A more important question, in my opinion, is why are you bleeding? Blood seen in our stools or while cleaning ourselves after bowel opening can be due to many reasons. Depending on the actual cause of the bleeding, treatment can vary significantly.
Common benign reasons for fresh bleeding through the anus include haemorrhoids, otherwise known as piles. This form of bleeding is usually painless and can present as mild staining to massive bleeding. Another common reason is a small wound or tear around the anus due to hard stools. This can sometimes cause discomfort especially during bowel opening.
Besides the above, there are other more sinister reasons for bleeding including colon inflammation, diverticulitis and cancer. These causes requires proper diagnosis before any attempt is made to treat them. As such, I would strongly encourage you to find out the actual cause of your bleeding as a start so that the appropriate treatment can be provided.
Dr Quan
