When your stomach receives the food you eat every day, it becomes something like a volcano, a place where a liquid rests that melts and destroys what it touches. In our case, the equivalent to volcanic lava is the acids and enzymes that your body uses to dissolve food and convert it into the nutrients it needs. The stomach walls are lined with mucosa that protects it from that corrosive juice, but sometimes that mucosa can fail, in which case the stomach wall suffers a wound called an ulcer. At FastlyHealwe, explain everything about stomach ulcers, their symptoms, and treatment.
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Stomach ulcer symptoms
When digestive acids breach the walls of your stomach, the first symptom of an ulcer, and perhaps the most obvious, is the pain it causes. However, the intensity usually varies a lot between patients, and it is expected that it is perceived more like heartburn that attacks in the middle of the night and even wakes you up. It can fade for weeks and be felt again after meals, just as digestion begins and acids and enzymes are most active.
In addition to pain, you may also experience nausea, vomiting, and possibly bloody stools. Your appetite can be reduced due to a feeling of fullness, or the opposite can also happen to you, that you suddenly feel hungry shortly after eating. If the bleeding caused by the ulcer is intense or lasts for a good period, you will likely begin to experience weakness and dizziness due to blood loss. Sometimes the ulcer penetrates the stomach wall with force, and perforation may occur, in which case surgery is urgent and necessary.
Stomach ulcer treatments
The most common cause of stomach ulcers is an infection caused by a bacterium called Helicobacter pylori, so the most frequent treatment with which ulcers are fought is associated with stopping the disease. Your doctor’s prescription will include antibiotics and a proton pump inhibitor, a group of drugs that work on gastric acids, such as the well-known omeprazole.
A hemorrhagic ulcer can be cured with endoscopy to locate it, sear it, and close the wound. Suppose there is no reduction in the problem through these treatments. In that case, a vagotomy could be recommended, that is, surgery of the vagus, the nerve responsible for producing the acids that dilute food, or partial gastrectomy, where a small portion of the stomach.
Both treat the ulcer and prevent it, and the most advisable thing is to have a balanced and healthy diet. When the cause is not the bacteria we mentioned, they are usually either lousy eating habits or the abuse of alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, tobacco, or excessive use of medications such as aspirin, naproxen, and ibuprofen.
This article is merely informative. At FastlyHeal .com, we do not have the power to prescribe medical treatments or make any diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor if you present any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read more articles similar to Stomach ulcer: symptoms and treatment, we recommend that you enter our Digestive System category.
I am a Surgeon with a diploma in comprehensive ultrasound and surgical care residency, an area I am specializing in. During the exercise of my profession, I have realized the need for patients to know the diseases they suffer, and I can tell you that a large part of their complications is due to a lack of information. Being a health web writer allows me to transmit my experience, without borders, to all those readers eager for knowledge, educate them in the prevention of diseases and promote a healthy lifestyle.