Results

Cause of your symptoms

Your rectal bleeding is probably from normal veins just inside your back passage caused by your constipation

Advice

Try treatments outlined below for two weeks.

Treatments

Eat more roughage and if necessary take laxatives to make your stools softer and easier to pass. It is normal to strain a little when passing a motion but too much can cause bleeding. A pharmacist can advise on suitable treatments.

What now?

If you get better nothing else needs to be done. However, if your symptoms persist for two more weeks or recur after stopping treatment, see your GP.

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You are over 50 years old and have rectal bleeding without pile symptoms and a change in bowel habit to decreased frequency and harder drier stools but no abdominal pain

Additional information if you see your GP

Your GP will probably examine your tummy and back passage and do a blood test and if these are normal it would be reasonable to advise a further short period of treat, watch and wait. However, if your symptoms do not settle quickly or recur it is likely you will be referred to a routine hospital clinic for further investigations and treatments to stop your rectal bleeding.

In healthy patients aged 50-70years old not having previous colonic investigations, a single flexible sigmoidoscopy has the added benefit of detecting incidental significant polyps which if removed may prevent a bowel cancer developing in the future - ‘opportunistic screening'