Internal Bleeding After An Accident

[ignoramus]

HI, My relative met with an accident three weeks back. The doctors said he is ok and they fixed the fracture in the right leg. He had a severe injury in his face also which needed a plastic surgery. Till then he was ok. But last sunday he vomitted blood and also passed blood with the stools. The doctors suspected internal bleeding. They found out the spot. First they said they have used a clip to stop the bleeding.

 

But after two days the blood vessel did burst. They had to go for a surgery. First the doctors said it will take two days for him to gain consiousness. But he became consious in just about 45 mins.

 

The doctors said he is ok now. But he still feels very week. He has let his confidence down.

 

Is it possible that there is still some bleeding?

 

Yesterday also some blood came through the tube they have put to his stomach through the mouth.

 

The blood count is also less

(around 9) and has not increased.

 

They say more than 10 is normal.

 

Note that they are not giving external blood supply.

 

Your reply may save a life. Help us. Please.

[Moontanman]

it sounds like your friend is in a bad situation, is he in the hospital? It sounds like he should be, i am sure only a doctor in a hospital setting can really say what might be wrong and help him.... If he is not in a hospital get him there, but ultimately only a medical doctor can give him the help he needs...

[CraigD]

Welcome to hypography, Ig. Sorry to hear about your relative’s accident, and best wishes for his comfortable and speedy recovery.

 

First, a disclaimer: I’m not an MD, and even if I was, wouldn’t try to give expert advice without physically examining a patient. At hypography, we aim to help people learn and enjoy more about all things approached scientifically, including anatomy, physiology, and medicine, but we shouldn’t for a moment be taken as a source for medical advice. Your relative’s medical team – the MD’s and nurses caring for him – have the training, equipment, and most importantly, direct access to you relative to do that. It’s a good idea to lean all you can about the science and medical art relevant to his condition and treatment, and use it to discuss treatment choices with your family and your relatives medical team, but cooperatively, not out of fear that they don’t know what they’re doing.

 

That said, from the sound of your description, your relative appears to be bleeding from one or more of the blood vessels in and around his stomach. Though it may have been described to you as “internal bleeding”, that’s not technically accurate, as that term refers to bleeding into the spaces between internal organs, such as the thoracic (chest) and pleural (lung) cavities. This kind of bleeding is usually much more worrisome than the upper GI tract bleeding you seem to describe, so it’s a good thing you’re dealing with it instead of true internal bleeding.

 

The blood count of 9 you mention sound like a hemoglobin count, the mass of red blood cells in grams in 1/10 of a liter of blood (g/dL). The standard normal range for this for an adult man is 13 to 17. 9.5 to 13 is considered mildly anemic, 8 to 9.5 moderately, and below 8 severe, so 9 isn’t too bad. (see this FAQ page for more info) I’ve personally seen young, healthy-seeming people walk into clinics with hB counts of 6, so I wouldn’t be to concerned about this number. If it continues to drop, and gets below 8, your relative’s docs may decide to infuse him with whole blood or packed red blood cells, which isn’t an unusual need after a surgery.

 

You main goal sounds to me to be getting the GI bleeding stopped. A good first step is waiting and watching for a few weeks to see if it stops on its own. If that doesn’t work, a good next step would be to stick an endoscope down your relative’s esophagus (throat) and take a look around to see if you can spot what’s bleeding, then maybe a bit of clamping and stitching to make it stop – but again, keep in mind that I’m just a medical computer programmer playing doctor on the internet, and trust your relative’s docs if they take a different approach – though talk to them about it if you have questions and uncertainties (some hospitals and clinics have rules against discussing patient's with other than immediate family, so you may have to do this second-hand).

 

Though it often doesn’t seem that way at the time, hospital visits can be interesting and educational experiences, a bit of good to offset the pain and worry of an injury. Best of luck, and feel free to update us on your relative’s progress, and check out all the other science-y stuff here at hypography!