What Could be Causing Occult Blood?

What Causes Occult Blood?

Occult blood can have various causes, just like most other symptoms. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose occult blood, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "occult blood" as a symptom. Here are eight of many possibilities:

Ulcerative Colitis
Stomach Ulcers
Rectal Cancer
Colon Cancer
Small Intestine Cancer
Stomach Cancer
Carcinoid Cancer
Crohn's Disease

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

high ESR

acute abdominal pain

regular painful urge to defecate

severe left iliac pain

low diastolic blood pressure

ulcerative colitis in remission

family history of colorectal cancer

frequent mucus in stools

dizziness when standing up

excessive flatulence

mild abdominal discomfort

frequent unexplained fevers

... and more than 80 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of occult blood:

Cause	Probability	Status
Small Intestine Cancer	95%	Confirm
Crohn's Disease	25%	Unlikely
Stomach Cancer	23%	Unlikely
Rectal Cancer	2%	Ruled out
Carcinoid Cancer	1%	Ruled out
Ulcerative Colitis	1%	Ruled out
Colon Cancer	0%	Ruled out
Stomach Ulcers	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate having had recent lab tests, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Occult blood. Have lab tests found blood in your stool within the past 6 months?

Possible responses:

→ Not tested within past 6 months / don't know
→ No, stool tested negative
→ In the past only, now resolved
→ Yes, trace or small amounts
→ Yes, enough for doctor to be concerned

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate absence of occult blood, history of occult blood, trace amounts of occult blood or significant amounts of occult blood, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Carcinoid Cancer

Colon Cancer

Crohn's Disease

Gastric/Peptic/Duodenal Ulcers

Rectal Cancer

Small Intestine Cancer

Stomach Cancer

Ulcerative Colitis

... and also rule out issues such as:

Carcinoid Cancer

Colon Cancer

Gastric/Peptic/Duodenal Ulcers