When to worry about blood in stool
- fresh blood in toilet
- fresh blood in toilet bowl
- fresh blood in toilet after stool
- fresh blood in toilet pan
Painless bright red blood in stool
Bleeding from anus treatment.
Bleeding from the bottom (rectal bleeding)
A small amount of one-off bleeding from the bottom is not usually a serious problem. But a GP can check.
Check if you're bleeding from the bottom
You might be bleeding from the bottom if you have:
- blood on your toilet paper
- red streaks on the outside of your poo
- pink water in the toilet bowl
- blood in your poo or bloody diarrhoea
- very dark poo (this can be blood mixed in poo)
A small amount of one-off bleeding can often go away on its own without needing treatment.
Non-urgent advice: See a GP if:
- your child has blood in their poo
- you've had blood in your poo for 3 weeks
- your poo has been softer, thinner or longer than normal for 3 weeks
- you're in a lot of pain around the bottom
- you have a pain or lump in your tummy
- you've been more tired than usual
- you've lost weight for no reason
Urgent advice: Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if:
- your poo is black or dark red
- you have bloody diarrhoea
You can call 111 or get help from 111 online.