well. Stones being partly blocking the function of the kidneys are the most common cause of these, due largely to the build up of calcium and lack of proper hydration over long periods of time. These can sometimes be healed naturally by either a change of diet or getting drinking more water, however they will usually require medication at least. Less commonly surgery is also an option, and there are several different courses that this can take.