Vomiting black in oncology how long to live

Internal gastric bleeding followed by vomiting occurs for a number of reasons. Black vomiting, what could be the reasons? The most common source of an unpleasant symptom is peptic ulcer, which destroys the mucous membrane of the internal organ. Such disorders are provoked by excess pepsin and hydrochloric acid. If the disease is not treated in time, during the period of exacerbation, erosive processes lead to bleeding from the vessels. It flows into the lumen of the digestive organs and, under the influence of enzymes, acquires the consistency of coffee grounds and leaves the body along with vomit.

Black vomiting occurs in people susceptible to cancerous tumors when elements of the digestive system are damaged by metastases. It should be noted that vomiting, similar to the remains of brewed coffee, in cancer patients can occur as a result of internal bleeding caused by damage to tumor tissue.

What to do if black vomit occurs? The appearance of bloody vomiting is not always a symptom of chronic pathology or alcohol abuse. It also indicates that foreign bodies accidentally eaten during meals have entered the stomach and intestines and damaged the tissues of internal organs. The greatest danger is caused by sharp objects: fruit seeds, pins, hairpins, glass and plastic fragments. Most often, small children suffer from bleeding of this kind, as they put everything they can get their hands on into their mouths. Therefore, it is very important to always closely monitor your child.

The meaning of vomit of different colors

Vomiting is a reflex act and a human defense mechanism. The eruption of gastric contents occurs due to stimulation of the vomiting center, which is located in the posterior part of the brain. Dark-colored vomit sometimes occurs after consuming coloring foods:

• chocolate;
• beets in any form;
• dark colored berries;
• carbonated drinks with dyes.

The cause may be the intake of activated carbon, as well as medications containing iron. In these cases, vomiting occurs once and does not worsen the person’s condition.

Vomiting blood of a bright red color indicates its origin from the lower respiratory tract. Then blood appears simultaneously in the sputum. A severe cough to the point of vomiting can lead to rupture of blood vessels in the inflamed throat. In this case, a small amount of blood is released immediately after the attack.

With toxicosis, strong vomiting in pregnant women can disrupt the capillaries of the esophagus. The released blood mixes with the vomit.

Clinical signs of blood loss

Severe blood loss is manifested by a rapid decrease in blood pressure and associated progressive weakness. Exsanguination is manifested by pronounced waxy pallor with blue lips against the background of an increasing heartbeat, which the cancer patient feels like hammer blows inside the chest. The patient becomes covered in sticky cold sweat and may lose consciousness.

The most common sign of gastric bleeding is bloody vomit, commonly referred to as “coffee grounds.” Bloody vomit is typical for damage to the vessels of the respiratory tract; a sign of acute gastrointestinal pathology is dirty-brown food masses with an unpleasant odor, which may also contain dark clots of coagulated blood. Blood entering the lumen of the stomach undergoes fermentation with the release of iron from red blood cells, which changes the natural scarlet color of the blood to dark brown.

As blood passes through the intestinal tube, iron released from dead red blood cells will color the stool and the color of the stool will also change to black, again due to fermentation by intestinal secretions. Often, in a cancer patient, the stool liquefies and comes out in the form of a tarry paste with an extremely unpleasant odor. Increased frequency of stools with changes in consistency and color is called “melena.”

The combination of dark vomiting food masses and black feces are the leading signs of gastric bleeding of any etiology, including carcinoma. Foul-smelling vomit is typical of gastric or colonic outlet obstruction, but its color is not dark brown, although it differs from the food eaten the day before. The clinical situation requires immediate seeking emergency medical help, especially in combination with black stools, even against the background of good health.

Causes of black vomit

Vomiting “coffee grounds” is a sign of bleeding from the digestive organs. When blood accumulates in the stomach, hemoglobin is oxidized. The contents become dark brown.

The release of fresh or digested blood during vomiting always requires consultation with a doctor.

This symptom is caused by various diseases; in addition, it can be provoked by excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol poisoning

A person experiences brown vomiting after regular drinking. Alcohol causes alcohol poisoning, which in the first stage of alcoholism is accompanied by Mallory-Weiss syndrome. Signs of the disease:

• vomiting with blackness;
• chills;
• weakness;
• fever.

In Mallory-Weiss syndrome, ethanol damages the gastric mucosa and the small blood vessels located in it. Under the influence of vomiting, the pressure in the stomach increases. This provokes the occurrence of tears and cracks in the mucous membrane, from which blood oozes. Its accumulation is the cause of vomiting with brown streaks. Subsequently, scars form at the site of the tears, requiring surgery.

The cause of black vomiting is regular binges in alcoholics. Alcohol abuse provokes the development of diseases of the digestive system:

• Gastric ulcer is observed. Bleeding from an ulcer or its perforation is a serious complication that requires emergency care.
• Alcohol intake is also a trigger for exacerbation of gastritis with high acidity. Bleeding erosions cause black vomiting.
• A rupture of the lining of the esophagus is the cause of brown vomit after consuming excessive amounts of alcohol or drugs.
• Almost all drinkers suffer from alcoholic hepatitis. Their liver is enlarged due to impaired bile flow. After another dose of ethanol, a person vomits black contents.

Doctors prohibit patients with chronic stomach diseases from drinking alcohol in any quantity. However, few drinkers take the warning seriously. Most of them continue to drink until black vomit appears after drinking, which is life-threatening. This is a sign of bleeding from a stomach ulcer or a tear in its inner lining.

Pathologies

Black or dark brown vomit can also occur in a person who drinks little. There are many diseases of the digestive system that occur with this symptom.

Stomach cancer

A person who is vomiting black liquid should not forget about oncology. The vomit takes on the appearance of coffee grounds. Specific signs of stomach cancer:

1. At a later stage, bursting pain appears in the epigastrium.
2. Strong weight loss.
3. Fetid belching.
4. When the tumor spreads to the esophagus, difficulty swallowing is noted.

When stomach cancer is complicated by bleeding from the tumor, weakness, vomiting blood, tarry stools, and dizziness appear.

Cirrhosis of the liver

This irreversible disease develops in people after systematic alcohol consumption for 5 or more years. Only identified cirrhosis and approaching death makes the alcoholic think that it is time to quit the addiction.

The disease is characterized by the replacement of liver cells with scar tissue, which is unable to cleanse the body of toxins. Changes in the liver are accompanied by an increase in the load on the veins. This leads to esophageal varicose veins. Any solid food, injuring the vessel, can cause profuse bloody vomiting with clots.

Pancreatitis

The pancreas produces enzymes that digest food. The organ also produces the hormone insulin. Frequent consumption of alcohol causes an irreparable blow to the gland, disrupting its secretory function.

By the way! According to statistics from narcologists, chronic pancreatitis develops in 80% of drinkers.

If you vomit black liquid, the cause may indicate acute inflammation of the gland. The next dose of alcohol provokes vomiting of blood.

Vomiting in children

Brown vomiting in a child indicates a serious pathology:

• Damage to the stomach or esophagus by a foreign body.
• Intestinal obstruction.
• Stomach ulcer (vomit contains brown specks).
• Vomiting scarlet blood in children is sometimes a sign of a viral respiratory tract infection. Its cause in acute respiratory viral infections and intestinal flu is nosebleeds. Discharge from the nasopharynx is swallowed, and then vomiting occurs. Rotavirus infection occurs with fever up to 38.0 °C and diarrhea.

If vomiting blood appears in the morning after breakfast, this indicates a congenital pathology of the organs, varicose veins of the esophagus or stomach.

Whatever the reason for the appearance of blood from the stomach, the child must be taken to the surgical department.

Vomiting after radiation and chemotherapy

Severe nausea and frequent vomiting discredit an effective method of treating malignant neoplasms, so prevention and prevention of extremely unpleasant complications are no less important than selecting the optimal combination of anticancer drugs.

During chemotherapy, an acute vomiting reaction occurs during the first 24 hours, and a delayed vomiting reaction occurs in the following days after the administration of the cytostatic. There are indomitable or breakthrough vomiting and refractory vomiting, that is, not preventable by special antiemetics - antiemetics.

For all chemotherapy drugs, the emetic - emetogenic potential and methods for its prevention and treatment have been determined, and prevention must begin from the first day and be completed 2-3 days after the end of the course.

Every fourth woman after the first course may develop a reflex - psychogenic vomiting reaction; this type of vomiting is not typical for men. To stop a possible reflex reaction on the eve of the course, tranquilizers are used, acupuncture and psychotherapeutic techniques help.

During irradiation, an emetogenic - vomiting reaction does not have typical symptoms; it often depends on the irradiation zone and the patient’s internal mood. The frequency of complications is influenced by being female, youth, nervousness and life experience in the occurrence of vomiting and nausea from other causes.

Symptoms of black vomit

Each of these diseases is characterized by specific symptoms. But there are general signs of diseases of the digestive system, accompanied by the development of bleeding in one or another part of the gastrointestinal tract:

• black vomit;
• belching food or air;
• severe pain in the epigastrium on an empty stomach (sometimes of a pinpoint nature);
• frequent heartburn;
• nausea;
• heaviness in the stomach after eating.

With all these diseases, hypovitaminosis develops and working capacity decreases. Some people are assigned a disability group.

Pathologies leading to dark vomiting

There are several reasons that cause internal bleeding of the stomach, followed by vomiting blood. Very often, this symptom is observed with a peptic ulcer that affects the gastric mucosa. This is the name for a defect that occurs due to excess pepsin and hydrochloric acid.

When an ulcer perforates or the disease worsens, blood may leak from vessels affected by erosion or altered by a pathological process. In this case, blood enters the lumen of the digestive organs, which leads to vomiting of coffee grounds.

Black vomiting often occurs in patients suffering from cancer when metastases affect the digestive organs. In case of cancer, the color of coffee grounds in the vomit may indicate that the tissue of a malignant tumor has been damaged, which is why internal bleeding has developed.

But this symptom can also appear in people who do not suffer from chronic diseases. The cause of characteristic vomiting may be alcohol abuse. This symptom also appears when a foreign body enters the gastrointestinal tract, accidentally swallowed by a person and damaging the walls of the stomach. Sharp objects are especially dangerous. For example, pins, bone fragments and fruit seeds with jagged edges. Foreign bodies often cause gastric bleeding in children.

First aid for black vomit

At the first sign of bleeding, immediately call an ambulance.

While doctors are on the road, take first aid measures:

1. Do not hold back or force vomiting.
2. Place the patient on the sofa; Place a cushion under his head, turned to one side.
3. Elevate the patient's legs above heart level to promote blood flow to the brain.
4. Give him only cold water or pieces of ice.
5. Place the cold on your stomach.

Collect vomit to show to your doctor. This will help determine the location of the bleeding.

How to provide first aid?

In case of profuse vomiting with the inclusion of blood, the patient is placed in bed, rest is ensured and:

1. To prevent erupted masses from entering the lungs, the cancer patient is turned over on his side and his head tilted. A cold compress with ice is placed on the affected area to reduce discomfort and stop any bleeding that is present.
2. When bleeding is present in the lung area, a compress is applied to the chest area. To prevent dehydration of the body, warm, weak, sweet tea is given.
3. To avoid electrolyte imbalance, it is recommended to use ready-made solutions: Regidron - for internal use. If necessary, freely available medications are used: antihistamines, for example Suprastin, to make you feel better.

You cannot eat after the attack is over! This leads to its resumption.

With profuse, continuous black vomiting, it is very important to provide the patient with the correct first aid. First of all, the patient should be put to bed and ensure absolute rest.

Directly during a vomiting attack, the patient should be carefully turned on his side and his head slightly tilted down to prevent vomit from entering the respiratory tract. Next, apply a cold compress or a heating pad with ice to the patient's abdomen.

This will reduce the pain somewhat and also help stop possible bleeding.

If bleeding in the lungs is suspected, cold should be applied to the chest area. In order to avoid dehydration, it is necessary to give the patient plenty of fluids.

It is better if it is herbal infusions or warm sweet tea. To maintain the so-called electrolyte balance, saline solutions are used.

Ready-made solutions are especially effective in this case: Regidron, intended for oral administration, and Ringer's solution, for intravenous administration. Eating food even after the attack has stopped is strictly prohibited.

Since the appearance of vomit with a hint of coffee grounds indicates a serious condition of the patient, the patient must be given first aid before the doctors arrive. First of all, the person should be placed on a hard, stable surface.

Under no circumstances should pillows or bolsters be placed under the patient's back. It is necessary to ensure that the patient’s body does not bend at the waist, and that clothing does not put pressure on the abdominal area.

It is most reasonable to place the patient on his side so that when he has a new urge to vomit, he does not have to move.

In no case should you try to alleviate the patient's condition with gastric lavage or an enema. It is also not recommended to take any medications before the ambulance arrives. Oral medication will be useless in this situation.

The patient's condition can be somewhat alleviated with a cold compress. To do this, it is recommended to wrap the ice in a thick terry towel and apply the compress to the patient’s abdomen, while holding the towel over the top.

If a person is vomiting coffee grounds, then under no circumstances should he be allowed to eat or drink. Even plain water can increase internal bleeding. And eating solid foods or carbonated drinks can be fatal. Heating the affected area can also lead to increased bleeding. Therefore, hot compresses should not be used.

If a person has lost consciousness, you need to make sure that he is lying on his side, and nothing interferes with the free flow of vomit. The same rule is also relevant for patients who are intoxicated. Since an inadequate patient may choke or choke on undigested food debris.

Treatment for black vomit

Therapeutic measures are associated with one of the following diseases:

• In case of heavy bleeding caused by cirrhosis of the liver or peptic ulcer, drug treatment or surgery is carried out only in the surgical department. During fibrogastroscopy, it is possible to stop bleeding using thermocoagulation. If the fluid loss is not fatal, conservative treatment is carried out.
• Therapy for peptic ulcer disease is carried out according to several schemes, depending on the stage and severity of the disease. Proton pump inhibitors are used; antibiotics; products containing bismuth.

If black vomiting in an elderly person is associated with cancer, complex drug treatment is used:

• Emetron, Ondansetron and other drugs that block the vomiting center of the brain;
• Quetiapine, Olanzapine (neuroleptics with antiemetic effect);
• Dexamethasone;
• in case of intoxication, Polysorb, Sorbex and other sorbents are used.

In case of bleeding, a gentle diet is prescribed. Fatty, spicy and hot foods are prohibited. Small meals are recommended (5–6 times a day). Preferred are puree soups, liquid porridges, boiled or steamed vegetables.

Prevention

Black vomiting associated with alcohol consumption can only be prevented by abstaining from alcoholic beverages. If a person cannot cope with the problem on his own, there are private drug treatment services where you can contact him anonymously. Psychoneurological clinics also treat people dependent on alcohol. But they do not guarantee anonymity.

For illnesses not related to alcohol, you must be constantly monitored by your doctor. Treatment of the underlying disease will relieve black vomit.