Canada
A 42-year-old female asked:

Hi i have had black stools like tar for like 5 years or more. i thought this was due to me drinking 3 or 4 glasses of red wine a night. stool sample shows very small amount of blood doctor wants to do a colonoscopy. i hear you can die from this ?

1 doctor answer1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Hunter Handsfield
Infectious Disease 55 years experience
GI bleeding: Occult gastrointestinal bleeding (i.e. unknonwn source) is potentially serious, either because the actual cause of bleeding can be dangerous (e.g. cancer) or because slow bleeding can become sudden and even life threatening. The risk of dying from whatever is the cause of this problem is far higher than from the colonoscopy. Follow your doctor's advice!
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Last updated Mar 26, 2021

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