True Causes Of A Stomach Ulcer

Monday, July 20th, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

If the inner lining within your stomach ruptures you are most likely going to complain about having developed a stomach ulcer or gastric ulcer as it is also known as. Doctors also call it peptic ulcer and it manifests in the stomach or in the upper parts of your small intestine. At one time the most commonly held belief regarding the cause of peptic ulcers was that it occurred because of too much stress and also because of a poor diet and even because of smoking.

Stomach Ulcer And Helicobacter Pylori Bacteria

Then, two Nobel Prize winning doctors realized that the condition was caused because of the presence of a bacteria known as the Helicobacter pylori that accounts for as many as sixty percent of all stomach ulcers. This bacterium causes symptoms of indigestion and so the best treatment for stomach ulcers is to use antibiotics that kill off the bacterial infection. In some cases, treatment may require taking of drugs to suppress stomach acids.

So, what are the common stomach ulcer symptoms? Well, you can include pain in the abdominal region below your ribcage, indigestion, nausea, appetite loss; vomiting, weight loss and presence of blood in your vomit and you can also feel lightheaded which a symptom of anemia is.

As already mentioned, the main cause of a stomach ulcer is the Helicobacter pylori bacteria while in some instances the problem may occur on account of taking medications such as aspirin which is often taken on a regular basis to prevent strokes and heart attacks. Other than aspirin, drugs used to control arthritis can also cause a stomach ulcer and the same is the case when you take NSAIDs or non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications. The last named actually is known to cause stomach ulcers in about two fifths of all stomach ulcer cases.

Doctors use a variety of methods to diagnose stomach ulcer. They can use endoscopy or they may make use of Barium metal or they might perform a biopsy or they can choose to try out what is known as a C14 breath test.

After diagnosis the patient can be treated in many different ways. First and foremost they may need to take medications to destroy the Helicobacter pylori bacteria; or, doctors might alter medications that you are presently taking and which are causing stomach ulcers. Even a change in your lifestyle can prove to be very effective in helping to cure your stomach ulcer condition.

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