I’m a surgeon — you should go to the ER if you have this symptom
No butts about it.
Dr. Terry Simpson, a board-certified general surgeon based in California, is sharing the stool symptom that’s cause for serious concern.
“There is one condition where you should go to the emergency room today or see your doctor today — and that is if you have blood in your stool,” he told his 1 million TikTok followers in a video last week.
“Blood in your stool can be a life-threatening emergency, and we want to address it,” Simpson continued. “It may be nothing, but it may be something, and it’s not worth betting your life for.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, rectal bleeding is a symptom of many conditions, including hemorrhoids, anal fissures, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), Crohn’s disease, colon polyps and colorectal cancer.
Blood in the bowels aside, Simpson imparts that most scary scat symptoms are the result of not enough fiber.
“90% of you need more fiber in your diet, and supplements aren’t going to do it because most supplements are 4 or 5 grams of fiber and you need about 50,” he shared in the nearly two-minute clip, which has drawn 16,300 views.
Research suggests that a high intake of dietary fiber can lower the risk of several types of cancer, including esophageal, gastric, colon and rectal cancer.
Fiber is said to “feed” healthy gut bacteria. Experts advise grabbing oranges, apples, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
Simpson tells folks to ease into adding fiber to their daily diet, “Be cautious. You can’t just increase the fiber overnight because if you do, you will not be a very comfortable person. It takes time.”
He recommends following the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, healthy fats, nuts and seeds. Whole foods are the best source of fiber and can help improve poop quality and passage, Simpson said.
“They will do several things,” Simpson said about whole foods. “They will make your soft poop more firm. They will make your firm poop able to be swept through your colon nicely.”
And the benefits of a fiber-rich diet go well beyond the bowels. “All that fiber feeds the microbiome of your gut, which helps you. It produces things like dopamine and butyrate, and short-chain fatty acids, all of which help you,” Simpson explained. “Your brain, your gut, your immunity, all of that. That comes from a healthy diet.”
And if you’re having trouble moving your mess along, try this TikTok-approved yoga pose.
