Common Causes of Coughing Up Blood After Drinking

A wide range of conditions and causes can lead to puking blood after drinking, including black vomit after drinking, which can be particularly alarming.

Coughing after drinking alcohol can be due to anything from asthma to acid reflux. Coughing up blood can be an indication of a large spectrum of issues from not so serious to severe.

Causes for blood in sick can include:

• A tear (called a Mallory-Weiss tear) in the lining of the oesophagus caused by excessive vomiting
• Swollen veins (varices) in the lower part of the oesophagus and stomach. This often happens in people with severe liver damage, including people with long-term alcoholism.
• A bleeding stomach or duodenal ulcer
• Irritation or swelling of the oesophagus called esophagitis
• Throwing up black vomit after excessive drinking is usually dried blood in the intestines that have been there for a while
• A benign (non-cancerous) or cancerous tumour in the stomach or oesophagus
• A severe injury to the abdominal area, as caused by a car accident or blow to the abdomen
• Inflammation of the stomach called gastritis
• Taking too much aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medicines
• A condition called Dieulafoy’s lesion affects an artery in the stomach wall
• Inflammation of the small intestine is called duodenitis
• Pancreatic cancer

Throwing Up Blood After Drinking

Most people who have had a drinking binge will vomit due to alcohol levels being too high for the liver to cope with.

When alcohol breaks down in the liver, a compound called acetaldehyde is made. When acetaldehyde levels become too high, your liver cannot cope, and the body reacts by forcefully expelling the alcohol contents from your stomach.

Throwing up stomach bile after drinking can be concerning as it is a greenish-yellow substance. This fluid is created by the liver and stored in your gallbladder.

Bile isn’t always cause for concern. You may see it if you have a less serious condition that causes vomiting while your stomach is empty.

Throwing up blood is a bit different from the common occurrence of being sick after drinking too much.

Blood in your vomit or phlegm from drinking too much alcohol is a serious matter, and help should be sought immediately from your local hospital.

This is a terrifying moment for any heavy drinker, but burying your head in the sand is only going to make things worse, so seek rehabilitation and try to get help immediately.

Remember, there are various reasons why you throw up blood after drinking.

A Rupture In the Gastrointestinal Tract

In people with alcohol-associated gastritis, in contrast to those problems with some other causes, the symptoms may be perceived only after a night of binge drinking or, alternately, might display as a more chronic difficulty for individuals who engage in frequent, heavy drinking.

The upper gastrointestinal tract consists of your mouth, pharynx, oesophagus, small intestine and stomach.

When a rupture occurs in this area, bleeding occurs (hematemesis or coffee-ground emesis). This coffee-like, brown vomit may also indicate that you have a stomach ulcer, which means immediate help is needed.

Hematemesis is defined as vomiting blood, which indicates bleeding from the oesophagus, stomach, or duodenum.

Hematemesis includes vomiting of bright red blood, suggestive of recent or ongoing bleeding, and dark material, which suggests bleeding that had stopped some time ago. (1,2)

How Does Cirrhosis Cause Blood in Vomit?

Cirrhosis causes irreversible scarring of the liver.

The main conditions causes are sustained through excessive alcohol consumption, hepatitis B & C, and fatty liver disease; there are also many other possible causes for the liver to become diseased.

There are many warning signs that the liver is failing, and vomiting blood is one of them.

This particular symptom is called ‘Esophageal Varices’ and occurs in the late stages of liver disease.

The vomiting of blood can be from ulcers in the stomach or leaking varicose veins. If someone has reached this stage without seeking medical help, they should do so immediately.

Ulcers

If you are throwing up bloody sick, an ulcer could be the cause.

Helicobacter pylori bacteria usually cause ulcers in the stomach.

Consuming copious amounts of alcohol can also bring on ulcers as the alcohol aggravates the stomach lining, making it red, raw and inflamed, which causes bleeding.

Alcohol can irritate an ulcer that already exists, especially excessive alcohol use can also disrupt the healing process, allowing the ulcers to expand and worsen because of this. (3)

Gastritis

Gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach lining and, like ulcers, can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. Gastritis has many causes, such as:

• Excessive alcohol consumption
• Abuse of aspirin or ibuprofen
• Post-surgical gastritis
• Traumatic injury
• Burns
• Infections
• Stress

Conditions such as gastritis and a rupture in the gastrointestinal tract may also become life-threatening. These are much more serious than side effects like Delirium Tremens.

Oesophageal varices

The liver has the ability to regenerate itself after being damaged more than a few times. Still, if alcohol consumption has gone to a level of alcoholism, the liver’s regenerative repairs become less than perfect, resulting in scar tissues forming a hard, scarred liver.

As a result, the blood that usually passes down easily from the oesophagus to the liver becomes difficult due to the scarred liver.

When this happens, the body’s veins enlarge with the trapped blood and flow back upstream into the oesophagus again. Due to this, the blood vessels rupture and cause a person to throw up blood. As a result, the body loses a significant amount of blood. Therefore, medical treatment in an emergency room is required immediately.



Diagnosing Reasons For Vomiting Blood

There are many reasons why someone may see blood in their vomit after drinking, but whatever you think the reason is, you could be wrong; therefore, it is always best to seek medical attention if this occurs.

If someone has been drinking red wine, for example, they may throw up red-coloured vomit. This is explainable. However, red-coloured vomit must be checked out if you haven’t been drinking red-coloured.

Upper endoscopy is the mainstay of initial investigations to decide the bleed source and the specific therapy. Diagnosis will usually involve a detailed history and a physical examination.

Vomiting and Nutritional Problems

Vomiting blood after drinking can be a vicious cycle and deplete your body’s reserves. An alcohol detox supplement could be helpful to your recovery. 

Sources

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK411/

2. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vomiting-blood/

3. https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/h-pylori-helicobacter-pylori#1

John

John has dedicated his life to finding treatment for those with addictions and supporting their families.
A business manager for 20 years in the construction industry John’s own experience of addiction led him to found his own rehab centre group in Scotland.
John qualified as a counsellor for people with substance misuse during his time working as a therapist and manager for the foundation. He also trained as an interventionist and appeared on ITV as a consultant helping families impacted by addiction.
He has helped thousands of people in recovery and his knowledge of the rehabilitations process and the addiction experience is unparalleled.

About the author

Article author

John

John has dedicated his life to finding treatment for those with addictions and supporting their families. A business manager for 20 years in the construction industry John’s own experience of addiction led him to found his own rehab centre group in Scotland. John qualified as a counsellor for people with substance misuse during his time working as a therapist and manager for the foundation. He also trained as an interventionist and appeared on ITV as a consultant helping families impacted by addiction. He has helped thousands of people in recovery and his knowledge of the rehabilitations process and the addiction experience is unparalleled.