Associated symptoms
The accompanying symptoms of vomiting blood depend on the underlying cause of that vomiting. Chronic blood loss can lead to anemia, which typically causes paleness and general fatigue and tiredness. Bleeding in the upper digestive tract is also typically accompanied by a so-called tarry stool called melena.
This is a stool that is almost black in colour and is caused by the bleeding. During a short intestinal passage the stool can also be coloured light red by the blood. This is called haematochecia.
There are many other specific symptoms related to the existing disease that causes the haematochemia. A stomach or intestinal ulcer can cause pain when eating and non-specific abdominal pain. Nausea and a feeling of fullness as well as pain in the upper abdomen are in turn typical of an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the stomach (gastritis). Diseases of the oesophagus can lead to impediments in the intake of food or to difficulty swallowing.
Diagnosis
The loss of blood during a haematemesis must always be clarified by a doctor, since potentially life-threatening clinical pictures can also be hidden behind it. It is also important to find the source of the bleeding and to stop it. In order to find the source of bleeding, an endoscopy of the upper digestive tract (gastroscopy, oesophago-gastro-duodenoscopy) is performed. In addition, a blood test is useful to check for anaemia. In this way it can be assessed whether the bleeding has been present for a long time.
Therapy
The treatment of haematophilia varies greatly from one individual to another, as it can be caused by a variety of different clinical pictures. Therefore, there is no “standard therapy”, so to speak, to treat blood vomiting. In the acute case of a major blood loss, infusions and blood transfusions may be necessary.
Various therapeutic approaches are possible in the fight against the cause. Tumour bleeding can, for example, be tackled by removing the tumour or chemotherapy and radiation. Bleeding stomach and intestinal ulcers are treated by gastroscopy.
The bleeding is then stopped by means of clips or substances that are injected. Acute bleeding from the oesophagus, for example in the context of varicose vein bleeding, is usually also stopped endoscopically. A stabilization of the circulation is absolutely necessary. More rarely, larger operations may be necessary if the bleeding cannot be stopped in any other way.
Duration of vomiting blood
The duration of the vomiting of blood cannot be predicted in such a generalized way because there are great individual differences. Often it is only short and small bleedings that stop within a few minutes. However, bleeding can occur continuously for weeks and within this time the vomiting of blood can occur. Large bleedings, e.g. from varicose veins, can also last a long time and represent an emergency. For this reason, a rapid clarification by a doctor should always be carried out when vomiting blood.
