Bleeding internally

[ronroush7]

Excuse me for all the questions. If I were bleeding internally, wouldn't it show up on blood work ?

 

[Jennifer]

"Blood tests may be performed to check for a low red blood cell count, or anemia. However, if the bleeding occurs rapidly, the initial hemoglobin reading or red blood cell count may be normal.

The suspicion of internal bleeding will often require an imaging test to look for the bleeding source."
http://www.medicinenet.com/internal_bleeding/page4.htm

I'm honestly not sure if it would show up much if the bleeding was slight (occult blood).

 

[shamrock15]

I had a lot of internal bleeding over the course of 3 years and almost all of it was occult. Needed 60+ units of blood in that 3 years. Would never have known it based on visuals of the stool only. It was only found in my case with a pill cam. Took 2.5 years to convince my doctor to really look for it though.

 

[ronroush7]

I had a lot of internal bleeding over the course of 3 years and almost all of it was occult. Needed 60+ units of blood in that 3 years. Would never have known it based on visuals of the stool only. It was only found in my case with a pill cam. Took 2.5 years to convince my doctor to really look for it though.

What do you mean by occult?

 

[Jennifer]

What do you mean by occult?

Blood you can't see with the naked eye. It will show up in a stool test that checks for blood.