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Colon polyps: the signs, screening, and what happens next
For anyone who is 45 or older and has never been checked; anyone who saw blood on the toilet paper or in their stool; anyone with a parent, brother or sister who had polyps or colon cancer; and anyone just told “we found a polyp.” The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says colon polyps are growths on the lining of the colon and rectum; that most are not cancerous, but some may turn into cancer over time, and removing them can help prevent colorectal cancer; that most people with polyps have no symptoms; and that screening for most people starts at 45. This page passes on, by name, what NIDDK says: the signs and when it cannot wait, who is more likely to have polyps, when to start screening and what each test does, how polyps are removed and what to watch for after, and the steps that may lower your chances. It builds the words to say to a doctor, and prints a card to keep.
Right now
- A lot of blood from your bottom, blood with dizziness or fainting, or black, tar-like stool with feeling faint? Call 911 (ours). Any bleeding from your rectum or blood in your stool: contact your doctor right away (NIDDK). GI bleeding.
- A polyp was just removed, and you have severe belly pain, fever, bleeding that does not stop or get better, dizziness or weakness? Call your doctor right away (NIDDK); if it is severe and you cannot reach them, go to the emergency room (ours).
- The worry, or a hard result, is too much, or you are thinking of ending your life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- The bowel, on this site: GI bleeding · Diverticulitis · Crohn’s disease · Constipation · Bowel control problems · Belly and stomach: find the right page.
- What can go with it: Anemia · When the doctor says cancer · Anxiety.
- Lowering your chances: Quit smoking · When drinking has become a problem.
- Day to day: Symptom diary · My medicines list · Get ready for your appointment.
- Care and costs: When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When a medical bill is too much.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 17, 2026 on NIDDK’s Colon Polyps pages (NIH): the overview, Definition & Facts, Symptoms & Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment and Eating, Diet, & Nutrition (last reviewed July 2017; Definition & Facts cites the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force screening recommendation of May 2021), and their Spanish versions (last reviewed June 2016), which are older and not word for word the same: the Spanish page still gives 50 as the age to start screening, and where a line comes from only one of them, it says which. Ours: 911 for a lot of blood, blood with dizziness or fainting, or black, tar-like stool with feeling faint; the emergency room if the warning signs after a polyp is removed are severe and you cannot reach the doctor; not waiting for signs; that a polyp is not a cancer diagnosis; asking which test, how to get ready, when the results come and when the next test is due; 988 when it is too much; health centers when money is tight; and the order of the steps. What we left out: doses, brands, research studies, and clinical pages for providers. This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.