While not everyone with Crohn’s disease experiences bleeding, it can be a common symptom. Treatment, including medications, food choices, or surgery, may help manage it.
Seeing blood in your poop can be concerning. For some people, this blood can be a symptom of Crohn’s disease. Blood in the stool can also have other causes.
If you have a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, it’s best to talk with your doctor about blood in the stool to determine the cause and get treatment.
If you think you have Crohn’s disease but have not yet received a diagnosis, blood in your stool is unlikely to be the only symptom. Other symptoms of Crohn’s disease can include:
- diarrhea
- constipation
- abdominal pain
- pain or cramping before and during bowel movements
- feeling like you have to poop after you just finished pooping
This article will help you understand why some people with Crohn’s get blood in their stool. Knowing which treatments are available can help you take action to feel your best.
Crohn’s disease most commonly affects the small intestine and the colon, but it can affect any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract from the mouth to the anus. It can even affect one part of the GI tract, skip over a section, and affect another section.
Chronic, constant inflammation from Crohn’s disease can lead to complications like ulcers, fistulas, and fissures throughout the digestive tract. These can cause bleeding, particularly in the lower intestines and rectum.
If you experience blood in your stool and have a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, it’s best to talk with your doctor.
Ulcers
Chronic inflammation from Crohn’s disease can cause ulcers to develop.
Ulcers can develop anywhere in the digestive tract, including the mouth and deep in the bowel wall. Many ulcers may develop in one area, or they may be spread out. They can also develop in one area, skip over an area with healthy tissues, and appear again in another part of the digestive tract.
Having ulcers throughout the digestive tract can cause serious bleeding. Chronic, low grade bleeding from multiple ulcers may lead to anemia. In rarer cases, large numbers of ulcers or heavy frequent bleeding can require surgery.
Fistulas
Fistulas are abnormal passageways that allow contents to bypass parts of the intestines.
Fistulas can begin as an infection in your digestive tract or result from abscesses or inflammation caused by ulcers or sores. They cause a fistula to develop between two organs or between one organ and your skin, such as an anal fistula.
Fistulas from Crohn’s disease typically require surgery and medication to treat.
Fissures
People with Crohn’s disease can also experience tears in the lining of the anal canal called anal fissures. These can result in bleeding or blood in an individual’s bowel movements.
An anal fissure can also potentially affect the sphincter, the muscle that keeps the anus closed.
Some mild fissures caused by chronic diarrhea from Crohn’s may go away on their own, but those from Crohn’s usually require surgery.
Even if you don’t have a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease, blood in the stool can also result from other health conditions and other complications, such as:
- hemorrhoids
- colorectal cancer
- diverticular bleeding
Some of these can be more serious.
If you have a lot of blood in your stool, regularly have blood in your stool, or have blood in your stool with other concerning symptoms, it’s best to talk with a doctor.
They may recommend imaging and other tests to determine the cause. Some causes, such as bowel obstruction, can become life threatening without prompt emergency medical attention.
Causes of blood in the stool relating to Crohn’s disease often require medical attention.
Learn more about how Crohn’s disease affects your poop.
Crohn’s can lead to your gums bleeding, but it is a less common symptom.
Sometimes, people with Crohn’s disease may have inflammation and swelling of the gums due to nutritional deficiencies. It’s important to note that this doesn’t mean people with Crohn’s don’t manage their diets, but rather inflammation in the GI tract causes problems with nutrient absorption.
Medications may also play a role in the mouth sores and bleeding some individuals with Crohn’s disease experience, but more research on that is still needed.
Read more about how Crohn’s disease can affect the mouth and tongue.
If you have Crohn’s disease and blood in your stool, it’s best to talk with a doctor. They may recommend changes to your medication or taking anti-inflammatory medications to bring down swelling. Depending on the cause of your bleeding, they may also recommend other treatments like:
- bowel rest with a liquid diet until the bowel heals
- surgery or nonsurgical procedures to repair tears or fistulas
- other medications, such as antibiotics to treat infections or IV medications for severe Crohn’s
Some long-term lifestyle practices, like diet changes, may potentially help relieve inflammation along with other methods.
It’s possible to not experience any bleeding when you live with Crohn’s disease.
Bleeding in Crohn’s disease is less common than with ulcerative colitis, but it depends on where the inflammation is occurring.
When Crohn’s disease affects the lower colon and rectal area, blood is more likely to be found in bowel movements.
Bleeding is most likely to occur when your Crohn’s disease is active or flaring up.
It’s important to let your doctor know if you notice blood in your stool or if you’re experiencing symptoms of anemia, which may indicate bleeding elsewhere in the digestive tract.
If you have Crohn’s disease, blood in your stool can indicate a complication like ulcers, fissures, or fistulas that may require medical attention.
If you’re experiencing bleeding due to Crohn’s disease, you may want to talk with your doctor. While there’s no cure for Crohn’s disease, they can help you find a treatment plan that minimizes your symptoms.
If you don’t have a diagnosis of Crohn’s disease but think the blood in your stool may be a symptom, it’s best to make an appointment with a doctor so they can order diagnostic tests. Treating Crohn’s disease can help reduce symptoms and damage to the digestive tract.