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Proctitis: blood, mucus or a constant urge to go, the causes from IBD and infections to radiation and an ostomy, the tests, and treatment
For anyone with blood, mucus or pus from the rectum, a constant urge to go, or pain there, or told they have proctitis, and the people who help them. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says: what proctitis is and its signs; its causes, from inflammatory bowel disease and infections (some passed on through sex) to radiation therapy and ostomy surgery; how doctors find the cause; treatment for each cause; and its complications and prevention. It builds the questions to ask and prints a card. Nothing is saved.
Right now
- Blood, mucus or pus from your rectum, or severe pain in your belly? NIDDK says to see a doctor right away.
- A lot of blood, bleeding that will not stop, or feeling faint, dizzy or very weak? Call 911 (ours).
- At the end of your rope, or having thoughts of suicide? Call or text 988, any hour, free (ours).
More help
- Blood and the bowel on this site: GI bleeding · Hemorrhoids · Ulcerative colitis · Crohn’s disease · Ostomy surgery of the bowel.
- The causes and the tests: Sexually transmitted infections · When it’s cancer · Getting ready for a colonoscopy · Getting ready for a flexible sigmoidoscopy.
- For you: My medicines · Low-cost health care · Get ready for your appointment. In an emergency: 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 22, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Proctitis, all five sections, last reviewed in December 2021. Ours: the 911 and 988 lines; that a question about sex or an STD test is ordinary care, not a judgment; asking before you stop or change a medicine; bringing a list of every medicine; when to call your doctor soon; the questions to ask; the card; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: its section on clinical trials, its references, its drawings, and the other pages it links to, which we did not read. Nothing you tick or type here is saved or sent.