Colon polyps are common and increase with age, family history, alcohol consumption, obesity, fatty foods, lack of exercise, and smoking. Although most are noncancerous, larger ones can become malignant. Doctors use various screening methods, including colonoscopy, to detect and remove polyps. Symptoms include rectal bleeding, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, and bloody stools. Eating more fruits, vegetables, fiber, folic acid, and calcium, and quitting smoking and drinking, may help reduce the risk of polyps.
Colon polyps are small lumps of fleshy tissue that form on the lining of the colon, also called the large intestine. These polyps are extremely common, and the chance of getting one increases with age. A person also has a higher chance of getting colon polyps if he or a family member has had polyps in the past or if someone in his family has had cancer of the large intestine. Also, people are more likely to get polyps if they drink alcohol, are overweight, eat a lot of fatty foods, avoid exercise, or smoke tobacco products.
Although most colon polyps are benign or noncancerous, some polyps can turn into cancer over time. Polyps smaller than a pea usually aren’t harmful, but larger polyps can become malignant or cancerous. To be safe, a doctor should remove polyps of any size. Colon cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, so regular screening and removal of colon polyps is very important.
Doctors have several screening methods that they use to check for colon polyps. The most common test used is the digital rectal exam, in which the doctor uses a gloved hand to feel the patient’s rectum for any abnormalities. This test only finds larger polyps located in the rectum, so your doctor may conduct another test to explore further up the large intestine.
Some doctors use a barium enema (BE) to check for colon polyps. This test is very uncomfortable and requires barium to be inserted into the rectum where it spreads and coats the entire intestine. Barium makes the intestines appear white on x-rays while polyps appear dark on images.
Your doctor may also do a sigmoidoscopy to look inside your large intestine. The sigmoidoscope is a tube that contains a light and a small video camera. This flexible tube is inserted through the rectum and the doctor can see the last third of the large intestine. If doctors find colon polyps, they typically choose to conduct a complete colonoscopy to explore the entire large intestine.
Most smaller colon polyps don’t cause any symptoms. Larger polyps, however, could cause rectal bleeding, diarrhea or constipation, abdominal pain, or bloody stools. If anyone has any of these symptoms, a doctor should be consulted. Colon polyps found in the early stages can usually be removed completely and safely.
While there are no surefire ways to avoid getting colon polyps, many doctors recommend eating more fruits, vegetables, and fiber, and avoiding fatty foods. People can also give up smoking and drinking and try to get some form of exercise every day. Some doctors recommend including more folic acid and calcium in your diet. Foods such as cheese, milk, chickpeas, spinach, beans and broccoli can help reduce the risk of polyps. Medical studies have found that vitamins C and E may also protect people from colon polyps.
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