Elderly person vomiting dark fluid - possible causes?!
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Ooh this sounds really bad. Call a doctor or ambulance ASAP. Poor person, it may be internal bleeding! Please act now!
grim reaper patting them on the back?
(the answers below seem to prove me right...im just more philisophical about it)
too much sherry? call a doctor stop wasting time on the computer
eww i dnt know
INTERNAL BLEEDING. THIS IS AN EMERGENCY SITUATION NOT A YAHOO ONE - GET AN AMBULANCE QUICKLY.
Uh, you MAY wanna call 911 on this one. Glad I'm not you're granny.
i don't know a cause but you should get them to the hospital, duh. internal bleeding?
Did he/she eat something dark? Dark fluid can be blood. See the doctor.
Call a Doctor or go to A & E. Depends what they have eaten in last 4 hours. If nothing it could be undigested blood.
DOCTOR or A&E
No matter what the cause, go to the doctor or hospital right away. Other than a new vitamin or something similar, the color is alarming. And throwing up is seldom good. Go to the ER
sounds like bleeding. call the emergency srvices straight away!
possibly a build up of dead blood cells due to the gall bladder failure...
This could be a bowel obstruction (she/he is actually vomiting up what isn't going through her bowels properly). A bowel obstruction is very serious; many people have died from them because they are often mistaken for stomach flu. You must get this person to a hospital ASAP, and insist that they check for a bowel obstruction.
Dont think you should be asking us, if this is a real situation seek medical help now
Gastritis
the response of the stomach lining to injury. Many things can cause the inflammation. In its mildest form, gastritis can result from eating too much, eating too fast, or eating certain foods, such as hot spicy foods. Other common causes of gastritis are:
infection with the bacteria H. pylori
some medicines taken to treat pain and inflammation of other parts of the body, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, and ketoprofen
steroid medicines, such as prednisone
stress from accidents or injuries, such as being in a car wreck, having a bad infection, or getting burned
emotional stress
smoking cigarettes
drinking alcohol.
Caffeine may increase the pain of gastritis.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of gastritis vary from person to person and they vary depending on the cause. Common symptoms are:
a sharp or burning, uncomfortable feeling in your stomach
a feeling of bloating, burping, or heartburn that moves upward into your throat
loss of appetite
nausea or vomiting
mild fever.
At its worst, gastritis can cause the lining of the stomach to bleed, which may cause you to throw up either bloody or dark brown fluid. (The dark fluid, which is partially digested blood, looks like it has coffee grounds in it.) If the blood moves through your stomach and into your intestines, you may have bowel movements that are bloody or black and tarry looking. If you have these symptoms, call your health care provider right away.
How is it diagnosed?
Gastritis is diagnosed from a careful history and physical exam, which may include a rectal exam to check for blood in the stool. Tests that may be done are:
gastric lavage, for which a tube is put into the stomach to suction fluid from the stomach for testing
upper endoscopy, which means a fiber optic scope is passed down the throat into the stomach to look at the stomach lining and possibly take a sample (biopsy) of it
blood tests to check for anemia and infections.
How is it treated?
The treatment of gastritis depends on the cause and how severe it is. Mild gastritis generally gets better on its own. Possible treatments for the symptoms of gastritis are:
taking antacids or other medicines that make stomach acid less acidic
taking medicines that reduce stomach acid
avoiding things that irritate the stomach, such as smoking, alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods.
If infection with H. pylori is causing the gastritis, your health care provider will prescribe antibiotics.
Once the symptoms are relieved. your provider may continue to look for the underlying cause. Treatment of the cause should keep the gastritis from coming back.
How long will the effects last?
How long the effects last depends on what is causing the gastritis. For example, it may last just a few hours if it is caused by something you ate or drank. It may take several weeks to control symptoms that have been present for awhile.
Perhaps a stomach ulcer or maybe a broken blood vesel. Best to get a doctors opinion though. Hope they are ok, and get well soon.
That's a question for a doctor. NOW GO GET ONE!
research what was eaten/consumed in the last 24 hours .. but due to extreme excessive experience would definately say that medically that is usually a sign of internal bleeding in the gastrointestinal system somewhere and would recommend a check at the hospital if unable to get to doctor asap.
eeww probably blood, what r u doing, get off Yahoo and get the ambulance!
imminent death
The most usual cause would be haematemesis - vomiting of blood. If the blood is in the stomach for a while, it's affected by the gastric juices and acid and has a 'coffee grounds' appearance.
The most common causes of haematemesis are ulcers e.g. a duodenal ulcer or gastric ulcer or more rarely, an acute peptic ulcer.
In any event, it's a medical emergency, and the person will need immediate admission.
Good luck.
There are many other causes of upper gastro-intestinal bleeds, it all depends on the underlying condition.
PS Julia VZ is correct - it could also be fecal vomiting - due to an acute bowel obstruction, but that is usually immediately identifiable by smell... also an extremely serious medical emergency.
ruptured ulcer, internal bleeding seek urgent help at least phone nhs direct 0845 4647
dark fluid sounds like blood. this person needs to get checked right away.
This post begs the question of 'if someone collapsed with a heart atack, turned blue and stopped breathing, would your response be to turn on the computer and chat about it'?
You can't be serious, if you are ...
no, definately not possible ...
GET THEM TO THE ER NOW!!! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU ARE EVEN ASKING THIS QUESTION ON HERE AND NOT AT THE ER NOW.
dark fluid can mean blood
elderly person vomiting a lot can lead to dehydration quickly..
please get medical help now!
ooo u must go hospital now, my partner had it and they investigated with a camera and he was ok, but it is worrying.
GO HOSPITAL, the doctor will only refer you there anyway cos he wont be able to do anything
GOOD LUCK!! ;-)
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