Find out what that tiny red speck on your toilet paper after wiping yourself might actually be.

Recently after wiping myself after having a “number 2,” I noticed what appeared to be a very small, faint red splotch on the tissue paper.

I couldn’t get a good close-up of it with my contact lenses on (yes, I need an updated prescription).

I was sure I wasn’t imagining the red appearance—a faded red, not a bright red.

So I popped out the contact lens, and put the tissue paper up close to my unaided eye, while covering the other eye, for a good clear inspection.

The red speck appeared to be elevated off the tissue paper. Blood doesn’t do this. That’s not blood, I thought.

With my fingernail I lifted the red speck off the tissue paper and onto my finger.

It was several fibers from some kind of garment—obviously from the red sweat pants I had worn the day before.

Conclusion: Fibers from the red sweat pants had made their way into the entrance area of my anus. They remained there till the next day when a good wipe dislodged them and attached them to the tissue paper.

It had definitely looked like blood when it wasn’t close up and clear to my eye.

Next time you think you see a tiny speck of blood on the tissue paper after wiping yourself, get a really close, sharp look at it to see if it might instead be a few fibers of clothing material.

Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.