Rectal bleeding

Question: A friend of mine recently experienced heavy bleeding from her rectum. She says she did not feel any pain and nothing was amiss in her body. The blood was bright red and came out with a lot of force.  What might be the cause of this? What kind or how much bleeding is cause for concern?

Answer: According to gynaecologist Frank Taulo, any bleeding is a serious issue particularly in women.

“My recommendation would be immediate consultation. Bleeding can come from three places, vagina, bladder and anal areas. The only way to get to the bottom of the problem is to examine such a patient,” says Taulo.

We looked up possible causes of rectal bleeding on the internet and found the following from www.ehow.com:

Rectal bleeding is often expected to occur only in older or middle aged people. When young women experience rectal bleeding, there are some specific concerns and things that the doctor will want to consider as a possible cause.

1. There are a few different types of rectal bleeding, and evaluating what type is being seen may make the difference in what medical tests and procedures are done to determine the cause of the bleeding.

Usually, if the blood is bright red, it most likely is coming from an area close to the anus. If the blood seen is dark red, it may be coming from the first section of the large intestine. If the blood is darker in colour, brown or black, possibly resembling tar, it may be coming from up higher in the gastrointestinal tract, or one of the digestive organs which is up higher, such as the stomach.

2. Rectal bleeding is a serious health symptom, and can mean that there are possibly serious health problems, one of which is cancer. There are also many more minor problems and one of them is more than likely the cause of the bleeding. Some of the more likely causes of rectal bleeding, especially in young women, are not serious and may be treated easily. Haemorrhoids or polyps are one consideration. There are many causes of haemorrhoids, one of which is anal sexual play or anal intercourse. This can cause tears in the wall of the rectum, and make it bleed. Scary, yet not serious, this type of bleeding will heal. Other causes or haemorrhoids are straining to have a bowel movement and being constipated. Quite often young women become constipated during their periods, which may result in rectal bleeding.

Another possibility is Crohn’s disease, which is an inflammatory bowel disease. One symptom of Crohn’s is blood mixed with mucus during a bowel movement. There are also some STDs which have rectal bleeding as a symptom, Gonorrhoea is one of them. 

However, as Dr Taulo has emphasised, it is important to see your doctor to determine what the problem is.