You wake up, you feel a burning pain in your upper abdomen, you squeeze your face and grasps your abdomen and curl up, you think you must be hungry you find something – anything to eat, it persists, you take painkillers, it cools….Ulcer!
The next day, you feel heart burn, you get some painkillers, it Relieves you. Soon, You notice some unexplained weight loss with a full combo of all symptoms! You scream in pain! You rush to your doctor, sadly you are diagnosed with ulcer… You reason to yourself “Oh, I always hear of this thing, but really, What is Ulcer?”
Ulcer can be defined as an open sore/wound that forms on the inner lining of the stomach that possibly results from an increase in the gastric acid of the digestive tract, leading to excess acid in the stomach, which eat away mucus lining (causing the sore (s)) .
Relevance of Acid In The Stomach
Gstric acid, Hydrochloric acid all pay defence and digestive roles in the human body, and these should not touch the stomach lining, that is, there are mucous that line the stomach preventing foods and gastric acid not to touch it, but when someone is infected with helicobacter pylori, the bacteria eat up the mucous allowing the gastric acid or hydrochloric acid to touch the stomach lining and it results to wounds/sores.
Common Cause
It is caused by a bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.( H-pylori)
Types
Mostly, ulcers are named after the location where they are found but, as with most things in life, there is an exception, the peptic ulcer.
For instance a peptic ulcer can be found anywhere in your esophagus, stomach or duodenum.
So, therefore a peptic ulcer can also be an esophageal, or gastric, or duodenal ulcer.
Causes of Peptic ulcers
Apart from the bacteria, other things can also cause ulcer such as;
⏺️ Stress
⏺️ Smoking
⏺️ Alcoholism
⏺️ Certain medications
⏺️ Excessive use of pain relievers like NSAID e.g ibuprofen.
⏺️ Hypersecretion of excess gastric acid or hydrochloric acid can cause it too
⏺️ Not eating at some crucial times like morning may cause it, because when the body secretes gastric acid or hydrochloric acid and there is no food to mix them with or water to reduce the acidity, they can eat up stomach lining because those acids are corrosive.
Gastric Ulcer
Gastric acid or gastric juice or stomach acid is a digestive fluid formed by the parietal and oxyntic cells in the stomach lining.
Gastric juice or acid compose of HCl, potassium chloride and sodium chloride, is highly acidic substance like 1.5 – 3.5. So if we don’t have enough water to dilute it, it can cause sore, wound to the stomach lining.
Gastric ulcers generally cause a dull aching pain, often right after eating.
Making a meal can often cause an increase in pain because as we smell food, stomach lining cells secret more of those acids in preparation of digestion and it can cause more pain. Eating will not relieve pain as is the case with other types of ulcers.
⏺️ Indigestion and heartburn, or acid reflux
⏺️ Nagging pain in the upper abdomen area below your breastbone
⏺️ Episodes of nausea
⏺️ A noticeable loss of appetite
⏺️ Unplanned weight loss
⏺️ Another less common symptom of a gastric ulcer is that about 3 in every 10 people are woken up at night by dull ulcer pains, this usually happens 3- 4 hours after eating.
Note
The other ulcers we have are Duodenal Ulcer, this simply when there is sore or wound at the duodenum, the first part of the small intestine from the Stomach.
We have oesophagus ulcer too which means ulcer affecting the oesophagus.
Parasite infestation in the colon can also cause ulcers or stomach pain and medical diagnosis must be done.
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