Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding refers to any form of bleeding that appears in the gastrointestinal tract. The Gastrointestinal tract goes further from the mouth to the anus. This might indicate some sort of disorder in your digestive tract area. The severity of bleeding spread from mild to huge and can be fatal.
It's hard to detect the cause of Gastrointestinal bleeding however with advanced imaging techniques, it is now possible to find where the source of the bleeding is from.
The source of bleeding can originate from any site in the Gastrointestinal tract but it is separated into:
- Upper Gastrointestinal bleeding that can develop between the mouth and the duodenum (first part of the small intestine)
- Lower Gastrointestinal bleeding which is caused by either benign tumours, colorectal cancer, haemorrhoids, inflammation of the colon that includes Ulcerative Colitis or Crohn's Disease, and Polyps (benign growth within the lining of the colon or rectum)
Symptoms of Gastrointestinal bleeding is according to the source of the bleeding and it's condition which includes:
- Dark stools
- Feeling fatigue and shortness of breath
- Finding blood in your stools
- Chest Pain
- Losing consciousness because of insufficient blood supply to the brain
- Vomiting of blood
- Vomiting that resembles coffee grounds
