5 gastrointestinal symptoms you should never ignore
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A miserable bout of diarrhoea may be caused by nerves or a stomach bug, but it could also indicate something more serious.
ILLUSTRATION: LAURA COUTINHO/NYTIMES
Caroline Hopkins Legaspi
- Blood in stool, black or maroon stool, or any bleeding around the toilet should not be ignored. It can mean haemorrhoids, but also colorectal cancer, Crohn’s disease or stomach bleeding.
- Watch for bowel changes, diarrhoea lasting more than five to seven days, or trouble swallowing. These can point to tumours, infection, inflammation, celiac disease or nerve and muscle disorders.
- Gut symptoms that wake you at night, plus night sweats or unexplained weight loss, may signal serious illness.
AI generated
NEW YORK – Sometimes a miserable bout of diarrhoea is caused by nothing more than nerves or a 24-hour stomach bug. Lingering gas and bloating can be set off by a recent long-haul flight.
But similar symptoms could also represent something far more serious. It can be tricky to tell with the gastrointestinal tract, the long tube that runs from the mouth to the end of the large intestine. We asked gut health experts to share some of the warning signs they would never want their patients to ignore.