I was actually having some good time with my colleague and his friends outside his house yesterday. We were just talking about some good topics like how much do Nigeria public servants like the president, governors, senators and House of representatives earn on a monthly basis, we also talked about football particularly the current Uefa champions League matches.
Although I enjoyed the discussion as everyone was making his own contributions, both the ones that are with or without value.
The moment was altogether funny and at the same time interesting. It was almost 4pm and none of us has had lunch as we were all hungry. Then someone there decided to ask if hunger can cause ulcer. We all then had some argument for sometime as some were of the view that hunger can cause ulcer while others were of the view that hunger cannot cause hunger. Being a Nurse there, everyone's attention was on me and my colleague to get our view on the state of ulcer. My colleague was also of the view that hunger can cause ulcer. At that moment we were of different view of the concept of ulcer.
I told myself that I would clear the hive family on the concept of ulcer. What it is, what causes it, how can it be prevented and how can it be managed.
If you could remember while growing up, your parents will always ensure each and everyone of you eat before going out in the morning for school and before they could leave for work. When asked why they are doing that, the answer would be like, we ensure you eat so you would not come up with ulcer because we don't want to start taking anyone to the hospital. My mom will always tell you that prevention is better than cure. So the mindset of every mother is that ensure you feed your children so they won't come up with ulcer. So the major reason behind our parents feeding us then is to prevent ulcer. Today I will clear the air about ulcer and how to care for one with ulcer. I would talk about fasting and its importance on our health in my next article.
What is peptic ulcer
Peptic ulcer can be defined as a condition that is characterized by painful opening, sore or wound in the lining of the stomach and upper portion of the small intestine. It is also known as gastric ulcer. Stomach pain is the most significant symptom of the disease.
Types of peptic ulcer
Most people when they hear the word ulcer, they feel it's just about having injury in the stomach alone. Today, you would know some other type of ulcers to add to your memory bank. The types of peptic ulcer includes;
Gastric ulcer:
Ulcers that occur only in the stomach. This is the most popularly known ulcer by everyone.
Duodenal ulcer:
Ulcers that occur in the upper lining of the small intestine. They are more common than the gastric ulcer.
Symptoms of peptic ulcer
Heartburn
Stomach pain
Feeling of fullness
Nausea
Vomiting of red or black blood
Darked coloured stool
Unexplained weight loss
Loss of appetite.
The most common symptom of peptic ulcer is an excruciating stomach pain. Eating certain food or taking some acid reducing medication can help relieve the pain.
Causes of peptic ulcer
Most people are of the view that Ulcers occur as a result of hunger just as my colleague and friends were saying until they were cleared yesterday on the causes of ulcer. Ulcers occur when the stomach acid erodes the surface of the stomach lining.
A mucous layer covers your digestive tract, which often shields it from acid. Yet, you can come up with ulcers when there is an increase in the amount of stomach acid or when there is a decrease in the amount of mucus in the stomach.
However, studies have shown the two main causes of ulcer. They include;
A bacteria called Helicobacter pylori
Frequent intake of pain relieving medication
Helicobacter pylori
This is a bacteria that commonly infect the stomach of about 50% of the world population as stated by researchers. This bacteria stick to the protective layer of the stomach lining and causes inflammation of the layer which leads to the breakdown of the lining of the stomach causing ulcer.
Pain relieving medication
Pain relieving drugs are one of the major causes of ulcers. These pain killers have great potentials of causing peptic ulcers. Some of these medications includes;Aspirin, Naproxen, Ibuprofen, and Celebrex.
It's good you know that not everyone that takes these drugs will come up with the disease. The presence of helicobacter pylori bacteria coupled with the intake of any of these drugs would cause the disease.
Most people do have this misconception that taking coffee and spicy foods can worsen the symptoms of ulcer but studies have shown that ulcer patients can take coffee and spicy foods as long as it doesn't worsen the symptoms.
How are peptic Ulcers diagnosed
Ulcers can be diagnosed by your health care provider by mere talking with you or by ordering some of the following investigation;
Endoscopy: This is a condition in which your doctor insert an endoscope into the stomach to look for any abnormalities in the stomach
Helicobacter pylori test
Imaging test.
Management of Ulcers
While growing up, my dad did suffer from ulcer but was also attending our church 7 days fasting and prayer. From what he said , the ulcer stopped 3days into the fasting. Ulcer can go on its own but please don't ignore the symptoms when it comes up again.
Available Treatment measure for Peptic Ulcers
For most people, Their health care provider may treat their ulcers with some certain medications which I would include in this article. These drugs includes;
Proton pump inhibitors: these are drugs that reduces the acidic content in the stomach thereby leading to the healing of the Ulcers. Some of these drugs includes; Prilosec, Protonix and Nexium.
Histamine receptor blockers (H2 blockers): these are drugs that also reduce the acidic content of the stomach. Example of these drugs includes Tagamet and Axid.
Antibiotics: These drugs helps in killing of the bacteria that causes ulcer.
Protective medications: These are medications that helps prevent the further damage of the stomach lining.
How to prevent ulcer
You can help prevent ulcer from occurring if you practice the following guidelines;
Inform your doctor about an alternative to those pain relieving drugs responsible for causing ulcer
If you can't stop taking those pain relieving drugs, then ensure you discuss with your doctor about any protective measures available
Quit smoking cigarettes
Stop the intake of alcohol.
I just hope this article improves your knowledge about peptic ulcer and how it occurs. Knowledge is power.
Thanks for stopping by today. Would love to get some questions from you in the comment section. Thank you once again for stopping by.
For further reading, check the references.
Reference
Peptic ulcer
Ulcers facts
Peptic ulcer disease
Stomach ulcer
Peptic ulcer Symptoms and causes