Hot sauce may taste great on your chicken wings but you may want to think twice about adding hot sauce to your food if you have sensitivity to it or develop certain rectal conditions. Depending upon the sensitivity that you have or the medical condition that you develop, certain foods can cause anal bleeding, even if they're not hot. Let your doctor know if you develop anal bleeding as it could be a serious sign of an unknown condition.
Causes
Hot sauce can cause irritation to your colon, especially if your intestines are sensitive to it. You can also have anal bleeding from hot sauce if the spices are too much for your body to handle and cause prolonged diarrhea. Diarrhea is your body's way of trying to rid itself of something that it cannot tolerate or that is harmful to it. Other food irritants can include alcohol, chocolate, tomatoes and citrus fruits. In some cases, milk and caffeinated drinks can act as a food irritant.
Risk Factors
Your risk of rectal bleeding could increase after you eat something irritating if you have liver disease or long-term colon issues such as inflammatory bowel disease or ulcerative colitis. Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, can also increase the risk of anal bleeding as can certain medications such as blood thinners or pain medications. Anal fissures, colon polyps and hemorrhoids also increase the risk of rectal bleeding.
Symptoms
If you experience rectal bleeding, you may see blood on the toilet paper or blood in the toilet after you use the restroom. Your stool can have dark or bright-red blood in it. Depending upon the exact location of where the blood is coming from, such as your intestines or anal opening, you may notice blood leaking from your anus and may even see some blood in your undergarments. You can experience pain or cramping in your abdomen, rectum or anus.
Treatment
If the rectal bleeding is caused by temporary irritation, such as from eating hot sauce, and the bleeding is minimal, avoiding irritating foods will usually help resolve the problem. For severe bleeding, your doctor may choose to perform an endoscopy, order a blood transfusion or recommend surgery. Iron may be necessary if you lost a lot of blood or you doctor may prescribe a vasoconstrictor medicine to help decrease the size of your blood vessels, which will help prevent bleeding.
