About Rectal Bleeding in Young Women

Rectal bleeding is often expected to occur only in older or middle aged people. With the possibility of rectal bleeding being something serious, it is never okay to overlook it, no matter what age or sex the person experiencing it is. When young women experience rectal bleeding, there are some specific concerns and things that the doctor will want to consider as a possible cause.

Types

There are a few different types of rectal bleeding, and evaluating what type is being seen may make the difference in what medical tests and procedures are done to determine the cause of the bleeding.
Usually, if the blood is bright red, it most likely is coming from an area close to the anus. If the blood seen is dark red, it may be coming from the first section of the large intestine. If the blood is darker in color, brown or black, possibly resembling tar, it may be coming from up higher in the gastrointestinal tract, or one of the digestive organs which is up higher, such as the stomach. The blood may be very little, possible a few drops in the toilet, or more, making the toilet water discolored.

Significance

Rectal bleeding is a serious health symptom, and can mean that there are possibly serious health problems, one of which is cancer. There are also many more minor problems and one of them is more than likely the cause of the bleeding. It is, however, important to see your doctor to determine what the true cause is.
Some of the more likely causes of rectal bleeding, especially in young women, are not serious and may be treated easily. Hemorrhoids or polyps are one consideration. There are many causes of hemorrhoids, one of which is anal sexual play or anal intercourse. This can cause tears in the wall of the rectum, and make it bleed. Scary, yet not serious, this type of bleeding will heal. Other causes or hemorrhoids are straining to have a bowel movement and being constipated. Quite often young women become constipated during their periods, which may result in rectal bleeding.
Another possibility is Crohn's disease, which is an inflammatory bowel disease. One symptom of Crohn's is blood mixed with mucus during a bowel movement. There are also some STDs which have rectal bleeding as a symptom, Ghonorrhea is one of them.
With so many possibilities for the real cause of the rectal bleeding that young women may experience, it is of utmost importance that a doctor be consulted and the proper tests be done to determine the correct cause.

Identification

Whenever rectal bleeding has been discovered, there are certain tests that may be prescribed to determine the true cause of the bleeding. When you first tell your doctor about the bleeding, she may do a physical exam to help determine if there is any tenderness or abdominal distension. She may also do an anal exam and try to see if there are any tears or hemorrhoids and how tender you are inside the anal canal.
The first test she might recommend is usually a fecal blood test. Depending on what that shows, there may be a colonoscopy, a lower GI series with a Barium enema or any other test the doctor thinks necessary.

Effects

When rectal bleeding is first discovered, it may be passed off as a one time thing. Maybe you would think you scratched yourself or something else very minor. And that may very well be the case. If it happens more than once though, you should call the doctor to be evaluated. If rectal bleeding is ignored, whatever is causing it may continue to get worse and the prognosis for treatment may not be as good.

Prevention/Solution

There are many things that can be done to prevent rectal bleeding and none of them are age dependent. The younger you are when you begin eating right, meaning getting a good balance of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein sources in your diet, the better health you will experience. Eating enough high fiber foods, drinking plenty of water and getting enough exercise are key to making sure you don't become constipated. When you have regular bowel movements that are easy to pass, you are less likely to get hemorrhoids or anal tears.
When you have sex, avoiding anal sex will help prevent you from getting an STD or an infection of the anal canal. If you have sex, use condoms. This will help prevent the spread of disease, and infections.
You can prevent a bad situation from becoming worse by seeing your doctor as soon as you notice any rectal bleeding.