It's important to know the symptoms of bleeding ulcers, especially if you or a loved one has been formally diagnosed. Ulcers become serious when bleeding becomes persistent, so you'll want to watch carefully for the following:
Unexpected Abdominal Pain
Watch out for pain that is sharp, unrelenting and unanticipated.
Abnormal Stools
Watch out for both fresh blood and old, dark blood in your stools. This may appear dark red or black.
Unusual Vomit
If you vomit and see blood or something that resembles coffee grounds, you should be concerned.
Feeling Faint
If you suddenly feel dizzy and experience abdominal cramps, be aware that this may indicate significant internal bleeding. Watch for a drop in blood pressure and a quickening pulse.
All of these symptoms can indicate serious bleeding ulcers. Sometimes these symptoms are indicative of other medical conditions, such as hemorrhoids, anal fissures, intestinal infections, Crohn's disease, diverticula disease or cancer. In any case, all of these conditions warrant a trip to the doctor for investigation.
Sometimes ulcers wear through stomach or duodenum lining and hit a blood vessel, causing internal bleeding. Your doctor will determine if this is the case by performing an emergency endoscopy. Your doctor will use a thin, flexible tube to guide a tiny camera down your throat and into your digestive tract in search of signs of a bleeding ulcer. If this is not possible, your doctor may choose to conduct a barium x-ray or an angiography. These procedures highlight blood vessels, allowing the doctor to see if a vessel is leaking blood, indicating internal bleeding.
If your doctor determines the site of bleeding, he or she can treat the bleeding ulcer through a variety of methods. Your doctor may cauterize a bleeding ulcer, stopping the bleeding with the use of heat. Your doctor may also choose to use an injection of chemicals that will stop the blood flow at that site. These chemicals will be injected through use of an endoscopy, similar to the procedure your doctor probably used to find the site of bleeding. If these methods do not work, your doctor may have to repair the bleeding ulcer surgically, although this is usually a last resort.
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