Medical history represents an important component in the diagnosis of melena (tarry stools) or hematochezia (appearance of fresh blood in the stool).
Family history
- What is the general health status of your relatives?
- Are there any diseases in your family that are common?
- Are there any hereditary diseases in your family?
Social history
- What is your profession?
- Are you exposed to harmful working substances in your profession?
Current medical history/systemic medical history (somatic and psychological complaints).
- When did you notice the bleeding?
- Does the bleeding exist continuously?
- What does the bleeding look like?
- Dark blood?*
- Light blood?*
- Blood mixed with the stool?*
- Blood accumulation on the stool?
- Do you have a rapid pulse?*
- Questions about bowel movements
- How regularly do you have bowel movements?
- What does the bowel movement look like? Shape, color, odor, admixtures?
- Is the stool hard?
- Do you have diarrhea?
- Do you have nausea or vomiting?
- Do you feel sluggish?
- Have you noticed any other symptoms? Pain?
- Where is the pain localized?
Vegetative anamnesis including nutritional anamnesis.
- Have you lost body weight unintentionally in the recent past? If so, how much in what period of time?
- Do you smoke? If yes, how many cigarettes, cigars or pipes per day?
- Do you drink alcohol more often? If yes, what drink(s) and how many glasses of it per day?
- Do you use drugs? If yes, which drugs and how often per day or per week?
- Have you consumed beet?
Self history including medication history.
- Pre-existing conditions (gastrointestinal diseases).
- Surgery (operations on the gastrointestinal tract: e.g. polyectomy/polyp removal).
- Radiotherapy
- Vaccination status
- Allergies
- Environmental history
Medication history
- Anticoagulants – medications that inhibit blood clotting.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) result in a three- to fivefold increase in the risk of upper gastrointestinal tract complications (upper GI bleeding, perforation/breakthrough, ulcer/ulcer); complications are dose-dependent
- Iron supplements
- Coal preparations
- Bismuth preparations
- See also drug side effects, under:
- “Bleeding due to medications”
- “Platelet dysfunction due to drugs”
* If this question has been answered with “Yes”, an immediate visit to the doctor is required! (Data without guarantee)
