Worrying sign in your toilet bowl could be health red flag you must never ignore
Unexplained changes to your toilet habits could be cause for concern, according to medical experts. Of course, there are often harmless reasons behind such changes, ranging from stress to diet, and you should always turn to a medical professional as a first point of call, as they can talk you through any health worries. But it is nonetheless helpful to be aware of a number of warning signs when it comes to more sinister causes, to aid in early diagnosis.
Talking to the Express, experts highlighted the importance of taking bowel changes seriously. Abbas Kanani, a pharmacist at Chemist Click online pharmacy, said: "Unexplained, persistent changes in your bowel habits - loose watery stools, hard or dry stools, and unusual and persistent changes in the texture could signal irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) like Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis, or food intolerance or allergy.
"Blood in stool - dark red or maroon - may point to issues higher up in the colon, and deep, tar-like stool is often a sign that there's an issue in the stomach itself, like bleeding due to ulcers. This could signal haemorrhoids, which are swollen veins in your lower rectum that can bleed. If it's persistent and paired with other gastrointestinal symptoms like diarrhoea it could signal IBD."
Meanwhile, Dr Angela Rai, GP at The London General Practice, added that blood in the stool could be the 'first noticeable' sign of cancer. "The symptoms of bowel cancer can be subtle and should be checked if you have these symptoms or any persistent changes in bowel habits, blood in your stool, or unintentional weight loss. See your GP, they can arrange tests including blood tests, stool tests or more advanced tests like colonoscopy or CT colonography if required," the expert advised. "Bowel cancer is treatable and curable especially if diagnosed early. Nearly everyone survives bowel cancer if diagnosed at the earliest stage. However, this drops significantly as the disease develops. Early diagnosis really does save lives."
It is also 'a common symptom and can usually be caused by other conditions like haemorrhoids or anal fissures,' said the GP. "Blood in the stool without haemorrhoid symptoms such as soreness, itching, and discomfort is more of a concern. Blood in the stool with persistent change in bowel habit to looser stool and opening your bowels more often and can also be associated with abdominal discomfort and pain."
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It's also important to pay attention to changes when urinating, as Dr Sanjay Mehta added. "Prostate cancer is a disease we tend to see in older age groups, but there are exceptions, as with any form of cancer. It's often about urinary symptoms and changes to how you pee, so frequency, where you need to go more often. Hesitancy, where you're standing over the toilet bowl and a period of time will pass before you're able to pass urine, and 'dribbling', where you've finished but find you're still passing using when you walk away," he said. "These are common in older men anyway. But if it's new for you, and you find you're having to go more often at night, and you're having hesitancy or urgency, see your doctor." If you have any concerns related to symptoms raised in this article, it is advised to speak to your GP.
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