Rectal bleeding includes the presence of any blood on, in or around the stool, toilet paper or toilet bowl.

Most people will see some blood one or twice at some stage in their life, especially after a constipated bowel motion. Regular or intermittent bleeding is NEVER normal.

Bleeding in anyone over the age of 50 must never be ignored. Bowel cancer is common and easily prevented or treated if found early.

Patient with haemorrhoids, fissures and other anal conditions can often bleed. This makes things confusing as it is not possible to know if there is trouble up higher in the bowel. Luckily a simple colonoscopy procedure can solve this mystery for us.

This can be done as a separate procedure or combined with an operation for haemorrhoids, fissures, fistulas etc