Vomiting is always a bad sign since it is the body’s natural self-defense against toxins in the stomach. It can mean a variety of conditions that a person is suffering from. However, the color of the vomit can hint at how severe the problem is. Clear vomit is the simplest and is a simple reaction to food poisoning or even morning sickness. It is very treatable and will require only a bit of rest and some medication. Green and yellow are also possible colors for a person’s vomit.
However, one of the worst possible colors of vomit that can appear is black vomit. It is not just the color but the consistency of it that is worrying. Instead of being watery, it looks like ground coffee and has the same dark or black color. It is the reason why doctors often call this condition coffee ground vomitus. This substance is clotted blood, and the black color of the vomit is because blood darkens when it clots. Vomiting blood like this is often a sign of a severe condition, necessitating to go to the doctor immediately for a diagnosis. Here are some possible causes for the dark color.
Upper GI Tract Bleeding
Clotted blood is the reason for the dark color, and the most common cause of that blood in the stomach is bleeding somewhere in the upper gastrointestinal tract. Bleeding in the lower GI tract will appear in feces, while the upper GI ends at the stomach and the other end.
The situation doesn’t have to be that bad. It only means that there is bleeding somewhere in the tract. It could be a minor damage to the esophagus that seeped into the stomach. However, there are worse situations. For example, a wound in the esophagus can continuously bleed into the stomach. The result is that a person will regularly vomit in black. It is good that the vomit is black since it is clotting and the bleeding is slow. A bigger problem is if the vomit is red, a sign of fresh blood and if there is a large wound somewhere in the GI tract. Besides the vomit, having trouble swallowing or feeling weak with no explanation can be further proof of an injury in the esophagus.
