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Bowel polyps

Overview

Open all pages about Bowel polyps

Bowel polyps do not usually cause symptoms, but can cause mucus or blood in your poo, weight loss, diarrhoea or constipation.

There's a small risk of polyps turning into bowel cancer. Bowel cancer screening helps find polyps so they can be removed before becoming cancerous.

Bowel polyps can be diagnosed using a colonoscopy, but most are found when looking at the bowel for another reason or during bowel cancer screening.

Bowel polyps are usually treated by removing them using a wire loop (polypectomy). Rarely surgery may be needed.

It's not clear what causes bowel polyps, but they may be more likely if you're over 50, smoke, have a bowel condition, or a family member has them.

Bowel polyps are small growths on the inner lining of the bowel. See a doctor if you have symptoms for more than 3 weeks.

Page last reviewed: 28/07/2023
Next review due: 28/07/2026