Rectal bleeding can range in color from bright red to dark maroon to a dark, tarry color.
Causes of rectal bleeding include:
- Hemorrhoids (Piles)
- Anal fissure (tear in the skin of the anus)
- Colon cancer
- Colon polyp
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Angiodysplasia (abnormalities in the blood vessels near the intestines)
- Diarrhea
- Diverticulosis (a bulging pouch that forms on the wall of the intestine)
- Food poisoning
- Intussusception (a portion of the intestine slides inside another portion)
- Ischemic colitis (colon inflammation caused by reduced blood flow)
- Proctitis (inflammation of the rectum)
- Pseudomembranous colitis (colon inflammation caused by an infection)
- Radiation therapy
- Rectal prolapse (part of the rectum protrudes through the anus)
- Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome