What Are Stomach Ulcers?
Learn about stomach ulcers, what causes them, why they are dangerous, and how to treat them.
Sanaz Majd, MD
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What Are Stomach Ulcers?
Have you ever experienced a nagging, aching, burning pain in your stomach right below the end of your sternum (the bone in the center of your chest)? Did your doctor tell you that you may be suffering from a stomach ulcer? What is it? And how did you get it?
Peptic ulcers can happen at any age. But not every stomach pain in that same location is necessarily an ulcer – so please don’t panic. And even if it is, and it’s mild and non-complicated, it’s really easily managed in the same way that acid reflux and heartburn are managed. So let’s find out what peptic ulcers really are, what causes them, and how we can best treat them.;
What Is a Peptic Ulcer?
The word “peptic” refers to anything in the gastrointestinal (GI) system. And you can think of ulcers as areas in the GI tract, most especially in the stomach and small intestine, that are inflamed and irritated to the point of forming an ulcer, which is a disintegration or break in the skin lining.
What Causes Peptic Ulcers?
Despite common myth, stress does not cause stomach ulcers. There are several reasons some people get peptic ulcers – here are the top 3:
Causes of Peptic Ulcers
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Poor Lifestyle Habits: Untreated heartburn and acid reflux can eventually erode the lining of the stomach and intestine. In addition to cigarette smoking and obesity, certain foods have been shown to trigger such events:
- Spicy foods
- Citrus
- Alcohol
- Caffeine
- Chocolate
- Tomatoes/Tomato sauce
- Mint
- Blueberries
- Greasy/Fatty foods
- Anti-Inflammatory Medications: Anti-inflammatories are very helpful treatments for some ailments; however, when taken in excess, they can actually do more harm than good. Causing ulcers is one of their potential side effects. Some examples of anti-inflammatories include medications such as ibuprofen, naproxen, aspirin, and other common drugs.
- H. Pylori: A bacteria that normally inhabits the stomachs of some people can cause ulcers to form in others. This bacteria is called Helicobacter Pylori, or H. Pylori for short.
So what if the lining of your tummy is eroded, you may ask? Why does it matter? How would you even know? Well, here are the reasons we worry about an ulcer:
Symptoms and Complications of Peptic Ulcers
- Pain: It’s painful! This is how most patients present to the doctor’s office when suffering from ulcers. They are not pleasant. It may be painful to eat or even on an empty stomach. Some people start to rapidly lose weight because they can’t tolerate eating.
- Bleeding: If the ulcer is severe, it can sometimes start to bleed. At that point, patients may say they have blood in their stools or, more often, have “black” stools. When this happens, it’s really an urgent issue that needs to be taken care of as soon as possible.
- Perforation: If severe enough, ulcers have the potential to perforate (or cause a “hole” to form through the entire lining of the stomach). This is no longer an urgent issue, but an emergency! Patients with ulcers that perforate need immediate surgery to repair the hole. You don’t ever want an ulcer to get to this point.
- Cancer: Rarely, peptic ulcers have the potential to become cancerous. That’s why most patients with an ulcer who get an endoscopy also get a biopsy of the ulcer during the procedure to make sure there aren’t any cancer cells.
Diagnosis of Peptic Ulcers
If you experience signs and symptoms of an ulcer, especially if there’s bleeding or pain that doesn’t improve with typical treatment, your doctor may decide to send you to a specialist. The gastroenterologists may place a camera down your throat, called an endoscopy, and that is when the actual diagnosis of peptic ulcer is made.
Treatment of Peptic Ulcers
Here is the advice I give to most of my patients with peptic ulcers:
- Stop smoking. Cigarette smoking is a known stomach irritant.
- Lose weight. Excess abdominal weight places pressure on the tummy and can exacerbate GI problems. Check out the Weight Loss section of Quick and Dirty Tips to lose the weight and get healthier.
- Change your eating habits. Please refer to my previously mentioned list of food triggers to avoid.
- Avoid anti-inflammatory medications. Acetaminophen is an alternative over-the-counter drug you can take for pain that does not have an anti-inflammatory component (however, check with your own doctor first to make sure it’s safe for you).
- Treat H. Pylori. If you have H. Pylori in your stomach (which is often screened through a blood test), your doctor may give you a regimen of medications and antibiotics to take to eradicate it. Please note that some people have this bacteria normally residing in the gut, and it never causes any problems and is left alone. We only treat it if it’s problematic.
- Take Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs). This is a group of medications that include omeprazole (which is now over-the-counter and affordable in the U.S.) and is often the first line of defense for people with ulcers. Your doctor will decide your dose and length of treatment.
Have you suffered from a stomach ulcer? Share your experience on the House Call Doctor’s Facebook and Twitter pages!
Please note that all content here is strictly for informational purposes only. This content does not substitute any medical advice, and does not replace any medical judgment or reasoning by your own personal health provider. Please always seek a licensed physician in your area regarding all health related questions and issues.
Ulcer image coutery of Shutterstock.
