I have had watery bowels since my first movement 4 days post-op two days ago. Today, I noticed some fresh bright red blood on the toilet paper. Is this normal?

TIA,

Pennie

Are you cramping or straining? I know when I was going through the liquid in, liquid out phase, I switched over to sensitive formula baby wipes because regular bathroom tissue made my hiney raw, and I had some blood on the paper. I know that is too much information, but it's what happened for me.

Thanks, Tiff. I was told just to keep an eye on it. I think that the area is sore or maybe it is my old hemmorhoids(sp?).

The important thing is to watch because if the blood is coming from irritated tissue then you may take extra care like what Tiffy said with wipes. You might even try using an ointment for that area. But it the blood is coming out from the internal bowel then you probably would want to get examined from a doctor. I suspect it's from irritation due to loose stools.

Bright red blood when you wipe is rarely of concern. It generally indicates a small broken blood vessel in the anus area or from a hemmoroid. Dark brownish, blackish blood actually in the stool, or any appearance of coffee grounds in the stool is cause for concern and if you see that you should immediatly contact your doctor.

Pat dry, avoid wiping. You can use Preparation H or witchhazel wipes to shrink the inflamed tissue.