What should you know about small streaks of blood in vomit?

Bright red streaks can occur when forceful vomiting irritates or tears small surface blood vessels in the throat or food pipe. Dark material that resembles coffee grounds can represent older blood. Other causes include inflammation, an ulcer, medication effects, or bleeding from the stomach or oesophagus. Oesophageal cancer and stomach cancer can present with vomiting blood, but blood-streaked vomit does not identify the cause by itself.

Contact a medical service promptly for advice, even if the amount seems small. Avoid alcohol and anti-inflammatory pain medicines unless a clinician has told you to use them. Do not drive if you feel faint. Note the colour and amount, when it happened, repeated vomiting, abdominal pain, black stools, and all medicines you take; these details help the assessment.

Call emergency services or go to an emergency department for continuing or heavy bleeding, coffee-ground vomit, black stools, dizziness, fainting, confusion, rapid breathing, severe abdominal or chest pain, or inability to keep fluids down. Emergency assessment is also needed if you take blood-thinning medicine or feel suddenly very weak.

Ask where the bleeding may have started, whether you need blood tests or an endoscopic examination, which medicines to pause or continue, and what symptoms should send you back urgently. Mention previous ulcers, reflux, liver disease, repeated vomiting, and any swallowing difficulty.