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What Causes Constipation And Blood In Bowel Movement?
Hello! My husband was constipated for about twelve days. With an intense program of fiber and laxatives he had bowel activity. His stools came out with red blood in considerable amount. He is 89 years. I don t know whether or not to rush him to the hospital for emergency care. My thoughts tell me that his condition might have been caused by taking too many laxatives. Can you assist me please? Thank you.
Fri, 28 Sep 2018
Hi,
I understand your concerns and I will try to help you as much as I can. In your case, blood presence in stool doesn’t seem to be something serious. And in most causes of are benign and include hemorrhoids, anal fissure or rectal polyps.
These are primarily treated with stool softener, diet and sitz baths. If there are some other symptoms such as weigh loss or pain or inability to have bowel movements then some further tests should be done.
It is common that hard stool lead to bleeding due to fragile hemorrhoids so it is important to soften your stool with appropriate diet that include lot of fluids, probiotics, high-fiber food and stool softeners to avoid hard stool and straining.
If there is no improvement in next few weeks, then tests are required which include colonoscopy and irigography. Other causes may be more serious and include tumors or inflammatory bowel diseases and these should be ruled out with colonoscopy which must be done if there is low blood count present or rapid weight loss.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Ivan R. Rommstein,
General Surgeon
I understand your concerns and I will try to help you as much as I can. In your case, blood presence in stool doesn’t seem to be something serious. And in most causes of are benign and include hemorrhoids, anal fissure or rectal polyps.
These are primarily treated with stool softener, diet and sitz baths. If there are some other symptoms such as weigh loss or pain or inability to have bowel movements then some further tests should be done.
It is common that hard stool lead to bleeding due to fragile hemorrhoids so it is important to soften your stool with appropriate diet that include lot of fluids, probiotics, high-fiber food and stool softeners to avoid hard stool and straining.
If there is no improvement in next few weeks, then tests are required which include colonoscopy and irigography. Other causes may be more serious and include tumors or inflammatory bowel diseases and these should be ruled out with colonoscopy which must be done if there is low blood count present or rapid weight loss.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Ivan R. Rommstein,
General Surgeon
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