Ask a doctor on the topic of General medicine

Bulimia

January 7, 2011 | 10,00 EUR | answered by Dr. med. Ralf Berg

I hope someone can help me. I have been suffering from bulimia for several years, with ups and downs, and now I have a question on my mind. Can vomiting cause a blood vessel to burst, leading to a brain hemorrhage? Lately, I have been experiencing stronger headaches whenever I go through a bad phase of daily bingeing and purging.

Dr. med. Ralf Berg

Dear inquirer,

I can only provide limited help with your illness, as it would be better for you to confront your illness and start psychotherapy for your eating disorder. However, I can answer your question: Vomiting does cause increased pressure in the brain and puts more strain on blood vessels. A vessel can indeed burst, but this would require either a pre-existing weakness in the vessel wall, advanced age, decades of damage from untreated high blood pressure, or poorly controlled diabetes mellitus. If none of these apply to you, you can relax as there is no significantly increased risk. Young healthy blood vessels should be able to withstand repeated vomiting!

Best regards,
R. Berg