Occult blood in the stool may indicate colon cancer or polyps in the colon or rectum though not all cancers or polyps bleed.
Blood in your stool sample.
This is even more sensitive than the previously used hemoccult test.
Blood in stool means there is bleeding somewhere in your digestive tract.
It serves among other things for early detection of colon cancer.
The digestive or gastrointestinal gi tract includes the esophagus stomach small intestine large intestine or colon rectum and anus.
If blood is coming from the rectum or the lower colon bright red blood will coat or mix with the stool.
And if you see it you need to report it to your family physician for investigation.
Seek medical advice for any blood in stool.
The examination for occult blood in the stool is used to detect blood that s not visible to the naked eye.
Firstly blood in your poop is not normal.
All blood passed in the stool around the stool or after the stool is abnormal and represents a problem of varying severity.
Blood may appear in the stool because of one or more of the following conditions.
Benign non cancerous or malignant cancerous growths or polyps of the colon hemorrhoids swollen blood vessels near the anus and lower rectum that can rupture causing bleeding anal fissures splits or cracks in.
The fecal occult blood test fobt is a lab test used to check stool samples for hidden occult blood.
Sometimes the amount of blood is so small that it can only be detected by a fecal occult test which checks for hidden.
The cause of bleeding may not be serious but locating the source of bleeding is important.
So to answer the question you are just looking for blood.
As of recently an immunological test ifobt may be used during stool examinations.