Polyps - All You Need To Know

My Weekly's favourite GP Dr Sarah Jarvis from TV and radio writes for you

- Dr Sarah Jarvis

Polyps-fleshy growths that often have a "stalk" like a grape - come in all shapes and sizes. They can also develop in lots of different parts your body. They're most commonly found in your large bowel or around your cervix (the neck of the womb). But polyps in your nose can affect your sense of smell and leave you feeling blocked up. And polyps on your vocal cords can leave your voice sounding hoarse.

Bowel polyps are really common-up to 1 in 5 adults in the UK have them, mostly over the age of 50. They often don't cause symptoms and are discovered when, for example, you have screening for bowel cancer. However, larger polyps can lead to blood or mucus when you open your bowels or, less often, tummy pain or a change in your bowel habit.

The cells in our body turn over all the timeold cells die and new ones take their place. Our genes give instructions to these cells, telling them how to grow and what kind of cell to turn into. If genes become faulty, the cells may grow too fast, leading to fleshy lumps. Sometimes you can inherit a tendency to develop polyps.