Dr Aimee Drudy
Specialist Registrar in Gastroenterology, Cork University Hospital
Asking for help is not always easy. This may be particularly true when it comes to talking about your bowel habits or stool.
While issues related to bowels vary from person to person, there are a number of symptoms for which to seek medical advice.
When to ask for help with bowel issues
Essentially, it’s important to communicate any new or unusual bowel issues. This specifically refers to any persistent changes in bowel habits, such as differences in how often you have bowel movements or changes in the consistency of the stool. Moreover, passing blood or black bowel motions, unintentional weight loss, tummy pain, bowel symptoms waking from sleep or a feeling of persistent fullness in the back passage all warrant review.
There are multiple modern
options for investigation,
depending on symptom history.
Finding the underlying cause of bowel symptoms
Your doctor will explore such symptoms. Often, the history will suffice for diagnosis. It’s natural to feel concerned about the possible underlying cause, but finding out sooner is always better. The answer may even be a simple test away. Others may require referral to a gastrointestinal specialist.
There are multiple modern options for investigation, depending on symptom history. Blood tests can often be helpful, and non-invasive methods to check bowel movements for blood — such as faecal immunochemical tests (FIT) like BowelScreen — or for inflammation, faecal calprotectin tests, are now widely used.
Colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy options
A colonoscopy will likely always be the standard for direct visualisation of the large bowel. Most people can manage the invasive nature of this test without issue. For various valid reasons, some people may be unable to undergo a full colonoscopy. In certain cases, a limited left-sided colon endoscopy can be sufficient, requiring less bowel preparation.
Other less invasive options include CT colonoscopy and, more recently, intestinal ultrasound and colon capsule endoscopy. Capsule endoscopy involves swallowing a pill-sized recording camera that captures images while passing through the gastrointestinal tract. These options may be discussed with your gastroenterologist or GP. Ultimately, if you’re concerned about your bowel symptoms, talk to your doctor who can help find the best tests and treatment for you.
