Causes Of Bloody Diarrhea & Bright Red Blood In Stool

Infections:

Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella enteritidis, E-coli, Shigella.

Inflammatory:

Ulcerative colitis, Crohns disease, Indeterminate colitis, Diverticulitis (although unusual with diarrhea)

Less common causes include:

Ischaemic colitis (poor gut blood supply)

Colon Cancer

Drug induced - Sometimes seen with Warfarin, NSAID's

Vomiting and bloody diarrhea can occur together and is usually a sign of infective diarrhea. There are of course other reasons for vomiting and bloody diarrhea, so if the diarrhea continues, or if bright red blood in stool doesn't settle, then it should be investigated further, due to the potential of more serious underlying causes as indicated above (particularly in people of 55 years and over). These investigations should include blood tests, stool culture +/- colonic investigations with colonoscopy , flexible sigmoidoscopy , CT colonography or Barium Enema . Click on the links to find out more information about these tests.

Treatment of bloody diarrhea depends on which of the underlying causes is responsible. Doctors always investigate diarrhea with bloody stool as it is not a symptom of IBS or the Irritable Bowel Syndrome

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