Education Journalist | Study Abroad Lead
A stomach ulcer is a condition in which the sores start to develop in the inner lining of the stomach, intestine, and lower esophagus. This is a curable disease and different types of treatments are suggested by the doctor on the basis of the severity of the disease. In this article, we will have a look at stomach ulcers, their types, diagnosis, causes, and treatment.
| Table of Content |
Keyterms: Ulcer, stomach, esophagus, intestine, peptic ulcer, duodenum, bacterial infection, tissues, enzymes
Also Read: Human Diseases
What is a Stomach Ulcer?
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When sores start to develop on the inner lining of the intestines, stomach, and lower esophagus it is known as peptic ulcer. This causes bleeding and pain in the duodenum and stomach. This condition occurs in the body when the mucus that is protecting the mucus lining is reduced somehow and because of this the acid and the digestive enzymes eat the tissues that are present in the stomach and this causes ulcers in the body. This condition can arise in the body because of excessive use of anti-inflammatory drugs or because of a bacterial infection.
Stomach Ulcer
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Types of Stomach Ulcers
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- An ulcer that develops in the esophagus area.
- Gastric ulcer develops in the stomach lining
- Duodenal ulcer develops in the small intestine area.
Causes of stomach ulcer
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Below mentioned are the reasons for the causes of stomach ulcers.
- Long term use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like naproxen, aspirin, or ibuprofen can cause stomach ulcers
- An infection can be caused in the body because of Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori)
- Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is a condition that can cause intestinal and stomach ulcers because it increases the production of acid in the body
One of the main causes of stomach ulcers can be the thinning of the thick mucus lining of the stomach. This can be diagnosed through:
- Biopsy,
- Barium swallow method, and
- Endoscopy.
Stomach with Ulcer
Symptoms of stomach ulcer
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There are different kinds of symptoms that are associated with a stomach ulcer. The severity of the symptom decides the severity of the ulcer. The pain can be more intense when the stomach of a person is empty. Below mentioned are some of the symptoms of the stomach ulcer:
- The feeling of nausea or vomiting
- Weight loss in the body
- Feeling tired
- Bloating
- Pain in the abdominal area
- Anemia
- Burning sensation in the chest
- Vomit with blood
- Burping
- Dull and pale skin
- Burning pain
Symptoms of stomach ulcer
These symptoms tell about the problems that are there in the stomach or in the digestion process. This pain can happen all over the body sometimes. When the ulcers are small in size, they don't show much pain or any kind of symptom but when they grow they can show severe pain and can also increase the level of symptoms in the body.
Treatment of the stomach ulcer
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The treatment of the stomach ulcer can be done according to the severity of the disease. Doctors check the stage at which the disease is and then accordingly they give the treatment.
- If the ulcer is growing in the body due to the bacterial infection then doctors usually prescribe a combination of medicines like proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics. Proton pump inhibitors help to reduce the formation of acid as much as it can so that the removal or erosion can be stopped.
- Antibiotics help to stop the growth of H.pylori and this will also help to heal the inflammation.
- If the symptoms have gone severe then doctors may prescribe a treatment that will be different and will be longer in duration.
- There are some rare cases when the treatment of an ulcer will require surgery. The surgery is done in the cases when there is no healing of the ulcer with medication, ulcers keep on returning even when they are properly treated or there is a tear in the stomach.
- The surgery may include tying a bleeding artery or removal of the complete ulcer or cutting off the nerve supply to the stomach that will reduce the production of the stomach acid.
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Diagnosis of Ulcer
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Stomach ulcers can have different types of severity based on which there are different treatments available for treating this disease. Below mentioned are some of the ways in which the ulcer can be diagnosed.
- Endoscopy is one of the methods that is used by doctors to treat the ulcer. In this method, an endoscope is used by the doctors to see inside the upper gastrointestinal tract that includes the stomach, small intestine, esophagus, and mouth. The endoscope is put inside the stomach, which is a thin tube. A small camera is attached with this endoscope that will send the images to the monitor and will help examine the body closely. In the endoscopy, a thick liquid that is anesthetic in nature is given to gargle or to spray on the back of the throat.
- A barium swallow is a test in which the patient has to drink the barium because this allows them to see certain parts of the body very clearly in the x-ray test. A radiologist can see the shape and size of the esophagus and the pharynx. Barium is used only for imaging tests in the gastrointestinal tract.
- The biopsy test is used to examine the cause of the stomach ulcer. In this, tissue is removed from the stomach to examine it. Doctors examine the tissue in the lab and see if there is any kind of bacterial growth or any kind of organisms growing in it.
Things to Remember
- A healthy lifestyle and good eating habits will help to make sure that you don't have to face a disease like an ulcer.
- When sores start to develop on the inner lining of the intestines, stomach, and lower esophagus it is known as peptic ulcer.
- Proper treatment and surgery are available to treat those who are suffering from ulcers.
- Endoscopy is one of the methods that is used by doctors to treat the ulcer. In this method, an endoscope is used by the doctors to see inside the upper gastrointestinal tract
- An interesting fact about ulcers is that most people don't have any kind of symptoms and because of this people are not able to identify the disease.
- The most frequent cause of ulcer is the bacterial infection, H.pylori
- Most people believe that stress can cause ulcers but it is not the same. Stress can increase the ulcers but they are not the reason for their origination.
Sample Questions
Ques. What are the treatments available for ulcers? (2 marks)
Ans. There are different treatments that are available for treating ulcers. The different kinds of treatment depend upon the severity of the ulcer. There are various medicines that are prescribed for treating ulcers if it is not having much severity. If the ulcer is having a high severity then a doctor might suggest surgery.
Ques. How are stomach ulcers caused? (3 marks)
Ans. Stomach ulcers are caused due to various reasons like:
- Excessive use of inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen,
- Increase in the production of acid in the body, or
- Thinning of the thick mucus lining.
Ques. What is the protective mucosal layer and what happens when this layer in the stomach is eroded? (5 marks)
Ans. The mucus membrane lines the inner surface of the stomach also known as gastric mucosa. This mucosa is always covered in a thick layer of mucus that is always secreted by the epithelial cells and when there is a discontinuation of this layer in the gastric region, the enzymes and the gastric acid come in touch with the inner tissues that cause perforation and erosion. This leads to the growth of peptic ulcers.
- This lining can be damaged and because of this, the mucosa becomes inflamed that causes the problem of gastritis.
- This can cause severe pain and discomfort and may also cause a feeling of burning and there can be a symptom of bleeding too.
- The stomach will become weak in this condition and because of this there will be an inability to absorb any kind of food and no formation of the red blood cells will take place.
- There may also be a loss of the protective cells and this condition is known as satiety.
- This is the condition where a person feels his stomach is full just after eating a few bites only of the food.
- The condition of chronic gastritis eventually causes the removal of the lining of the stomach.
Ques. What are Proton Pump Inhibitors (5 marks)
Ans. Proton Pump Inhibitors are used in the treatment of acid-related problems. They help to reduce the acid that is produced by the stomach that helps to reduce the irritation of the stomach lining.
- They help to heal the ulcer and the infection that is there in the stomach.
- With the reduction in the acid formation in the stomach, there will be fewer chances for the ulcer to develop, and these proton pump inhibitors also help in the fast healing of the disease.
- They are used in a combination with antibiotics to remove the helicobacter pylori, a bacteria that is a major cause of the ulcer. But sometimes they also have a side effect on the body.
- The side effects can be constipation, pain in the abdominal area, vomiting, headache, fever, diarrhea, and nausea.
- It is advised that these should be used after taking proper advice from the doctor only because their long-term use can also develop a condition of the low level of magnesium in the body and may also increase the risk of heart attacks.
Ques. How can we prevent peptic ulcers? (5 marks)
Ans. To stop peptic ulcers from growing in our body one needs to take the utmost care of themselves by maintaining a healthy lifestyle and introducing good habits in their life such as avoiding alcohol and no consumption of tobacco products.
- One needs to be very careful with the amount of aspirin and NSAIDs they consume. Overdose of these medicines can cause ulcers.
- One should eat properly cooked food and they should also make sure that they wash their hands as frequently as they can.
- Peptic ulcers can occur in the body because of bad eating habits and the excess consumption of medicines or alcohol or smoking can cause the peptic ulcer.
- People who are above the age of 60 and especially women in this category have higher chances of getting an ulcer. Such people should make sure that they take good care of their health and their diet so that there is less risk of having an ulcer.
- An increase in stress levels can also cause a peptic ulcer. People should make sure that they don't take much stress and exercise as often as they can to reduce their stress levels because this can have a direct effect on their bodies.
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