When blood comes out of the anus, it is a cause for concern for many people. Anal bleeding is a definite sign that something is wrong with your body and you need to seek medical attention. Your rectum is the area of the bowl that ends just before the anus. Any bleeding in your rectum needs to be carefully checked as it could be a mild or life-threatening problem.

Inside your anus there are a series of blood vessels that form a tight seal and help to prevent stool from leaking out of your rectum. If one of these blood vessels is inflamed or moved from its normal position, it becomes a hemorrhoid. Hemorrhoids bleed, itch, and hurt. Bleeding from the anus is also a sign of fissures. Fissures are cracks in the skin surrounding the anus. You may have colitis or polyps. Rectal bleeding normally looks like one of the following: black, tarry stools, maroon stools, bright red blood on or in the stool, blood on the toilet papers, or blood staining of the toilet bowl water.

Anal bleeding is normally linked to an abdominal disorder. Depending upon the diagnosis, your anal bleeding could be treated with simple creams, antibiotics, blood transfusion, or even surgery.

What causes anal bleeding?
For most people, anal bleeding is linked to hemorrhoids. Hemorrhoids are swollen or dilated blood vessels or veins in the anal or rectal area. Hemorrhoids can occur on the outside, where you will feel them when wiping. External hemorrhoids are easy to see as they are a small pinkish swelling. Hemorrhoids on the inside generally do not hurt, though they may bleed still. Hemorrhoids cause anal itching, bleeding, and painful discomfort. Most people who experience hemorrhoids get them from straining too hard. Individuals with chronic constipation or pregnant tend to experience hemorrhoids. The common relief to hemorrhoids is to use stool bulking agents that soften the stool and help reduce straining. There are also creams you can use to relieve the burning and itching pain. Minor surgery is used to treat thrombosed hemorrhoids. A thrombosed hemorrhoid occurs when a clot forms within the swollen vein. Thrombosed hemorrhoids cause moderate to severe pain and they do not respond to other treatment options.

An individual can also get anal bleeding from straining during a bowel movement and a tear in the lining occurs as the hard stool is passed. When you have a tear in the lining, this is called a rectal fissure. Rectal fissures lead to mild rectal bleeding and bright red blood. The pain will worsen during a bowel movement and stops in between bowel movements. Rectal fissures cause moderate to severe pain and the only way to treat them is to use stool softeners, increase your fiber intake, warm water baths, and pain control.

Diverticulitis is small pockets that protrude out from the bowel wall. These pockets balloon out over years of recurrent, high pressure spasms of the colon. The pockets contain a lot of blood and it comes all at one time. A person who has diverticulitis does not have enough fiber in their diet. Generally a person with diverticulitis is older than 40 and has dark red or maroon stools. You will not experience pain during a bowel movement; instead the pain from diverticulitis happens in the left abdomen. Normally diverticulitis does not persist on a daily basis, but serious, persistent diverticular bleeding will lead to surgery.

Bowel infections also lead to anal bleeding. You can get a bowel infection from eating contaminated foods. Most people also experience abdominal cramping, nausea, vomiting, and a fever. Antibiotics are the only way to treat a bowel infection.

 Inflammation is another cause of rectal bleeding. Most individuals with inflammation in the bowels are younger than 50. The bleeding will occur in small amounts of bright red blood found in the rectum and will be mixed with stool and mucus. Individuals who experience inflammation also have fevers, abdominal cramping, and stomach pain. Steroids and bowel rest are the only way to treat inflammation. Crohn's disease is a common culprit of anal inflammation that causes anal bleeding.

Angiodysplasia is a vascular problem that has enlarged veins and capillaries in the wall of your right colon. The veins and capillaries can become fragile over time and they will eventually bleed. Most people with angiodysplasia are in their elderly years. It is a slow process and people tend to experience weakness, fatigue, shortness of breath, and mild rectal bleeding.

Polyps are another cause of anal bleeding. A polyp is a small clump of cells that bulge out from the lining of the colon. A colon polyp is generally harmless but some can be cancerous. Colon polyps are usually hereditary and may leave bright red blood on your toilet paper after you have had a bowel movement.

Tumors are similar to polyps as they are usually malignant and found within the colon and rectum. Tumors are usually found in individuals who are older than 50, but they have been found in younger individuals as well. Individuals who have anal bleeding from a tumor will notice it is slow, chronic, or minimal. If a tumor becomes cancerous, weight loss will occur as well constipation, and a change in the caliber of stools. A tumor is diagnosed with a colonoscopy. Colon cancer is treatable if it is found early. Having a tumor or polyp is the biggest concern for colon cancer.

You can also experience anal bleeding if you have had some form of trauma to the body. Gunshot wounds can cause anal bleeding in some individuals. Any type of rectal damage will result in blood loss and you will need to be hospitalized. You will also get anal bleeding if you are lacking proper blood supply to the small intestine or colon.

The upper gastrointestinal area is another common source of anal bleeding. The stomach or duodenum tends to be the source of anal bleeding in some individuals. You can get anal bleeding if you eat a foreign object that causes some type of injury to the lining of your stomach. Stomach ulcers will also cause you to have anal bleeding. 

If you have a child who is experiencing anal bleeding, take them to a medical professional immediately. What happens to a child is their bowels will twist upon itself and cause intestinal blockage. This is called intussusceptions and it is the most common diagnosis for anal bleeding in children under the age of 2. Most cases occur under the age of one. If your child has abdominal pains, vomiting, and rectal bleeding, they need to see the doctor immediately. For some patient, surgery will be required to fix the bowels.

How to treat anal bleeding
If you are concerned that you have anal bleeding, you should seek medical advice. Here is a short checklist of anal bleeding symptoms:

• Blood in the stool
• Fever
  
• Diarrhea
  
• Stomach pain or swelling
  
• Vomiting or nausea
  
• Black, tarry stools
  
• Rectal pain
  
• Dizziness
  
• Difficulty breathing
  
• Rapid or irregular heartbeat

A doctor will do a physical exam on you and talk to you about your diet and other programs. The doctor may require diagnostic testing to be done to further diagnose the problem. The most common test performed includes blood testing and an anoscopy. An anoscopy is when a small tube in inserted into the anus and the doctor can get a view of the rectal vault. For most patients, anal bleeding is hemorrhoids, but you won't hurt yourself by talking to your doctor. Older people tend to have more anal bleeding problems because the colon and bowels are aging and the previous years have worked them hard so they become softer. Check you're bleeding pattern, if you are having blood drip in the toilet; write down how often in drips and for how long. Dripping blood is usually a bleeding hemorrhoid and some stool softeners and hemorrhoid ointment will help.

There are some other things you can do at home to help your anal bleeding. If you suspect you're anal bleeding is due to hemorrhoids, you can apply a rectal ointment and apply it to the hemorrhoid after each bowel movement. There are witch hazel toilet wipes that you should use to clean the anus after a bowel movement. Always drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day and bathe daily and cleanse the area around the anus. Avoid straining with bowel movements and avoid sitting on the toilet too long. Increase your fiber intake. You can find good fiber in prunes, whole-grain breads, and in Metamucil. If you have severe pain, apply ice packs to the affected area.

If you are older than 40 and you have tried the above treatment methods for at least one week and you still don't have results, you need to seek medical attention. Since anal bleeding is the number one symptom of colon cancer, it is important to get it checked out if the home treatment remedies aren't working.