Painless bright red blood in stool

Spotting blood in the toilet after you use the bathroom can be a jarring experience. Though some may be tempted to ignore the issue, experts warn that this symptom deserves a second look.

In the U.S., colorectal cancer is the fourth most commonly diagnosed cancer, and rates have been on the rise for decades, particularly for people under the age of 45.

Rectal bleeding, also known as hematochezia, is a symptom commonly seen in colorectal cancer patients, said Jingquan (Caron) Jia, MD, PhD, a clinical associate professor in the division of medical oncology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

When to worry about blood in stool

This is especially true in younger patients, she told Health. In fact, new research published in May dubbed blood in stool one of two “red flag” symptoms of early-onset colorectal cancer.

However, not all rectal bleeding is a sign of colorectal cancer—in some cases, the blood in your stool can be caused by hemorrhoids, a hard bowel movement, or other more benign causes.

“Many of

when you find blood in your stool

when you see blood in your poop what does that mean