What exactly is peptic ulcer and what causes it?
- By:groshan fabiola
Ulcer is a very common and known disease that each one of us has heard of. But what many don't know is what are the true causes of the ulcer disease. Until some time ago everybody believed that ulcer is caused by hot and spicy food and also by stress at work. In fact, a bacteria is responsible for ulcer and it can affect people no matter what age or sex they are.
What exactly is peptic ulcer?
Well peptic ulcer occurs when a small opening, or wound, appears in the inside of the stomach, in it's lining to be more precise. This open wound situated inside the stomach will cause pain because the gastric acid that can be found there will hurt the tissue that is exposed by the tear.
There are more types of peptic ulcer. The one mentioned above, represented by an open wound in the stomach is called gastric ulcer. If the wound is located in the upper part of the duodenum (small intestine) than the peptic ulcer is called duodenal ulcer, and if it appears inside the lower part of the esophagus then it's called esophageal ulcer.
The bacteria that has been discovered to cause ulcer is called Heliobacter Pylori and you can get infected with it by simply drinking water or eating food that contains it, but it only starts to manifest once its bearer has reached a certain age. In most cases this age was discovered to be 60. It is known that billions of people are carrying H. pylori.
The bacteria starts to 'eat' the protective membrane that protects the stomach lining or the duodenum and lets the damaging acids pass through, causing more trouble and eventually leading to the appearance of peptic ulcer. Certain spicy foods and a stressful lifestyle can amplify the ulcer's effects, but they don't cause it. Anyway, it's more likely that a person who has been eating junk-food all his/her life has a more advanced and severe ulcer than someone who has been eating healthy food.
The symptoms that peptic ulcer presents vary from patient to patient, but the most common ones are indigestions, abdominal burning, and of course pain inside, where the ulcer is located. The signs are more visible after a meal because the stomach starts working and releasing acid.
If you feel pain after eating and you're experiencing indigestion, visit a doctor, and if you're diagnosed with ulcer start the treatment soon, before things get worse. Treatments consist of different types of medication and a healthy diet.
Because junk-food and stress are a common thing in modern society more and more people are suffering from peptic ulcer each year, but hopefully medicine will find a very efficient treatment soon. Until this happens the only thing you can do is stay away from the dangerous types of food.About the author:
More information about Duodenal ulcer or about Gastric ulcer can be found on this website http://www.ulcer-center.com/