Stool that is red in color or black and tarry are concerning for bleeding. Rust-colored stool is nonspecific. If you are concerned that this is actually blood in the stool, your physician can use an occult stool test to confirm your suspicion.

Dr. Abraham

Yes, this is normal. The stool will tend to be soft since you just had an oral clean out of the colon. The rust color may be some minimal blood from a biopsy or polyp removal that would typically be done during colonoscopy.

Not normal after colonoscopy. May indicate bleeding if you’ve had polyps removed during colonoscopy.