Blood In The Stool

Sinkers & Floaters -- Blood In The Stool -- The "Right" Stool!
When and if you ever get off the toilet, take a look, and see blood you may well panic. Particularly the first time, and very particularly if the amount seems large! Bloody Stool is traditionally viewed as a sign of cancer and seriousness!
If this happens to you, or someone you know, you will be interested in the information in this article.
The first thing you should know about bloody stool is that there are three forms of that blood and that whichever form you see tells you quite a bit, immediately, about the situation.
See also: Blood in the Stool -- The Color Tells A Lot! Click and read, then click on "Referenced From" to return to this page.
See also: Hemorrhoids -- What Are They? (Again, read this then click on "Referenced From" to return to this page.)
Click here for an excellent article that gives a good overview:
When a patient says he sees blood in the stool he is rarely wrong. The only thing that he can confuse with fresh blood (hematochezia) is a red dietary pigment that might escape digestion. The pigment in beets, if eaten in large quantities, can produce a dark red stool; this is more common in children than in adults. I suppose that other red dietary pigments could cause confusion too. If you are in doubt you can ask if the blood diffuses into the water of the toilet bowl. Fresh blood diffuses rather rapidly and turns the water a familiar light yellowish pink-red color, while beet pigment goes into solution without a change in color.
Many people know that black stools (melena) can mean blood in the stool, so when a patient says he sees blood you should ask if he means black blood, red blood, or something in between ("dark blood"). Blood turns black in the gut lumen because reduced hemoglobin is dark and because bacteria alter the porphyrin pigments. Most of this conversion occurs in the right colon where the colonic bacteria are most active. Thus if blood in the stool looks entirely fresh, its source is the distal one-third of the colon; if it is completely black, its source is likely to be above the cecum; if it is mixed black and red, the source is somewhere in between. This rule holds for low to moderate rates of bleeding. Large-volume bleeding above the cecum creates a loose watery stool because of the osmotic effect of the blood constituents. The flushing of the colon does not give the bacteria time to convert the hemoglobin completely from red to black. Still, the blood rarely looks entirely fresh even in large-volume bleeding from above the cecum.
Black stools can also result from the ingestion of iron, bismuth (usually in Pepto-Bismol), and the excessive intake of spinach and other greens that are cooked and eaten in large quantities by vegetarians and enthusiasts for "ethnic” diets. You must ask about such medicines and foods when you see a patient who complains of black stools. (source)
(The above referenced article mentions all the likely causes of bright red stool.)
The most usual explanation would be Hemorrhoids. Click on the word to read more about them.
I am limiting this article, for the moment, to bright red blood in the stool.
USUALLY this comes from a tear in the tissue of the rectum, or from hemorrhoids (also sometimes spelled hemroids), and would normally be combined with constipation, straining to have a bowel movement, and the consequent bleeding from the rectal tissue or hemorrhoids. Click here for a very brief overview on hemorrhoids.
Here is what the FDA has to say on this subject of hemorrhoids:
According to the National Institutes of Health, about half the U.S. population over 50 have hemorrhoids."Hemorrhoids are one of the most common complaints a physician must evaluate," agrees Lee E. Smith, M.D., director of the division of colon and rectal surgery at the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington, D.C. (Source)
The FDA advice, in this instance, anyway, seems sensible:
"If you see blood, it's probably hemorrhoids," says Smith. Hemorrhoids are the most common source of bleeding from the rectum and the anus. However, if the bleeding lasts for more than a couple of days, it's important to see a doctor for an exam. Smith stresses that a "thorough physical exam, not just talking about the symptoms" is essential. (Source)
If you have a symptom like this you might be unlucky enough to stumble onto a web site where the source looks to be "official" or "non-profit" (therefore accurate?), and you would find something called the "irritable bowel syndrome." You can click on that name/link for this official version, but don't skip THIS LINK for the truth about one of the terrible drugs that has often been sold to "cure" this problem. It kills! The true solution is shown below -- change your diet and/or add fiber to your diet. Stewed or dried prunes are a wonderful way to regularize your bowel movements. At the time of this writing, April 24, 2007, I have been experimenting on myself with a product that I am considering adding to our product line -- a "cultured molasses" drink that shows great promise for improving the digestive system.
For the first time, the Food and Drug Administration is allowing a drug to go back on the market after it was removed for safety reasons.
The drug, Lotronex, a prescription treatment for irritable bowel syndrome, will be available again in several months.
Lotronex was taken off the market in November 2000, less than 10 months after it was approved, because it was linked to severe intestinal problems and several deaths. GlaxoSmithKline, based in Britain, withdrew the drug voluntarily at the F.D.A.'s request when the two could not reach an agreement on marketing restrictions intended to reduce adverse reactions. (source)
Most people in the US, if you looked into their toilets, would have "sinkers rather than floaters!" In other words, if your food and digestion are proper, the stool will float in the toilet water, will be light in color, will be soft, but well-formed (not watery) and will NOT have a foul smell. How many people do you suppose have "proper stool?" The FDA estimate is that 50% of the population, at least, have hemorrhoids -- so that means even more have problems with their stools.
The most common reason for "poor stool" would be the lack of fiber in the diet and the excessive use of processed foods, particularly sugar and bread.
For the large part our pets never have constipation, and certainly wild animals virtually never have this problem. Wild animals, of course, are eating almost exclusively what nature intended for that animal. Pets are often stuck with the food from their owners, but even so, dogs and cats can generally digest everything they eat, and if you look at their stools you hardly ever find anything other than well-formed stool.
When the animal IS sick, or has eaten something bad, it usually shows up as runny stool in short order.
So, if your stool is dark, sinks in the water, and requires a strain to eliminate -- you are a candidate for constipation, and then for bloody stool.
How to fix?
It is simple, but seldom will people get serious enough about doing anything to solve the problem. Instead they wait until it is much too late and then ask the doctor for a remedy.
For the general run of symptoms the usual doctor will either suggest a drug, or even rush you to the hospital. You should realize that your insurance won't cover a doctor's visit, usually, unless the doctor finds something wrong that is "solved" by a drug or hospital visit. If he says to you, "You just need to eat better and take some bran," he may not make a penny on the office visit. So, instead he prescribes some drug. The most usual drug is a suppository, and although "natural" handling would be far better, the suppositories are certainly not a class of "drug" as bad as most. Click here for a typical suppository offer.
The obvious solution lies in the area of diet. Click here for the beginning of some 3000 pages I've written about proper diet!
My diet material mentions the importance of fiber, but doesn't give much in the way of specifics.
I personally use a brand called "Rainbow Light" and the product is "Everyday Fiber System" with several different fiber and bulking agents, also herbs, enzymes and additional ingredients. click here
EDTA In Vibrant Life Oral Chelation Formulas
Click here for the page in the main section describing the Adverse Reactions From EDTA.
On that page I wrote:
EDTA taken orally can cause stomach bloating, gas and some general discomfort in about 10% or less of those who take about 500 mg per day or more. (The N Acetyl Cysteine in this formula will generally NOT cause any adverse reactions, and in fact will reduce the chances of such. The Vitamin C and the MSM in the formula are very unlikely to cause any problems.)
EDTA is considered a very safe substance, and thousands of tons of it are used to spray on our fresh fruits and vegetables, in the supermarkets, to prevent "rusting."
There are practically no "studies" on the effects of taking oral EDTA in the quantities used in the oral chelation formulas -- 500 mg of EDTA per day, or more. Dr. Garry F. Gordon is one of the few experts on oral EDTA and his research shows that about 10% of people will have stomach upset.
That stomach upset might bring about constipation, and the constipation could bring about hemorrhoids, and finally, the combination of these might cause bloody stool.
If that happens, and you are using one of the Vibrant Life oral chelation formulas (which all include EDTA) then you should understand the data on this page, and the linked pages.
I strongly recommend that everyone achieve a state of diet and health where they have floaters, rather than sinkers, and I believe that such people will never have any stomach distress from the use of oral EDTA. If, however, you have arrived at the state of not only some stomach distress (which may be mild enough that you don't much notice), constipation (which, also, may not be severe enough to be painful) and then hemorrhoids (which are usually never suspected until you have bloody stool), and finally, bloody stool, then you have several choices.
Discontinue taking any product with oral EDTA
Take your capsules spread out more during the day
Reduce the number of capsules
Add fiber to your diet
Add more water to your diet
See a doctor
I, Karl Loren, am ready to answer any questions you might have on this -- just send me an eMail -- use the link at the top or the bottom of every page on my 12 web sites.
Cordially,
Karl Loren

References
Blood in the Stool -- The Color Tells A Lot!
Adverse Reactions To EDTA
Hemorrhoids -- What Are They?
FDA ("Official") Position On Hemorrhoids
Hemorrhoid Suppositories
Everyday Fiber Powder 10 oz by RAINBOW LIGHT
Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- Avoid Drugs
Irritable Bowel Syndrome -- The "Official Dogma"