My dh says he just vomited and that there may have been blood in it. He said it was red and he hasn't eaten anything with red dye or anything else that easily explains it. Nothing that looked like coffee grounds but it was more than just a streak and "most" of the vomit was red. I think we should head to the ER, he doesn't want to miss work. I've done a quick Google and WebMD search and I'm not finding enough information to convince him to go to the ER or to convince me that he'll be alright at work today. Any help?

By Heaventree on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 01:55 pm:

I would call your doctor's office before heading to the ER, see what they say first. I wouldn't want to sit in the ER for hours on end waiting to see a doctor if it's not life threatening.

By Reds9298 on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 02:05 pm:

Ditto Heaven. I hope everything is fine!!

By Bea on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 02:23 pm:

I don't blame you for being freaked. I pray it's nothing major.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 02:41 pm:

ER - As quickly as possible. If it is red, he may have broken a blood vessel in his stomach or esophagous or throat by the vomiting. If not checked or treated, he could be slowly losing more blood.

By Ginny~moderator on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 02:41 pm:

At a bare minimum, call your family doc and do what the doctor says.

By Tink on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 03:03 pm:

Thank you for your quick responses. He wouldn't even call the doctor. He threw up again and said it was fine (no red color). If he threw up blood while at work, he said he'd come straight home and let me take him into the doctor. I'm fuming!!! Why does he insist on ignoring this? I think I'm going to call the doctor and see if they have any suggestions. I'm soooo angry right now!!!

By Heaventree on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 03:06 pm:

MEN!!!! Call your doctor for him. UGH. They're all the same. Keep us posted.

By Bellajoe on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 04:26 pm:

Men! My dh would be the same way. They are so darn stubborn.

Whether or not there is blood in the vomit, he is still vomiting so why is he going to work?


I hope everything turns out o.k. Please keep us posted.

By Kaye on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 05:15 pm:

Keep us posted. Gotta love men! I agree with the if he is vomitting why is he going to work at all?

On the blood. Actually when your throw up blood, there is no doubt. Sometiems you will get some red streaks from tears in your esphogus. Typically if you are vomiting blood though your vomit is very black, bright red or pink blood is very rarely something to worry about.

By Tink on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 07:50 pm:

Rob has a very sensitive stomach and it's not uncommon for him to throw up once every week or two. He'll throw up if he hasn't eaten recently enough, if he's eaten too much, if he's gone too long without smoking (There's an entirely different vent!), if he's had too much of a sweet drink (20 oz of Pepsi). He just gets nauseated, throws up and returns to whatever he was doing. He's spoken to the doctor about it and was checked for ulcers and a couple of other things and everything came back clear. The doctor told him to watch out for his triggers and let him know if it got worse.

I called the doctor today and his nurse said that a single episode wasn't something to be concerned about but that if it happened again (especially with darker colored red or black vomit or a coffee ground appearance) to call and they'd get him in immediately. He called about half an hour ago and asked me if *I'd* called the doctor yet! ARGH! He said he knew I'd call so he figured he'd just wait until I took care of it. As if I wasn't already angry enough about the whole thing...

By Crystal915 on Friday, February 17, 2006 - 09:41 pm:

Cori, N says he needs to be seen TONIGHT!!!!!!!! I know the doc said it wasn't too big of a deal, but I'd definitely consider a trip to the ER. because if he has even slight bleeding in his GI tract it could get worse.

By Debbie on Saturday, February 18, 2006 - 09:07 am:

Tink, has he been to a GI doctor? Could he possible have reflux? Does he have frequent heartburn? Also, have they done an endioscopy to check his stomach for ulcers/lesions? If he has been having unexplained vomiting on a consistant basis, I would try to get him into a specialist. Vomiting after eating too much and after drinking carbonated drinks is very common with people that have reflux. My ds has it and was vomiting a lot. His doctor didn't think he had reflux because, besides the vomiting, he had more belly pain then heartburn pain. I finally insisted on seeing a GI doctor. They did an endioscopy and he had several lesions in his stomach because he was producing too much acid. He is now on reflux medicine and is doing great.