Diverticula

Diverticula in the intestine are bulges of intestinal layers into the lumen of the intestine. Since this remains asymptomatic for a long time, the first sign is often an admixture of blood in the stool caused by strong irritation of the diverticula. If diverticula are frequently found in the bowel, this is called diverticulosis – the chronic form of diverticula. If the diverticula are inflamed, it is called diverticulitis, and depending on the rate of complications, may require surgical treatment.

Stomach cancer

Cancer of the stomach can cause many different symptoms. Often the symptoms are only noticed in later stages, as in early stages there is often only unspecific abdominal pain, a feeling of fullness and a possible aversion to meat. In later stages, vomiting and dark blood in the stool occur. Therapeutically, stomach cancer is treated surgically or by chemotherapy, depending on the stage.

Small intestine cancer

Cancer of the small intestine is a very rare type of cancer and therefore not a very common cause of blood in the stool. If there are tumorous changes in the small intestine, these can lead to various disorders in the gastrointestinal tract. These include constipation, diarrhoea, pain in the abdominal area and stool with blood, which usually appears as a dark admixture. Tumorous changes in the rear section of the small intestine lead more often to blood in the stool than in the front section.

Mesenteric infarction

Mesenteric infarction is a highly acute and life-threatening clinical picture with rupture of an important abdominal vessel. It manifests itself in the first six hours by cramp-like abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea. Later, blood in the stool appears and the previously increased intestinal movements decrease. If surgery is not performed at this stage at the latest, this means that sections of the intestine die, which can be life-threatening for the person concerned.

Causes of blood in stool without pain

If there is blood in the stool without additional pain, this should always be clarified by a doctor. In most cases, pain that occurs in combination with blood in the stool is an expression of inflammation or irritation of a section of the gastrointestinal tract. Painless blood admixtures, on the other hand, can be an expression of a malignant change in the intestinal mucosa with a tendency to develop intestinal cancer.

However, it can also be diverticula, for example, which, depending on their location, just like intestinal polyps, do not necessarily cause pain in the abdominal area. In order to clarify this, it is therefore important to document exactly how the bowel movement and the blood looks like and how much blood is present in each bowel movement when blood is present in the stool without causing pain. This should be passed on to the doctor as important information for the search for the cause.