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Is Brown Vomit Indicative Of Blood And Inflammation Of The Stomach Lining?

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Posted on Wed, 12 Jul 2023
Question: Today is Thursday. Five days ago, on Saturday night, I landed from a flight from Spain in Dublin — I had only had a ham and cheese XXXXXXX on the flight. When I arrived at my dorm room, my friends decided to go drinking and I joined them. We had Vodka with Red Bull and Sprite and I also had shots of XXXXXXX whiskey. I made the mistake of going black-out drunk. I should clarify I am not a heavy drinker, and have only begun drinking for the past week and most often very moderately or no drinks at all. However, I woke up in bed and my roommate told me I had puked last night on the bathroom floor because there was something there when he got to our room about four hours after me. When I went to go see it, the vomit was brownish in color, I could’ve confused it with mud or even poop — it didn’t smell but had what appeared to be phlegm in it. I am worried what this might mean because I woke up on Sunday without a hangover but at Sunday night I had a fever and a headache. Monday I was feeling bad all day and had repeated episodes of diarrhea and stomach cramps all night — no blood in the stool though. Everyone suspected gastroenteritis because I was having constant diarrhea for days.

My symptoms have cleared up now. I haven’t thrown up since that Saturday night I got drunk, my fever is gone, I can hold down some more foods now and I’ve been feeling better as the days have gone by. Is the brownish vomit from Saturday night still a cause for concern? I am twenty-one years old.

I should also clarify the vomit looked quite dense, like poop or mud which is why I made the comparison. I don’t know if this is because I only saw it the morning after and it had dried up or something...
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Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (6 hours later)
Brief Answer:

This can occur but would likely heal

Detailed Answer:

Hi,

The brown vomit likely means that there was at least a small amount of blood in the vomit.

Blood in vomit can occur when the lining of the stomach is inflamed or irritated. This can occur with a stomach bug/infection or can also occur with alcohol use as well.

The lining would heal and you would not likely have any complications.

If you have a history of reflux symptoms then you can use reflux medication to help deal with them. eg prevacid, protonix, nexium, etc.

Hope I have answered your query.

Take care

Regards,
Dr Michelle Gibson James, General & Family Physician
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Michelle Gibson James

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16808 Questions

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Is Brown Vomit Indicative Of Blood And Inflammation Of The Stomach Lining?

Brief Answer: This can occur but would likely heal Detailed Answer: Hi, The brown vomit likely means that there was at least a small amount of blood in the vomit. Blood in vomit can occur when the lining of the stomach is inflamed or irritated. This can occur with a stomach bug/infection or can also occur with alcohol use as well. The lining would heal and you would not likely have any complications. If you have a history of reflux symptoms then you can use reflux medication to help deal with them. eg prevacid, protonix, nexium, etc. Hope I have answered your query. Take care Regards, Dr Michelle Gibson James, General & Family Physician