Bleeding from the stomach can begin when the blood vessel at the edge of an ulcer is eaten into by stomach acid. This happens in roughly one in every ten patients with an ulcer.
Although there is sometimes bleeding serious enough to put the patient into shock, most bleeds generally run a mild course; sometimes many patients are not even aware that they have had one.
The complaints are usually blood the colour of coffee grounds, or bright red blood, in the vomit; the stool turns black, the colour of shining tar; and the patient feels unwell and sweats. A patient with these complaints should telephone their doctor urgently. You need to be watched and treated as an inpatient. Bleeding can generally be stopped by endoscopic sclerotherapy.
Sources
- Prof. Ali Tüzün İnce, MD — Kadıköy Endoscopy Center archive