# Blood in Poop: TMI **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 23, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251 "2009-09-23T16:15:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/1 "2009-09-23T16:15:56Z")
Recently I notice bright red blood when I poop. In the past, this has turned out to be just a hemorrhoid or other part of my anatomy bleeding. I also remember hearing that the troubling blood in the stool is not bright red which means it originated near the end (so to speak), but darker as it has had time to oxidize or be digested in the colon. I had a clean colonoscopy a couple of years ago, and I don’t want to go to the doctor and have him give me another one if it’s really nothing to be worried about. So the question is: should I be worried or does it just sound like hemorrhoids again? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/2 "2009-09-23T16:43:41Z")
Ask your doctor. Go ahead, give him a call. He should be able to give some advice over the phone. The colonoscopy results are reassuring, but the particulars of your situation would be best discussed with your butt pro. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/3 "2009-09-23T16:45:16Z")
Uh, when my dad got colon cancer, he barely had enough tissue at the rectum to reattach the colon. I didn’t see the blood (other family members did), but it was close enough to the exit that I wouldn’t be surprised if at least some of it was bright red. I wouldn’t take chances. I’d see a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/4 "2009-09-23T16:50:50Z")
8 years of membership and soliciting specific medical advice. Good game. ---
**Author:** ![cwthree](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@cwthree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cwthree)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/5 "2009-09-23T21:51:20Z")
You last colonoscopy was clean, but it was a couple of years ago? See your doctor. Trust me, he won’t mind - people have taken up his time for more trivial things. ---
**Author:** ![Translucent\_Daydream](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/translucent_daydream/32/16170_2.png) [@Translucent\_Daydream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Translucent_Daydream)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/6 "2009-09-23T21:59:31Z")
Well they say if its blood in there, then it is coming from close to the end of your digestive tract because if it was coming from somewhere up higher it would be partially digested… and black. Yeah they are probably going to shut this one down because medical advice isn’t really kosher on the boards, or what I thought. But anyways, hopefully you are okay man! ---
**Author:** ![DanBlather](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f4b2a3/32.png) [@DanBlather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DanBlather)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/7 "2009-09-23T22:02:48Z")
:smack: I have asked for the thread to be closed. Thanks all for replies, I will call my doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/8 "2009-09-23T22:05:56Z")
> [@Translucent\_Daydream](#): > > Well they say if its blood in there, then it is coming from close to the end of your digestive tract because if it was coming from somewhere up higher it would be partially digested… and black. Not necessarily true at all. Turning the blood black (Melena, coffee-ground vomitus) is usually the result of blood in the stomach. Acid there causes the change. Bleeding beyond the stomach, such as in the small or large intestine, can range from maroon to dark red to bright red, depending on circumstances. Heck, if the stomach acid content is low, or the blood doesn’t stay in the stomach long, gastric or esophageal bleeding can present as bright red. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2009, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blood-in-poop-tmi/511251/9 "2009-09-23T22:06:51Z")
> [@DanBlather](#): > > :smack: I have asked for the thread to be closed. Thanks all for replies, I will call my doctor. Done.