Quoting Doug Henwood <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > Can excessive travel really cause intestinal bleeding?
Perhaps. There have been a some physicians I've seen in news reports today foolish enough to publicly speculate (so why not join them): If the problem is a duodenal ulcer - which can cause life-threatening massive bleeding and potentially require an emergent, possibly complex, surgery - then it might be possible to invoke stress. (The duodenum specifically here because the statement referred to the intestine not the stomach.) As one physician pointed out, it might also be typically caused by, for example NSAID painkillers (which might be taken by someone, say, broke their arm and knee 2 years back at 77.) <http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14134365/> on stress ulcers - <http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/316/7130/538> Other causes of relentless intestinal bleeding would be diverticulosis and/or diverticulitis - which might require a colostomy after resection; tumors (which seem less likely insofar as prolonged bleeding); angiodysplasia - which can be a real nuisance to experience, diagnose and treat; perhaps a severe infection of the colon (unusual to come to surgery); inflammatory bowel disease such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease (which seem quite unlikely at 79); and the dreaded ischemic bowel. Whatever the cause, presumably he now faces the usual daunting challenges associated with recuperation from a laparotomy at age 79. Thank you for this consultation! Andy Coates (M.D.)
