Tests for bowel problems

If you have bowel problems the following tests may be carried out:

• A stool test, known as a faecal occult blood test, to check for internal bleeding. Your doctor may also want to check for any parasites.
• Barium X-rays. An opaque material, barium sulfate, is mixed with water to form a liquid which is either swallowed as a "meal" to look at the gullet, stomach and small intestine, or is injected into the rectum as an enema. The liquid shows up on X-ray and abnormalities are clearly visible.
• Sigmoidoscopy. You will be asked to lie on your side with your knees tightly pulled up and the doctor will insert a rigid tube, called a sigmoidoscope, into your rectum. The sigmoidoscope has a small pump which allows the doctor to inflate the bowel to see it better – light is then transmitted into the bowel via fibre optics. It's an uncomfortable but not unpleasant procedure and normally takes about five minutes.
• Colonoscopy, in which a thin, flexible fibre-optic tube is passed through the anus to inspect the bowel. It will show up patches of inflammation, polyps (small growths) and tumours.