Understanding Gastric Ulcer
by Groshan Fabiola
Increasingly larger numbers of people are diagnosed with
digestive disorders these days, most of them requiring hospitalization and
careful monitoring. Ulcer is a very common digestive disorder, involving
inflammation or tare at certain levels of the gastrointestinal tract.
Gastric ulcer involves a breach in the tissue that surrounds the stomach,
while duodenal ulcer involves a breach in the tissue that surrounds the
duodenum. Ulcer may also occur at the level of the esophagus or other
organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Gastric ulcer occurs due to excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid
and pepsin, which eventually damage the protective tissue that surrounds
the stomach. The presence of bacteria called Helicobacter pylori also
contributes to developing gastric ulcer. Furthermore, the ulcer is
aggravated by the misuse of certain anti-inflammatory medicines, such as
aspirin or ibuprofen. In the past, it was thought that emotional distress
was also a cause of gastric ulcer. However, this theory has been
contradicted by recent medical research results. On the other hand,
physical stress and insufficiencies can facilitate the development of
gastric ulcer (people that experience medical surgeries are more
susceptible to acquiring forms of gastric ulcers than normal people).
Statistics indicate that people with ages over 55 are more exposed to
developing forms of gastric ulcer. Also, smoking persons are more affected
by gastric ulcer than non-smoking persons. Smoking seriously affects
ulcer, slowing the natural healing process and decreasing the potency of
medication. Also, the abuse of alcohol and caffeine seriously aggravate
ulcer. It is important to keep away from such beverages and focus instead
on establishing and keeping a healthy diet that may relief the symptoms of
gastric ulcer and may also increase the efficiency of the medical
treatment prescribed. The diet should contain healthy foods that aren’t
likely to increase gastric acidity. Physicians recommend eating several
moderate meals a day and respecting an eating schedule.
Most gastric ulcer symptoms are abdominal pain and sourness, the
aggravation of abdominal distress on the empty stomach, amelioration of
pain when eating, indigestion, nausea, vomiting and presence of blood in
the vomit, presence of blood in feces, black stools, fatigue, poor
appetite and weight loss.
If undiscovered or mistreated, gastric ulcer can lead to complications
like bleeding ulcer or perforate ulcer. These two forms of ulcer are
considered to be very dangerous and even life-threatening. Endoscopic
therapy can keep bleeding ulcer under control and sometimes it proves to
be a good alternative to surgery. In case people don’t present
considerable amelioration of the disorder through the means of endoscopic
therapy and oral treatment, surgery might be the only option left for
attempting to correct the ulcer.
