What should you know about peeing and vomiting blood?

Blood in urine is called haematuria. Blood in vomit is called haematemesis; it may look bright red, dark brown, or like coffee grounds. These are separate symptoms, so tell the clinician exactly where you saw blood and whether it was mixed with urine, vomit, or both.

Blood in urine can arise anywhere along the urinary tract, including the kidneys, bladder, or urethra. Urinary infection, a stone, irritation, medicines that affect clotting, and other conditions can cause it. Blood in vomit commonly reflects bleeding in the upper digestive tract, such as the oesophagus or stomach. Irritation, ulcers, inflammation, liver-related bleeding, and some cancers are among the possible causes. A symptom alone cannot identify the cause, and blood may sometimes be mistaken for food or a red-coloured drink.

A clinician may ask about pain, fever, dizziness, black stools, recent medicines, alcohol use, previous bleeding, and whether the blood appeared before or after retching. Tests may include blood and urine tests, imaging, or a camera examination of the digestive tract, depending on the pattern.

Contact an urgent medical service today, even if the bleeding has stopped. Do not drive yourself if you feel faint or weak. Note the colour and approximate amount, save a photograph if it can be done safely, and bring a list of medicines, especially blood thinners or anti-inflammatory painkillers. Avoid alcohol and do not take extra doses of medicines that can worsen bleeding unless a clinician tells you to. Do not stop a prescribed blood thinner without medical advice.

Call emergency services or go to an emergency department immediately if the bleeding is heavy or recurring, you vomit material resembling coffee grounds, pass black or bloody stools, feel faint, confused, unusually short of breath, or have a fast heartbeat. Severe abdominal, chest, back, or side pain, fever with looking very unwell, or inability to keep fluids down also needs emergency attention. Do not wait for a routine oncology or primary-care appointment.

Ask: Could the blood be coming from my urinary tract, digestive tract, or mouth? Which medicines should I take or avoid while this is being assessed? Do I need blood, urine, imaging, or endoscopy tests? What symptoms mean I should return immediately? If cancer is a concern, ask what findings support that concern and what other explanations are being checked.