Blood in the stool
Bloody stool is never a good sign. However, usually it is caused by small tears within the colon or the rectum due to constipation, which will usually clear up on its own. Even less serious is the fact for many concerns of having bloody stool are unwarranted as it often turns out that it isn’t actually blood after all but simply a discoloration due to eating something red. The most common culprits are food with red food dye such as red velvet cake or beets.
More seriously, bloody stool could indicate that there is a larger issue at play such as tumors within the colon since when food waste passes by them they are often torn which results in blood in the stool. So although there are a variety of reasons that blood might be present in the stool it is important to seek medical attention and rule out colon cancer.
