Читать книгу The Good Gut Guide: Help for IBS, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn's Disease, Diverticulitis, Food Allergies and Other Gut Problems - Stephanie Zinser - Страница 26

Bleeding, although it may be alarming, doesn’t necessarily mean that there is a serious problem. It is actually a fairly common complaint, affecting over 15 per cent of us at some point or other in our lives.

Bleeding happens for many reasons. The delicate lining of our stomach and intestines is highly vascular – this means that millions of small blood vessels are extremely close to the surface in order for our blood to absorb the nutrients we need as food progresses through the gut. Anything that upsets this lining is likely to cause bleeding. Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that is now known to cause the majority of stomach and duodenal ulcers, irritates the gut lining and makes it bleed. (Even an excess of alcohol can irritate the delicate lining and cause tiny blood vessels to rupture, spilling blood into the digestive tract.) Simply treated problems like haemorrhoids are the most common cause of bleeding, although proctitis, polyps, anal fistulas, anal fissures and rectal prolapses can also cause it. The most serious causes of bleeding from the back passage include intussusception (in children), diverticulitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, bowel cancer and anal cancer.