Does barium swallow detect or show small gi bleed from ulcer?

In the past, we only have this test for the diagnosis of gastric or duodenal ulcer; however, this test is not sensitive enough and of course it can NOT detect bleeding. We only suspect bleeding may occur when you see an ulcer by this test and there is blood in your vomitus or stool. Currently, upper endoscopy (EGD) is the gold standard test and you can observe and treat an active ulcer.

A barium swallow could show a small ulcer but would not give any information about bleeding. It would be better to do an upper endoscopy if there is signs of bleeding. If there is active bleeding at the time of the endoscopy, it can be treated using the endoscope. If you see black tarry stools or signs of blood, you should go to the emergency room for evaluation. Good luck.