USUALLY this comes from a tear in the tissue of the rectum, or from hemorrhoids (also sometimes spelled hemorrhoids), and would normally be combined with constipation, straining to have a bowel movement, and the consequent bleeding from the rectal tissue or hemorrhoids.
Here is what the FDA has to say on this subject of hemorrhoids: According to the National Institutes of Health, about half the U.S. population over 50 have hemorrhoids.
"Hemorrhoids are one of the most common complaints a physician must evaluate," agrees Lee E. Smith, M.D., director of the division of colon and rectal surgery at the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.
The FDA advice, in this instance, anyway, seems sensible: "If you see blood, it's probably hemorrhoids," says Smith. Hemorrhoids are the most common source of bleeding from the rectum and the anus. However, if the bleeding lasts for more than a couple of days, it's important to see a doctor for an exam. Smith stresses that a "thorough physical exam, not just talking about the symptoms" is essential.
If you have a symptom like this you might be unlucky enough to stumble onto a web site where the source looks to be "official" or "non-profit" (therefore accurate?), and you would find something called the "irritable bowel syndrome."
The true solution is -- change your diet and/or add fiber to your diet. Stewed or dried prunes are a wonderful way to regularize your bowel movements.
For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration is allowing a drug to go back on the market after it was removed for safety reasons. The drug, Lotronex, a prescription treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, will be available again in several months (this article written in 2007).
Lotronex was taken off the market in November 2000, less than 10 months after it was approved, because it was linked to severe intestinal problems and several deaths.
GlaxoSmithKline, based in Britain, withdrew the drug voluntarily at the F.D.A.'s request when the two could not reach an agreement on marketing restrictions intended to reduce adverse reactions.
Most people in the US, if you looked into their toilets, would have "sinkers rather than floaters!" In other words, if your food and digestion are proper, the stool will float in the toilet water, will be light in color, will be soft, but well-formed (not watery) and will NOT have a foul smell. How many people do you suppose have "proper stool?" The FDA estimate is that 50% of the population, at least, has hemorrhoids -- so that means even more have problems with their stools.
The most common reason for "poor stool" would be the lack of fiber in the diet and the excessive use of processed foods, particularly sugar and bread.
For the large part our pets never have constipation, and certainly wild animals virtually never have this problem. Wild animals, of course, are eating almost exclusively what nature intended for that animal. Pets are often stuck with the food from their owners, but even so, dogs and cats can generally digest everything they eat, and if you look at their stools you hardly ever find anything other than well-formed stool.
When the animal IS sick, or has eaten something bad, it usually shows up as runny stool in short order.
So, if your stool is dark, sinks in the water, and requires a strain to eliminate -- you are a candidate for constipation, and then for bloody stool.
How to fix?
It is simple, but seldom will people get serious enough about doing anything to solve the problem. Instead they wait until it is much too late and then ask the doctor for a remedy.
For the general run of symptoms the usual doctor will either suggest a drug, or even rush you to the hospital. You should realize that your insurance won't cover a doctor's visit, usually, unless the doctor finds something wrong that is "solved" by a drug or hospital visit. If he says to you, "You just need to eat better and take some bran," he may not make a penny on the office visit.
So, instead he prescribes some drug. The most usual drug is a suppository, and although "natural" handling would be far better, the suppositories are certainly not a class of "drug" as bad as most.
"The obvious solution lies in the area of diet."
TO BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.
