If the skin is cut, there will be blood flowing out and it is immediately recognizable when you look at it. So upper gastrointestinal bleeding, can you recognize it? Today, let’s learn more about upper GI bleeding and strategies to prevent and treat it. What is upper gastrointestinal bleeding? Upper gastrointestinal bleeding is bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract above the flexural ligament (i.e. above the duodenum), which is commonly referred to as bleeding caused by diseases of the esophagus, stomach, duodenum and adjacent organs. The most common diseases causing upper gastrointestinal bleeding are peptic ulcers, including gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers. The following triggers often cause upper gastrointestinal bleeding: first, improper diet, such as eating too cold and too hot food, eating irritating food, etc.; second, taking drugs that damage the gastric mucosa; third, mental tension, overwork, while bad habits such as staying up late, smoking, drinking alcohol, etc. are also triggers to aggravate the lesion. 2, esophagogastric fundic vein rupture bleeding caused by liver cirrhosis or other diseases of increased portal pressure. In the case of combined esophagogastric fundic varices, if eating rough food such as spiny fish, hard cookies, nuts, etc., it is more likely to cause rupture and bleeding of varices. 3, acute gastric mucosal damage, including acute stress ulcer bleeding and acute erosive gastritis. The former is mostly combined with major stress situations such as burns, trauma, major surgery, shock, craniosynostosis, etc. The causes of the latter include alcoholism, heavy use of drugs for gastric mucosal damage and mental stress. 4, tumors, including various tumors of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum, such as cancer, sarcoma, mesenchymal tumor, lymphoma, etc. In recent years, due to diet and lifestyle, environmental changes and other reasons, this type of disease has a younger trend. When the tumor surface is necrotic and falls off or ruptures, it will cause upper gastrointestinal bleeding. How to detect upper gastrointestinal bleeding early? This article provides some simple and practical ways to help you realize that you have “upper gastrointestinal bleeding” in time. The easiest to detect is the upper GI tract itself. Upper GI bleeding usually presents as vomiting blood and dark stools. Vomiting blood is a symptom of upper GI bleeding coming out of the mouth, usually because the hemoglobin changes from bright red to coffee-colored after acidification by gastric juice, and some of it may be mixed with food crumbs. However, bright red blood may also be present when the bleeding is heavy and high. Vomiting of blood is usually preceded by nausea, and the blood does not come out with coughing and is not mixed with sputum, which can be distinguished from respiratory tract bleeding. Black stool is a manifestation of a small amount of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The iron in hemoglobin passes through the intestinal tract and sulphurizes to produce iron sulphide, so the stool that comes out will be black like tar. If you see black stools, you should be alert, but if you have taken iron-containing foods or medications, it can confuse your judgment of black stools. It is recommended to suspend iron-containing foods or medications for about 2 days and observe the stools again, provided there is no other discomfort. When the amount of upper GI bleeding is very small or in the early stages of acute bleeding, no abnormality can be detected by the naked eye in the solved stool. At this time, it is important to recognize the symptoms outside the upper gastrointestinal tract: the patient himself is often sleepy and weak, dizzy and dizzy, and shortness of breath after activity; family members living together will find that he is pale under the fingernails, lid conjunctiva, and lips if they look closely. A large amount of upper gastrointestinal bleeding has more serious manifestations: generalized cold sweat, cold limbs, fainting, accelerated heart rate, decreased blood pressure, mental agitation, confusion, and even shock. Elderly people are prone to kidney function damage due to poorer underlying status, which is manifested by reduced urine output or even anuria in severe cases.