Gastrointestinal bleeding is the excretion of blood from the gastrointestinal tract that indicate itself either with vomiting blood or with excretion of blood in stool obviously, or secretly with anemia. Gastrointestinal bleeding is divided into two groups based on bleeding origin: upper or lower origin.

Causes of upper gastrointestinal bleeding:

1. Gastric and duodenal ulcers
2. Gastrointestinal varices
3. Gastric mucosa and duodenal injury
4. Esophageal inflammation diseases

Symptoms of gastrointestinal bleeding:

1. Vomiting clear blood containing brown substances which indicates upper gastrointestinal bleeding.
2. Dark and stinking stool, called melena, indicates the presence of blood in the gastrointestinal tract for at least 14 hours.
3. Clear and red blood in stool that mostly relates to lower gastrointestinal bleeding.
4. Hidden bleeding in gastrointestinal tract which diagnosed in specific stool tests, that is associated with symptoms of weight loss and chronic anemia.
5. Anemia factors including: fatigue, dark rings around the eyes, chest pain or shortness of breath
6. Hypotension
7. Due to the severe bleeding (more than one liter in 24 hours), shock occurs.

Diagnosis:

To determine the cause of gastrointestinal bleeding and to know the bleeding site, the patient should be asked about the disease history. It should be known whether the patient have a history of gastric ulcers / hemorrhoids or not. Then clinical examinations, monitoring blood pressure and also checking blood tests for anemia and stool tests should be done. Moreover, Endoscopy and / or colonoscopy and bowel photography may sometimes be required. In some cases depending on the causes of a disease, vascular imaging (angiography) or other para-clinical tests could be done.

Treatment:

When the patient recourses with gastrointestinal bleeding, after balancing the vital signs of the patient with appropriate fluid therapy (injectable serum), a gastric tube is inserted, then gastric lavage is performed and the severity of the bleeding is estimated.

Endoscopy or colonoscopy may be performed to diagnose or treat the bleeding, depending on its origin. In some cases, emergency surgery is needed to stop bleeding.

Instruction tips for patients:

• Take the medicines under the supervision of your doctor.
• Chewable tablets should be chewed completely.
• Shake well before using antacid syrups.

In case of observing these symptoms, consult your doctor:

• Feeling thirsty, dry mouth, fatigue or inflammation of limbs (fingertips or etc.)
• Weight loss
• Constipation that is not resolved by changing diet or high fiber diet.
• A diarrhea that lasts more than 24 hours or contains blood.

Diet:

• Patients suffering from gastric ulcer should avoid eating fast foods.
• Minimize consumption of unhealthy snacks like chips, salty and spicy foods.
• Avoid drinking dark tea and greasy foods.
• Try to increase the times of having meal but decrease its volume.
• Avoid eating pickle and tomato sauce.
• Avoid smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol.
• Avoid taking some pills such as: Diclofenac, Ibuprofen and etc.
• Avoid consumption of carbonated beverages, chocolates, snacks and spicy foods.
• Patients who have symptoms of reflux (returning stomach acid or food to the esophagus), should not lie down immediately after eating food. Moreover, they have to keep the upper body as far as possible in a higher position than the lower body from the horizon.