Varices that develop when people have a damaged liver. Any advice?

I have taken care of ruptured vacancies patients in a surgical ICU. It can be sudden and rapid with lots of blood. Treatment prior to surgery if the person makes it includes lots of transfusion, a ventilator, and inserting a balloon over the bleed. Treatment is not always successful. Recovery would have been long.

I wonder why the body was not cleaned up before you saw him or if you were informed to be prepared for this. A true professional on the nursing level or funeral home, would have taken care of his appearance before letting you see him.

Hemorrhages from varices can be a cause of death in some cases, yes. My sister-in-law had non-alcoholic cirrhosis and many surgeries for varices over the years.

I'm so sorry you saw your dear father in such a condition and are left with this image in your mind now. When that image pops up, try to replace it with a happy memory of you and dad together laughing in happier times. That's what I do when my mind takes me to an ugly place remembering my parents in their last hours on Earth.

Sending you a hug and a prayer, knowing that dad is now disease free and at perfect peace. I feel comforted myself knowing that's the case for both of my parents who passed with a brain tumor and advanced dementia/heart issues. Wishing you all the best.

When someone abuses alcohol, their liver doesn't function well, and the blood that should be passing through the portal vein goes into smaller vessels in the esophagus that can burst. It can cause hemorrhagic death, yes. It's not always because the person was an alcoholic, but it's always because of liver problems.

I'm so sorry that was your last image of your dad.

There's no telling now that he's been cremated. From what I've read, varices seem to be a complication of liver disease, not a cause of death.

Why do you want to know now?

That is absolutely a possible cause of death.

Varices are veins that grow too big due to a number of reasons, any women out there remember getting a lovely 'pregnant vein?' that's a kind of varice.

Liver ones--well, they are hard to treat and are often fatal.

Don't dwell on it, OK? We all must die from something. I'm sorry you saw your dad like that. My mom just died a few months ago and sadly, the look on her face was terrifying. We did not let any grandkids see her. She did not look like her. I'm having nightmares about the way she looked. I have seen several pass away and none of them had a look of terror on their faces. I have to learn to not dwell on that right, as you need to learn to not dwell on the blood on dad's mouth.

I am sorry for your loss.