Possible Reasons For Severe Bowel Issues

A viewer says they've been experiencing severe bowel issues recently, and have noticed blood in their stool. They are asking Doctor Lacey Anderson if they should go to the emergency room.

Well this is certainly concerning and you should absolutely see a doctor but you don’t necessarily have to go to the ER. 

This may be something that can be treated by your primary care doctor or an urgent care. 

It could be a bacterial infection and antibiotics would usually treat this pretty quickly, but you may need to do stool testing to identify the type of infection present. 

If this came on very suddenly, then an infection is the most likely cause. But if this is something you have dealt with for several months to years, there are some inflammatory bowel diseases that can also cause chronic diarrhea which is sometimes bloody. 

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are diseases which can cause these symptoms and are treated with a different type of medication. Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are autoimmune diseases which are treated with immune modulating medications. 

The reason to go to the ER would be for severe blood loss, high fever, dizziness or fainting. If those are occurring, please go directly to the ER. Otherwise, head to urgent care or call your primary care doctor.