Red Blood In Stools, Constipation, Abdominal Pain, Gas. History Of Hemorrhoids, IBS. Eating Beet Root Or Cherries Cause Of Pink Stools?

Posted on Sat, 24 Dec 2011

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 Answered on

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, I'm a 40 year-old-female, 5'5" tall, about 162 lbs. A few days ago I had some bright red blood in my stool and it was a little difficult to pass. Yesterday I had a BM with no difficulty but the water in the toilet was a dark pink color with a little pink on the toilet paper. I have been told that I have a little bit of hemmoroids and I am prone to constipation. I also have frequent abdominal pain and gas (same severity as now for 10 years) and some doctor's have told me I have IBS. I've had many, many tests for this and they all come back normal. Could the pink stool be caused by eating dark cherries which I've eaten for the past two days with my breakfast? I also ate beets twice this week but that was 3-4 days ago. Thank you.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Rakhi Tayal (6 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Mild bleeding associated with hard stool is more likely to be due to hemorrhoids rather than IBS. The mild pinkish coloration of stool that you noticed without any hard stool could be due to the dark cherries that you had in the last two days.
To confirm this, you can stop having dark cherries and see if your stool color returns back to normal in next 3-4 days.
If the pinkish coloration persists then a stool examination and colonoscopy will be required under the guidance of a surgeon for proper diagnosis and further treatment.
Hope this answers your query. I will be glad to answer the follow up queries that you have.
Please accept my answer in case you do not have further queries.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Rakhi Tayal.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T