If the saliva mixes with blood or if we cough up bloody sputum, this can have various causes. Some are harmless: irritated mucous membranes in the throat or throat, injuries to the tongue or inflammation of the gums. Coughing up blood (lungs, bronchi) is different from vomiting blood (stomach) or having blood in your saliva (mucous membranes, injuries).
Table of Contents
- Vomiting blood
- gastritis
- Polyps
- Sore throat and blood
- Coughing up blood
- Coughing up blood and lung cancer
- Detected early is half banned
- tuberculosis
- bronchitis
- bulimia
- Spitting blood: when to see a doctor?
- treatment
Vomiting blood
“I have the following problem. I have blood in my mouth without coughing. I have a sudden taste of blood in my mouth and when I spit it out, the spit is blood-red after 2-3 spits, there is no more blood, but it still makes me panicky. ”A victim
When we vomit blood, it is often due to diseases of the mucous membranes in the stomach or esophagus, ulcers in the stomach and duodenum, or varicose veins in the esophagus.
Ulcers in the stomach and duodenum usually announce themselves through inflammation of the gastric mucosa – in technical jargon gastritis.
gastritis
Gastritis is very common and is either chronic or acute. Those affected often do not recognize chronic gastritis because it sometimes shows no symptoms.
Inflammation can have many causes. It arises especially when the stomach produces too much acid. In acute gastritis, food poisoning, alcohol abuse, heavy smoking and excessive medication such as acetylsalicylic acid are common suspects.
Too spicy food or coffee in large quantities irritate the stomach as well as excessive sport. The British then speak of “runnerś stomach.”
Stress and shock can also trigger acute gastritis.
Sufferers notice that “something is wrong” in abdominal pain, vomiting with traces of blood, nausea and loss of appetite.
We distinguish between three forms of chronic gastritis:
Type A is the least common. It arises in the body itself – through an autoimmune process. The immune system targets tissue from your own body.
The C form of inflammation is twice as common. Here the mucous membrane becomes inflamed with painkillers or bile juice that flows from the duodenum into the stomach.
Eight out of ten gastric mucosal infections, type C, are caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
Acute gastritis can be cured quickly with a stomach-friendly diet and acid blockers, with chronic gastritis the treatment takes much longer, but is usually successful if the cause is eliminated.
A gastroscopy is recommended if chronic inflammation is suspected, even if the person affected does not notice any symptoms for risk groups such as alcoholics or extreme athletes. If such gastritis remains undetected, stomach acid has often already “eaten” the mucous membranes. The earlier it is recognized, the better.
In order to prevent gastritis, a diet that protects the stomach helps. So no fats in bulk, as well as spicy dishes with pepper and chilli in moderation – the same applies to alcohol and coffee.
Extreme sports harm the stomach, but relaxation exercises such as yoga or autogenic training reduce stress – and less stress means less stomach acid.
In severe cases, gastritis can cause stomach ulcers, bleeding in the stomach or even a stomach breakthrough.
Gastritis can be recognized by mucosal samples. The patient takes this during a gastroscopy.
Polyps
Gastric polyps are protuberances of the mucosal gland cells that protrude into the interior of the stomach. They occur either individually or in groups and are usually benign. People from middle age suffer particularly often.
Although these tumors are usually benign, the doctor should always remove them, because in at least 20% of the cases they develop into stomach cancer.
Larger of these tumors reveal themselves by a feeling of pressure in the upper abdomen, feeling of fullness and loss of appetite, by vomiting blood and black feces.
The polyps are spherical or shaggy, they sit out or have a broad base; they range from a few millimeters in size to more than one centimeter.
Experts discuss whether Helicobacter bacteria offer them a breeding ground and whether a diet high in fat and low in fiber promotes them – but that is speculation.
The tumors often go unnoticed and only show up in the gastroscopy. Then, as far as possible, they will be removed immediately. The doctor cuts the polyp with a wire loop heated by high-frequency current and closes the wound. However, very large polyps require surgery.
If the patient has had polyps in the past, it is advisable to undergo gastroscopy every six months to see if they recur.
Sore throat and blood
If there is blood in the saliva and we have a sore throat at the same time, then this indicates various basic diseases. A severe cold, bronchitis or pneumonia cause blood vessels to burst in the airways. Because it is inflammation, our throat also hurts.
Sore throat and vomiting blood. Image: Picture-Factory – fotolia
In addition there are headache and body aches, runny nose and hoarseness. However, a sore throat is not typical for tuberculosis or lung tumors.
The blood in the saliva as a result of these diseases is bright red, but if it comes from the stomach or esophagus, it takes on an almost black color.
In the diagnosis, the doctor clarifies whether a sore throat and bloody sputum are causally related. It doesn’t have to be. For example, we can suffer from lung cancer and tonsillitis at the same time. If blood vessels open now because the tumor is spreading, it has nothing to do with the pain of the inflamed tonsils.
If the esophagus becomes inflamed from heartburn, the gastric juice will injure the esophagus, causing bleeding.
Coughing up blood
We differentiated between coughing up bloody mucus (hemoptysis) and coughing up pure blood that does not mix with mucus (hemoptysis). The blood has its origin in the respiratory tract, the bronchi, the trachea or the lung tissue.
Blood in the mucus is usually harmless. However, if you cough up pure blood, you should immediately go to the doctor: Most of the time it is an immediate danger to life.
Coughing up blood is only a symptom and is associated with fever, shortness of breath, shortness of breath, chest pain, or weight loss in cancer patients. If the person coughs up a lot of blood, a shock can result, combined with a rapid drop in blood pressure, cold sweat on the skin, panic attacks and even loss of consciousness.
A whole series of diseases cause bloody sputum and coughing up blood: bronchitis, abscesses in the lungs, pulmonary tuberculosis, pneumonia, lung cancer, lung metastases from other tumors, legionnaires’ disease, high blood pressure in the lungs, lung injuries, as well as heart failure and heart valve defects.
Most of the disease centers are in the lungs and heart. Exceptions are hemophilia and a blood clotting disorder – which can also occur as an undesirable side effect with blood-thinning medication.
Coughing up blood and lung cancer
Lung cancer is also a “killer cancer” because there are hardly any early warning signals. For example, while a person affected by skin cancer recognizes early on that skin discoloration expands, becomes dark or hurts, the person affected by lung cancer usually goes to the doctor when it is already too late.
He suffers from fever, irritable cough, sweat breaks out at night, and throws bloody secretions when he coughs. With these symptoms, however, the tumor has proliferated long ago and already forms metastases. In addition, the person affected often does not take these symptoms seriously, because they are not a monopoly of lung cancer: bronchitis and other respiratory diseases are similar.
Irritable cough that persists for more than 3 weeks should therefore be clarified in more detail.
In advanced lung cancer, however, there is chest pain, acute shortness of breath and a massive drop in physical performance. The affected person also loses weight and feels weak overall.
Even at this stage, however, the tumor can often not be identified on the x-ray. A so-called “round lung lung”, which can be seen in the picture, could also speak for tuberculosis. However, it can also be a metastasis of a primary tumor located elsewhere. But benign round stoves can also be considered.
Detected early is half banned
The chances of curing lung cancer are slim, and this is partly because it is usually recognized too late. If a doctor already diagnoses a primary tumor, a very small tumor without metastases, the chance of defeating the cancer increases tremendously.
After all, 70% of patients who are diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer are cured of cancer.
Unfortunately, there are still no simple programs for early detection of lung cancer that “normal medicine” could use in their regular practice. Referral to a cancer clinic with the appropriate equipment costs valuable time – and in the case of lung carcinomas, this is the deciding factor in life and death.
Especially vulnerable people are therefore well advised to undergo a preventive medical check-up without suffering from symptoms. The main risk group is smokers over the age of 40 and people who have been professionally exposed to cancer.
tuberculosis
“I have come to the conclusion that tuberculosis, as I have it, is not a special disease, not a disease worthy of a special name, but only a reinforcement of the general death germ that cannot be assessed for the time being.” Franz Kafka, shortly before he died of tuberculosis.
Coughing up blood can be a sign of tuberculosis. Image: Miriam Dörr – fotolia
Tuberculosis (TBC) is the deadliest infectious disease worldwide. In 2014, 1.5 million people died from it globally. It is caused by mycobacteria, which often affect the lungs. This leads to pulmonary tuberculosis.
In 1882, Robert Koch identified Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the causative agent of why the disease is also known as Koch’s disease. It used to be known as consumption. Not every infected person falls ill, in fact tuberculosis only breaks out every 10th to 20th. Those with a general immune deficiency or a genetic predisposition are particularly at risk.
The contagion runs primarily through the saliva of the sick – through coughing. Raw milk from infected cattle is also a source of infection.
The diagnosis is made in the laboratory. When the pathogen is discovered, there is no doubt.
Tuberculosis patients lose weight, feel no appetite and suffer from general exhaustion. They sweat profusely at night and sometimes have a slight fever. A typical feature of pulmonary tuberculosis is a cough, initially with little sputum. If the disease progresses, the sick cough up blood. An emergency is hemorrhage.
In doing so, bleeding presses out of body openings in large quantities. An artery can be damaged, in pulmonary tuberculosis a hemorrhage usually occurs in the final stage of the disease.
bronchitis
With bronchitis, the lower airways become inflamed, either chronic or acute. This infection of the bronchi is usually preceded by a cold or flu. Bronchitis becomes chronic when the affected person suffers from cough and expectoration in at least three months in two years.
Viruses are often responsible, but bacteria and fungi can also ignite the bronchi, whereas chronic bronchitis is mostly a result of smoking, 9 out of 10 people affected are smokers.
Risks of contracting bronchitis include tobacco smoke, cold, humid weather, polluted air and delayed upper respiratory infections, which then spread to the lower respiratory tract.
Bronchitis is manifested by a strong cough because the airways are blocked, great tiredness, chest pain and sputum. The sputum consists of whitish-yellow mucus, but since the inflammation also damages the surface of the bronchi, the sputum mixes with blood.
Affected people should absolutely avoid smoking and not be in smoking rooms; they should be physically gentle and drink plenty of fluids, but avoid ice-cold drinks. Breast wraps, inhalation of steam with chamomile extract, or a pat on the back help loosen the mucus.
bulimia
People suffering from addiction to food and nausea expose their intestines, esophagus and throat to constant stress. Again and again they trigger an urge to vomit, which causes the stomach to emit acid. This is how gastric acid gets into the esophagus and mouth and damages the surface there. In addition, bulimia sufferers often suffer from bleeding gums due to poor oral hygiene, and addicts who eat and vomit can brush their teeth no matter how often: Because of the constant deliberate vomiting, half-digested food residues settle on the teeth, and with them bacteria.
Spitting blood: when to see a doctor?
Whoever coughs up blood or spits blood can do little by himself. He should go to the doctor quickly if he does not know that the cause is harmless: minor injury to the mouth and throat, cold, bleeding gums. He brings the doctor some sputum or saliva in a glass. In case of coughing up blood with pure blood, an emergency doctor must be called immediately.
The doctor looks for the source of the blood. He first asks about the medical history, then taps, hears and feels his neck, chest and back to see whether the focus is in the esophagus, heart or lungs. He looks into the mouth, throat and nose.
Criteria are:
How long has the person been spitting or coughing blood? Did he have these complaints before? What does the blood look like? Light or dark, liquid mixed with blood, foamy or slimy sputum, does it stink?
- Other symptoms such as sore throat, fever, weakness, nausea, rapid heartbeat, circulatory problems.
- Comorbidities
- Activities: smoking, asbestos at work etc.
- Medicines that thin the blood
- Lifestyle habits
According to general examinations, the doctor determines the amount of blood loss and blood clotting, the acidity of the blood to determine whether it comes from the stomach or lungs, checks the sputum for bacteria and X-rays the chest. If there is suspicion of bronchial disease, it reflects the respiratory tract.
treatment
Treatment depends on the disease. In the event of severe blood loss, the blood must first be breast-fed, otherwise death can occur. If a broken wire is the cause, it can quickly become deserted. If a stomach ulcer bursts, surgery is the order of the day. Blood infusions also take place.
Stomach ulcers, mucosal injuries and cancer can also be treated with medication.
If the blood loss is life-threatening, life must first be saved, only then does the cause research begin. Mild infections can be treated with antibiotics.
