The following symptoms and complaints may indicate esophageal varices (varicose veins of the esophagus):
Main symptoms
- Feeling of pressure and fullness in the upper abdomen.
Secondary symptoms
- Anemia (anemia)
- Skin pallor
- Fatigue and weakness
Symptoms of portal hypertension
- Ascites (abdominal dropsy)
- Liver skin signs: such as:
- Dupuytren’s contracture (synonyms: Dupuytren’s contracture, Dupuytren’s disease) – nodular, cord-like hardening of the palmar aponeurosis (tendon plate in the palm, which is the continuation of the tendon of the long palmar muscle) with an increase in the amount of coarse connective tissue, which can lead to a flexion contracture of the finger joints (fingers are forced to bend and can only be stretched again with difficulty or not at all).
- Banknote skin (synonym: dollar bill skin) – reminiscent of banknotes, characterized by innumerable finest vascular dilatation.
- Skin atrophy with telangiectasias (visible dilations of superficially located smallest blood vessels).
- Lacquer lips (smooth, lacquer red lips)
- Lacquer tongue (especially red and uncoated tongue).
- Palmar erythema (red coloration of the palms).
- Plantar erythema (red coloration of the soles of the feet).
- Spider naevi (liver starlets) – small, star-shaped converging vessels on the upper body and face.
- White nails (lunula/white area of the nail shaped like a crescent – no longer delineable).
- Caput medusae; Latin: head of Medusa) – visible expansion of tortuous veins (venae paraumbilicales) in the area of the navel as a result of blood stasis due to portal hypertension.
Warning signs (red flags)
- Hematemesis (vomiting of blood; “coffee grounds vomiting”) – if esophageal varices rupture (rupture), the affected person suddenly and gushes a lot of blood → there is danger to life!
- Tarry stools (melena; blood in the stool) – in small ruptures and bleeding.
