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Are Ciproflaxin And Immodium Effective At Treating Diarrhea With Blood?
Posted on
Sat, 24 Mar 2018
Medically reviewed by
Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team
Sat, 24 Mar 2018
Answered on
Mon, 24 Apr 2023
Last reviewed on
Question : I have had diarrhea for 12 days with some blood in my stool. The blood was not bright red and showed mostly when I wiped. Sometimes in the stool. My doctor prescribed Ciproflaxin and Imodium. Do they work together and does this make sense?
I will schedule a colonoscopy in May and hopefully, my other ailments will be gone by then.
Thank you.
I will schedule a colonoscopy in May and hopefully, my other ailments will be gone by then.
Thank you.
Brief Answer:
Given you treatment for bacterial gastroenteritis.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Yes, a part of treatment though incomplete is ok most likely your doctor is suspecting that you are having bacterial gastroenteritis, therefore, he has prescribed you ciprofloxacin which is an antibacterial and imodium to stop stools.
However, he has not covered the second part of treatment that is investigations-
There are a few things to consider when a person says he has blood in the stool.
The first thing is if it is real blood. There are some food and industrial chemicals that might be in stool and give the impression it is blood and in fact, it is not.
Unless it bright red blood (which is clear that it is blood). Other times the way to know if you are bleeding or not is having a stool occult blood test or stool microscopy that will confirm the presence of blood with the stools.
After the age of 50, it is recommended that all people should have a colonoscopy every 5-10 years. Even if yours was normal few years back it might be recommended to repeat it as you are having this bleeding and the tests confirm
if you are really bleeding.
A CBC would be a good test to be done if you suspect bleeding to see if you are developing anemia as a complication of bleeding and need treatment for it or not.
So to conclude:
1. we need to be sure you are bleeding or not- a stool test like fecal occult blood test and or stool microscopy for blood will help in this.
2. if it is confirmed that you are bleeding then you will need a colonoscopy to find the cause of it.
3. if might be due to hemorrhoids which are mostly due to constipation so in meantime please make sure you take extra fiber with diet and drink plenty of water.
4. if you had any massive rectal bleeding than an urgent visit to a doctor is needed.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Gastroenterologist
Given you treatment for bacterial gastroenteritis.
Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Yes, a part of treatment though incomplete is ok most likely your doctor is suspecting that you are having bacterial gastroenteritis, therefore, he has prescribed you ciprofloxacin which is an antibacterial and imodium to stop stools.
However, he has not covered the second part of treatment that is investigations-
There are a few things to consider when a person says he has blood in the stool.
The first thing is if it is real blood. There are some food and industrial chemicals that might be in stool and give the impression it is blood and in fact, it is not.
Unless it bright red blood (which is clear that it is blood). Other times the way to know if you are bleeding or not is having a stool occult blood test or stool microscopy that will confirm the presence of blood with the stools.
After the age of 50, it is recommended that all people should have a colonoscopy every 5-10 years. Even if yours was normal few years back it might be recommended to repeat it as you are having this bleeding and the tests confirm
if you are really bleeding.
A CBC would be a good test to be done if you suspect bleeding to see if you are developing anemia as a complication of bleeding and need treatment for it or not.
So to conclude:
1. we need to be sure you are bleeding or not- a stool test like fecal occult blood test and or stool microscopy for blood will help in this.
2. if it is confirmed that you are bleeding then you will need a colonoscopy to find the cause of it.
3. if might be due to hemorrhoids which are mostly due to constipation so in meantime please make sure you take extra fiber with diet and drink plenty of water.
4. if you had any massive rectal bleeding than an urgent visit to a doctor is needed.
Hope I have answered your query.
Take care
Regards,
Dr Ramesh Kumar, Gastroenterologist
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Nagamani Ng
Answered by
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