Melena

Melena or "black disease", also known as tarry stools, is a black, shiny, foul-smelling, shapeless stool. This disorder is considered a symptom of internal bleeding (in the stomach or esophagus) rather than a disease.

Black stool can also occur when swallowing blood due to pulmonary, nasal and other types of bleeding.

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Causes of Melena

The main reason for the development of melena is bleeding, which can open in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, but most often the pathology is caused by an ulcer of the stomach or duodenum.

Bleeding can be caused by peptic ulcers, tumors, diverticula, polyps. In rare cases, black stool occurs with diseases of the pancreas or gallbladder.

In childhood, black stool may be associated with Meckel's protrusion (a congenital or acquired pathology of intestinal development).

In addition to internal causes, the disorder can be caused by taking certain medications, blood clotting disorders, pulmonary or nasal bleeding (in this case, a person swallows blood that ends up in the stomach).

Symptoms of Melena

Melena in case of extensive bleeding is manifested by loose stools. In case of minor bleeding, the stool is black and retains its shape after defecation.

If you are prone to constipation, the disorder may appear 2-3 days after the bleeding begins.

In most cases, the pathology has symptoms that are not associated with bleeding: tinnitus, weakness, nausea, loss of consciousness, darkening of the eyes, cold sweat or fever, pallor.

Usually such symptoms appear before melena. If the body's blood loss is less than 500 ml, then the disorder proceeds without pronounced symptoms, with blood loss of more than 1 liter - a change in pulse, pressure is possible, with blood loss of more than 2 liters - hemorrhagic shock, decreased pressure, loss of consciousness, decreased or complete absence of reflexes develop.

Diagnosis of melena

Melena is primarily detected by examining the patient's stool.

If such an examination is not possible, but there have been cases of black stool in the past, and there are symptoms of internal bleeding, a rectal examination and examination of feces collected from the intestinal walls are prescribed.

When examining feces, the patient's diet should be taken into account, since darkening of the stool can occur due to the consumption of certain foods (blueberries, red wine, beets), as well as due to certain medications, in particular iron-containing ones; in this case, the feces do not have the varnish shine characteristic of melena.

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Treatment of melena

Melena requires urgent help from specialists. At the first signs of bleeding, you should call an ambulance and go to the hospital.

Before the ambulance arrives, you must not eat or drink anything (except cold water).

You can place a heating pad filled with cold water on your stomach.

At the hospital, the patient is prescribed an urgent endoscopic examination, which in most cases helps not only to identify the source of bleeding, but also to eliminate it.

In case of heavy bleeding, blood transfusion and vitamins are prescribed.

Melena prognosis

Melena, as well as the bleeding that provoked it, can cause disability and even lead to death. Prognosis depends on the timely detection of the pathology and a set of treatment measures to eliminate it.

Melena or black stool is a pathological condition in which black feces are released due to the presence of blood in the stomach, altered by the action of gastric juice. In most cases, the disorder is caused by severe internal bleeding, which requires urgent medical intervention.