Upper Gastrointestinal Bleeding
Upper gastro-intestine (upper GI) is the upper GI tract including duodenum, stomach, and esophagus. Infection, ulcers, injury, and tumors in upper GI all may cause upper GI bleeding. The difference to lower GI bleeding is that the upper GI bleeding often causes the vomiting of blood (hematemesis) and black/tarry feces (melena). The latter is due to slower passage of upper GI bleeding down to the GI system allowing blood digestion with food to become melena.
Symptoms with upper GI bleeding include the vomiting of blood usually with ground coffee appearance, and/or, black-tarry stool, depending on the location and severity of a particular upper GI bleeding. If the bleeding is severe, there may be the red blood vomiting and/or dark red stool. Chronic upper GI bleeding may cause anemia, upper abdominal pain or heartburn.
Please go to see your doctor if you have any above symptom; see your doctor right way if you have bright blood vomiting.