Question for eve

[drinkingal]

Hi eve, I've just watched the rain in my heart doco on utube, I don't know if you've seen it? But there was a young girl only 26 who was in hospital from couching up blood and I had the feeling she had been admitted before for the same thing. They didn't say what specifically was wrong with her except she was admitted for coughing up a lot of blood and I thought you might know the reason for it. She also had something strange on the side of her neck and I wondered if that was a varices (sp?) that you've mentioned before with patients. If you haven't seen it let me know and I'll try to find the exact episode and time count for this part of the film because it's quite long.

[Eve11]

Question for eve

Drinkinggal,

The throwing up of blood stems from a rupture at some point in the gastrointestinal tract. The upper gastrointestinal tract consists of the mouth, the pharynx, the esophagus, the small intestine and the stomach. The source of the blood in such a scenario could be from any one of these organs, and excessive drinking can commonly lead to the eruption of this problem. Any concerned person will tell you that this is a rather clear indicator that you have consumed too much alcohol, and that you need to curb this habit immediately.

However, it is possible it could be a stomach ulcer or a medication that is irritating the pancreas or stomach and that could result in throwing up blood (aspirin, motrin and naproxen) can irritate the stomach. Another possible cause is liver disease that has reached an advanced stage like cirrhosis. The bleeding can occur either due to excessive coughing or throwing up. Whatever the case, it is situation which must not be ignored. My opinion in her case would be esophageal varacies but I am not a doctor and am not allowed to diagnose but that is what I suspect. Thanks for the question.

:l
Eve11