Question: What can cause a bleeding bowel movement? I had one yesterday and am obviously quite concerned about it. What can I do to fix this?

Answer: A bleeding bowel movement can be caused by anything from an anal fissure (small tear in the anus) to colon cancer. Try not to be overly concerned about a bloody bowel movement as most have relatively benign causes.

There are a couple of things you can do to prevent this from continuing. The first is to add some fiber to your diet which will help to keep you more regular. This will assist in keeping your stool soft, but formed, which will reduce the strain on your anus.

The next thing to try is to take a stool softener. This will do the same thing as adding more fiber, but may work if the fiber alone is not enough.

This can also be caused by an underlying medical issue so it is a good idea to see a doctor and discuss what may be going on with you. The physician can probably diagnose this in a fairly quick manner which will likely help you to put your mind at ease.

A bleeding bowel movement can be concerning, but it is probably caused by a treatable problem so try not to worry too much.