Hematemesis means vomiting blood. It’s a very serious symptom. It indicates that you might have internal bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. Internal bleeding can be an emergency. Let’s look at its causes and ways of treatment.
What Is Hematemesis?
Hematemesis means vomiting blood. You may vomit blood with your stomach contents or blood alone. It may be fresh and bright red.
Is It Serious?
There are many causes of blood in your vomit. Some are very serious.
What Are The Causes?
Conditions that most commonly cause hematemesis to include bleeding ulcers, acute inflammation, enlarged blood vessels that rupture, chronic pancreatitis, etc.
Initial Treatment
Treatment is provided on the basis of severity of bleeding. Generally, it is giving a drip into a vein or blood transfusion.
Other Treatments
This will depend on the cause. However, an initial treatment to stop any ongoing bleeding can often be done using instruments that can be passed down the endoscope. Surgery is done in critical cases.