If you use the restroom and notice blood in your excrement, you’re likely going to be frightened and worried. Whether you had tests done or wiped after a bowel movement and noticed blood, you want to find out the cause and treat it. Many times, blood in your stool isn’t a serious issue, but it could be. Therefore, you should talk to a gastroenterologist about blood in stool treatment in Dallas TX.
Causes
Blood in your stool means that you are bleeding from somewhere in the digestive tract. Many times, the amount is minuscule, so doctors have to detect the bleeding by using a particular test. Other times, you may wipe and see it or see it in the bowl before flushing. Types of conditions that can cause blood in the stool include anal fissures, diverticular disease, angiodysplasia, colitis, peptic ulcers, polyps, cancer, and more.
Treatments
The first step is to determine the cause of the bleeding so that the right treatment is used to fix the problem. However, doctors have many techniques available to stop the acute bleeding. Sometimes, an endoscopy can inject chemicals into the bleeding site, which stops the bleeding for the moment. Other options include using electric currents and lasers, applying a clip or band close to the vessel that’s bleeding, and more. If endoscopy doesn’t control or stop the bleeding, an angiography can also be used to inject medication into the blood vessels to prevent or control it.
Once the immediate bleeding is stopped, treatments can include addressing why you were bleeding in the first place to prevent it from happening again. Treatments can include antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, reduce stomach acid in the stomach, and anti-inflammatory medications to treat colitis. In extreme cases, surgery may be necessary to remove polyps or areas of the colon damaged by disease. Visit Viral Kumar Patel MD for more information.
