Person vomiting blood: what to know

Blood may look bright red, dark, or like coffee grounds. Causes include irritation or a tear after forceful vomiting, an ulcer, inflammation, enlarged veins, or bleeding linked to medicines or liver disease. Swallowed blood from the nose or mouth can sometimes be vomited, but it still needs assessment when the source is unclear.

Oesophageal cancer and stomach cancer can present with bleeding, but vomiting blood does not by itself diagnose either condition. The immediate priority is checking circulation, finding the bleeding source, and treating blood loss.

Call emergency services or go to an emergency department now. Do not drive if the person is dizzy, faint, weak, confused, or continuing to vomit. Keep them sitting upright or on their side if drowsy, and do not give food, drink, alcohol, or pain medicine unless emergency clinicians instruct you. Keep medicine packets and a description or photo of the vomit for the medical team if safe.

Emergency help is especially urgent with fainting, pale or clammy skin, rapid breathing, severe abdominal or chest pain, black stools, confusion, ongoing bleeding, or inability to keep fluids down. Anyone taking blood thinners or receiving cancer treatment should tell the emergency team immediately, as treatment may alter bleeding risk or immune response.

Be ready to describe when it started, the appearance and approximate amount, prior vomiting, black stools, pain, alcohol use, liver problems, ulcers, recent procedures, and every medicine or supplement taken. Ask what caused the bleeding, whether tests or observation are needed, and which medicines to avoid until review.