Bloody or Tarry Stools

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What to Expect at your Health Care Provider's Office

Your doctor will take a medical history and perform a physical examination, focusing on your abdomen and rectum.

The following questions may be included in the history to better understand the possible causes of your bloody or dark stools:

• Is there blood on the toilet paper only?
• What color is the stool?
• When did it develop?
• Have you had more than one episode of blood in your stool? Is every stool this way?
• Are you taking blood thinners or NSAIDS (e.g., ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin)?
• Have you ingested black licorice, lead, Pepto-Bismol, or blueberries?
• Have you had any abdominal trauma or swallowed a foreign object accidentally?
• What other symptoms are also present -- abdominal pain, vomiting blood, bloating, excessive gas (flatus), diarrhea, or fever?
• Have you lost any weight recently?

Treatment depends on the cause and severity of the bleeding. For serious bleeding, you may need to be admitted to a hospital for monitoring and workup. If there is massive bleeding, you will need to be monitored in an intensive care unit. Emergency treatment may include a blood transfusion.

The following diagnostic tests may be performed:

• Blood studies, including a CBC and blood differential
• Colonoscopy
• Gastroscopy or EGD
• Bleeding scan
• Angiography
• Barium studies
• Stool culture
• X-rays of the abdomen
• Tests for the presence of Helicobacter pylori infection