How to Prevent Bloody Stools
Items you will need
Clean food and water
High fiber foods
Checking your stool after defecating is quite a gross thing to do but observing your stool is one of the many ways to monitor the condition of your digestive system. The appearance and color of your stool denotes a lot of things, from giving you a simple reminder of the corn soup you had for dinner to a serious warning of an existing problem in your system. Blood in the stool may come from an injury or damage on any of the parts of your digestive tract (from your esophagus to your rectum). The darkness and/or the lightness of the blood stains on your stool are enough to provide a trace as to where the damage is. These stains are sometimes noticeable, but there are cases where the blood smears can only be detected through a fecal blood test. Some causes of bloody stools include hemorrhoids, constipation, stomach ulcers, colon cancer, intestinal infection or ulcer, inflammatory bowel disease or anal fissures. Here are some protective measures to prevent bloody stools.
Visit your doctor right away. Although bloody stools are sometimes caused by mild cases, don’t take it for granted. You should immediately inform your doctor about it in order to find out the specific cause and that treatment can be administered right away. If you are diagnosed with peptic ulcer caused by bacteria (H. pylori) the doctor may give you antibiotics to prevent further bleeding of your ulcer.
Watch what you drink and eat. Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) are the group of bacteria responsible for causing stomach and duodenal infections and ulcers, which are factors of causing bloody stools. These organisms can easily be transmitted through contaminated water and food. So be double cautious when you eat out or when you prepare your own food; and also, always make sure that the water you’re drinking is clean and safe.
Add more fiber in your diet. Consuming high fiber foods such as whole grain or wheat, vegetables, fruits (such as pineapples and raspberries), and low-fat foods are excellent to keep you digestive system healthy. It will also help in preventing constipation, anal fissures, hemorrhoids, colon cancer and other digestive problems that may contribute to a bloody stool.
Take anti-inflammatory drugs in accordance to its appropriate amount of use or in accordance to what the doctor prescribed you to take. Unnecessary intake and excessive use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications (such as ibuprofen (Advil), meloxicam, naproxen (Naprosyn), and aspirin) may cause ulcers and bleeding in the stomach and intestines that will eventually lead to a bloody stool.
Control your alcohol intake, or better yet, don’t drink at all. Drinking too much alcohol will only cause gastroesophageal reflux, a disease in which food and acids in the stomach backs up, resulting to irritation or perhaps damage of esophageal linings. The said damage may even possibly spread on to the linings of the stomach. As a result of irritations around the linings of the esophagus and stomach, tiny blood vessels may burst leading to manifestations of a bloody stool.
Drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration. Constipation is one of the main indications of dehydration. It is a case where there is a difficulty of stool passage when you defecate. And if you are able to expel a hard stool, blood comes with it sometimes. The best way to prevent this is to keep your system dehydrated so drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water daily.
Quit smoking. Smoking decreases the production of bicarbonate in the stomach which is an essential substance that neutralizes stomach acids. When production of this substance is reduced, it will increase the acidity of the stomach leading to irritation and ulceration, which can be manifested by a bloody stool. Cigarette smoking will also decrease the strength of your immune system which makes you more prone to having bacterial infections such as Helicobacter pylori infection that causes peptic ulcers.
Try to take it easy and relax. In some cases, bloody stools are linked to stress. Lack of appetite or missing meals is one of the many signs of a stressed individual. Because of this, normal gastric motility is affected leading to an increase in the acidity of the stomach. The amount of acid that reaches the duodenum (part of the small intestine) will also be higher than its usual rate. This will all lead to gastric and intestinal irritation and ulceration that may result to a bloody stool.
Discuss with your doctor about some medical cleansing methods that will help in preventing factors that do not only cause bloody stools but colon cancer as well. The following medical procedures should be done as early as possible especially if cancer of the colon runs in your family: (a) Fecal occult blood testing annually, (b) Barium enema is advisable every 5 years, (c) Endoscopic examination of the colon (colonoscopy) every 10 years.
- Creative Common License, by: chrism1128, copyright: October 2006, Creative Commons License, by: treidling, copyright: August 2006, Creative Commons License, by: selva, copyright: March 2005, Creative Commons License, by: Unravell, copyright: February 2007, Creative Commons License, by: palmdoc_mmr, copyright: July 2007