i have blood in my poo for the past 3 weeks. What should i do?

Question

I am at a very small base overseas with less than 150 people. i dont trust the coreman to keep this situation quiet. but at the same time i have heard that blood in your poop can be very serious. i am not experiancing any pain and just a little blood every time i take a dump.

Answer 1

Hemorhroids, most likely, but further examination needed

Answer 2

Wow, you need to have a doctor check you out and diagnose the reason you have blood in your stool. If it is bright red then that generally means the blood is coming from the lower rectum or anus. Black tarry stools generally means the bleeding is higher up in the G.I. tract. It is impossible to say what might be wrong as there are any number of conditions that could cause red blood in the stool. Seek medical care. Your concern about privacy is disturbing in that we should all be assured of privacy when we consult a health care provider about our medical concerns and needs. You mention a situation, I am not sure what exactly that means but never-the-less you should be treated with dignity and respect and privacy.

Good luck,

Andy

Answer 3

This is VERY, VERY, VERY serious and you need to go to a doctor RIGHT AWAY! This was happening to my dad and he was embarrased and didn't tell anyone. He almost died and we had to call an ambulance. It had been happening for the past three or four weeks and by the time he noticed it, he had probably been losing blood for a long time. So, you have probably been bleeding for way longer, but in small amounts that weren't noticable. YOu have a bleeding ulcer. You can die! My dad ended up losing over half the blood in his body and had to have blood transfusions. This is a serious matter!

Answer 4

If it's bright red, it's simply hemorrhoids that are causing the bleeding. You can buy some starch-based suppositories. Those will bring comfort and stop the bleeding.

If the blood is really dark red or almost black, then that could be a sign of a growth in your large intestine/bowels. Either way, you should seek medical attention immediately to get a proper diagnosis.

Answer 5

Get medical attention, even if you are embarrassed. You probably have an ulcer. Ulcers do not heal on their own, they just get worse. If it's bleeding, that means it's already pretty bad. If you wait until you get a perforated stomach or bowel, that will require surgery, and could possibly kill you. At least until you've seen the doctor, don't drink any alcohol or caffeine. Stay away from high acid or spicy food. Limit your milk intake. It increases the amount of acid in your stomach.

Answer 6

Blood in the stool can be bright red, maroon in color, black and tarry, or occult (not visible to the naked eye). Causes of blood in stool range from harmless, annoying conditions of the gastrointestinal tract such as hemorrhoids to serious conditions such as cancer. Blood in the stool should be evaluated by a healthcare professional.

Rectal bleeding (known medically as hematochezia) refers to passage of bright red blood from the anus, often mixed with stool and/or blood clots. Most rectal bleeding comes from the colon, rectum, or anus. The color of the blood during rectal bleeding often depends on the location of the bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. Generally, the closer the bleeding site is to the anus, the blood will be a brighter red. Thus, bleeding from the anus, rectum, and the sigmoid colon tend to be bright red, whereas bleeding from the transverse colon and the right colon (transverse and right colon are several feet away from the anus) tend to be dark red or maroon colored.

In some patients bleeding can be black and “tarry” (sticky) and foul smelling. The black, smelly and tarry stool is called melena. Melena occurs when the blood is in the colon long enough for the bacteria in the colon to break it down into chemicals (hematin) that are black. Therefore, melena usually signifies bleeding is from the upper gastrointestinal tract (for example: bleeding from ulcers in the stomach or the duodenum or from the small intestine) because the blood usually is in the gastrointestinal tract for a longer period of time before it exits the body. Sometimes melena may occur with bleeding from the right colon. On the other hand, blood from the sigmoid colon and the rectum usually does not stay in the colon long enough for the bacteria to turn it black. Rarely, massive bleeding from the right colon, from the small intestine, or from ulcers of the stomach or duodenal can cause rapid transit of the blood through the gastrointestinal tract and result in bright red rectal bleeding. In these situations, the blood is moving through the colon so rapidly that there is not enough time for the bacteria to turn the blood black.

Sometimes, bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract can be too slow to cause either rectal bleeding or melena. In these patients bleeding is occult (not visible to the naked eyes). The blood is found only by testing the stool for blood (fecal occult blood testing) in the laboratory. Occult bleeding has many of the same causes as rectal bleeding and may result in the same symptoms as rectal bleeding. It is often associated with anemia that is due to loss of iron along with the blood (iron deficiency anemia).

Answer 7

This could be a result of skin breakage due to the size of the feces you're passing. It can also be due to an ulcer that is bleeding, or diverticulitis, a condition that occurs inside of the intestines. Either way, you need to get an ultrasound, and you need to see a specialist for sure. Good luck.

Answer 8

GO TO A DOCTOR. SERIOUSLY.

Medical professionals have to honour patient confidentiality. You may have an infection, or ulcers. Either can develop into very serious problems. Emphasis on the VERY. You have GOT to see someone about this, I'm not kidding.

Answer 9

F**k the coreman! I was in the military, I know the privacy regulations that they're supposed to uphold. If he talks outside of med take his @ss to captains mask or whatever you call it in your branch. If that doesn't work haze the sh*t out of him! That bleeding problem only gets worse.

Answer 10

First - thank you for serving our country

yep, this could be serious - here is a great page to start from

maybe you could request a mail test to send in - you take samples for a few days - and mail it in

that would by pass the corpsman

best of luck

Answer 11

Yeah for sure see someone about it. It can be somthing stupid like maybe some torn skin or somthing like that but it can also be a gastro intestonal (or however u spell it) infection. no shame in a little bloody poo lol good luck! heres an online dr discussion also...http://www.medhelp.org/forums/gastro/messages/30216a.html