I am a 56-year-old male who has noticed that I occasionally
have blood in my stool, what could this mean?

As you reach the age of 45 you should check and be aware of
your colon and digestive health. If visible blood, bright red or
black is found in the stool it could be for several reasons, most
of those being non-life-threatening such as haemorrhoids,
benign polyps or other infections, although in some cases this
can be indicative of colorectal cancer, so it is important to never
ignore blood where it doesn’t belong.
Recent studies have shown a connection between invisible
blood in the stool and morbidity with various diseases. Doctors
can perform a particular test to look for unseen, or invisible
blood in the stool called a faecal occult blood test as part of an
annual Health check.
This is a non-invasive test that screens stool samples for the
presence of blood in the stool that is not visible to the naked
eye. If blood is detected in the stool sample it is considered
positive (+) and an additional test such as a colonoscopy may
be needed to locate the source and cause of the bleeding.
Contact your GP who can organise for the necessary tests to
be performed for you to receive a correct diagnosis.

Come to   Clinica Britannia