Causes

Vomiting blood may be caused by:

• Acute liver failure
• Aspirin
• Benign tumors of the stomach or esophagus
• Cirrhosis (scarring of the liver)
• Defects in gastrointestinal tract blood vessels
• Dieulafoy's lesion (an artery that protrudes through the stomach wall)
• Duodenitis (inflammation in the first part of the small intestine)
• Esophageal cancer
• Esophageal varices (enlarged veins in the esophagus)
• Esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus)
• Gastric erosions (breakdown of tissue lining the stomach)
• Gastric varices (enlarged veins in the stomach)
• Gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining)
• Mallory-Weiss tear (tear in the esophagus associated with pressure caused by vomiting or coughing)
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• Pancreatic cancer
• Pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation)
• Peptic ulcer
• Portal hypertension (high blood pressure in the portal vein)
• Prolonged or vigorous vomiting
• Stomach cancer

In infants and young children, vomiting blood may also result from:

• Birth defects
• Blood-clotting disorders
• Milk allergy
• Swallowed blood, such as from the nose
• Swallowed object
• Vitamin K deficiency