Cancer Research UK main site

Worried about rectal bleeding ?

postcardsgrande
Offline

Today I went to the bathroom and was pushing my stool out in quite a hard way. I wasn't sitting on the bathroom seat for ages, I strained quite hard to get it down as quickly as possible because I was impatient. Whenever I got up and looked down at my stool, I saw that there was a line of bright red-medium red coloured blood. I was pushing quite hard to get it down but I'm still worried that it might be something like colon cancer. Whenever I wiped with the toilet paper, there was no blood on it, it was only on the stool that I noticed it. I have a feeling that I might be gluten intolerant because I never have a cough, it's only whenever I eat food with gluten that I tend to cough. My sister and my dad are also gluten intolerant. This morning I had bran flakes and a couple of croissants and I'm quite worried that it might be colon cancer. I have always suffered from health anxiety for as long as I can remember... I had a faecal occult test back in March 2022 and it was fine, my blood test results are fine but I'm still worried that I might have colon cancer. It is really tough dealing with this anxiety and I don't know what to do - I feel miserable ! I'm only 19 and feel so scared that something is wrong. The last time I had a blood test was in October and it was fine but I am still so scared that something might be wrong.

  • Offline

    Hi  so sorry yoir feeling so anxious about your rectum bleeding, after passing a stool. There are many reasons  why you may have bleed from your rectum. And they don't always turn out to be sinister.  I have had a lot of bowel problems,,I've had 39 colonoscopy procedures,numerous polyps  cut away,I have

    Internal and external hemroids which do bleed ,from time to time,I've also had small annal Fisures,which are small tears,which also bleed. I've had a bowel resection.  And I'm still here. I was also told bright red blood is good, its when the blood is dark that's when you should worry. I really do think because you were straining so hard to go to  toilet,you've probably had a small tare,or caused a small pile, as you say the blood was bright red. I'm  thinking it's nothing sinister,but for your own piece of mind,maybe  a visit to your doctor to discuss your concerns would be a good idea,as they may be able to examine you and  put your mind at rest, or send you to relevant consultants that can.  Good luck with evetything. 

  • Hello and thanks for your post,

    I am sorry to hear that you are feeling quite anxious about your health.  

    Jassoscared has written some very sensible tips so I hope you can be reassured by what they have said. 

    Colon cancer at 19 is very unlikely and it sounds far more likely that the bleeding maybe caused by straining when you passed a motion or you may have  piles (haemorrhoids) which you can read about here

    Try and increase the fibre in your diet to stop you straining when you pass a motion. Make sure that you try and increase how much water you drink and also make sure that you are taking some form of exercise each day even if it is just going for walks. 

    Have a look at how to increase your  fibre intake here

    You may not have any more bleeding but if you do have some more, you could make an apppointment to chat this through with your GP so they can examine you and hopefully put your mind at rest.

    If the area becomes sore and itchy then there are creams that you can apply. You could chat this through with your pharmacist. They are a great source of information and they often have a private room so you ask their advice about your bleeding where you are not interupted or overheard.

    Health Anxiety is exhausting and also very time consuming but I can also understand how it can overtake your life. I am not sure whether you have come across the website called 'EveryMind Matters'. It does have have some useful tips on how to help manage anxiety which you can see here

    I do hope that some of these links will be useful.

     

    All the Best,

    Catherine

Speak to a nurse

Quick links

Follow us

Registered with Fundraising Regulator (logo)
Cancer Research UK is a registered charity in England and Wales (1089464), Scotland (SC041666), the Isle of Man (1103) and Jersey (247). A company limited by guarantee. Registered company in England and Wales (4325234) and the Isle of Man (5713F). Registered address: 2 Redman Place, London, E20 1JQ.