What Are Stomach Ulcers
Duodenal ulcer, also regarded as gastric ulcer or stomach ulcer, is an ulcerative lesion on the lining of stomach or duodenum . There are painful sores that surface on the stomachs lining. They can have a bad impact on your stomach and the small intestine as well. This problem occurs due to the imbalance of digestive juices. These lesions occur when the lining of the stomach, duodenum, and underlying tissue are exposed. Gastric ulcers occur more than four times in the duodenum.
Stomach ulcers or duodenal ulcers are very common in people of all ages, but the quantity of adult patients outnumbers that of children. Based on different locations of various inflammations and ulcers, there are many kinds of ulcer, such as:
- Stomach
- Meckels diverticulum .
Individuals who are suffering from stomach ulcers may feel aching hunger pangs between their navel and breastbone, and sometimes it may extend towards their back.
What Are Symptoms Of A Stomach Ulcer Pain?
As mentioned above, gastric ulcers occur when the tunica mucosa ventriculi in the stomach get damaged. The lining of the stomach is covered with a layer of mucus to protect it against the acid secreted in the organ during the food digesting process. However, this layer can be damaged due to bacterial infection or some other reasons which lead to excessive acid production. Therefore, the holes may develop in the stomach lining and there are also other symptoms associated with this condition.
Cure : Foods For Stomach Ulcers
Foods for Ulcer, Weird isnt it? Yes, foods could actually prevent/cure Stomach Ulcer. One could say the primary culprit in the case of stomach ulcers could be narrowed down to food and food habits. Eating certain foods such as foods that contain nitrates could fuel your infection. However, eating certain foods could also help you prevent and even cure your stomach ulcer.
Home Remedies For Peptic Ulcer Pain
Peptic ulcers are small sores or holes in the stomach. Peptic ulcers can be caused by the use of painkillers like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pills and aspirin. They usually treated with medications to neutralize stomach acid or antibiotics for an infection. There are also home remedies you can use to help remove the symptoms of a peptic ulcer as well as help it heal. In this article,AllRemedies.com reveals to you top 24 home remedies for peptic ulcer pain. This writing listed the best treatments to remove the peptic ulcer pain from reliable sources. Nevertheless, it is only for the informational purpose and it is not aimed to give medical advice. Continue reading this writing to discover these 24 at home peptic ulcer remedies in more details!
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What If A Peptic Ulcer Doesn’t Heal
Most often, medicines heal a peptic ulcer. If an H. pylori infection caused your peptic ulcer, you should finish all of your antibiotics and take any other medicines your doctor prescribes. The infection and peptic ulcer will heal only if you take all medicines as your doctor prescribes.
When you have finished your medicines, your doctor may do another breath or stool test in 4 weeks or more to be sure the H. pylori infection is gone. Sometimes, H. pylori bacteria are still present, even after you have taken all the medicines correctly. If the infection is still present, your peptic ulcer could return or, rarely, stomach cancer could develop. Your doctor will prescribe different antibiotics to get rid of the infection and cure your peptic ulcer.
Causes Of Stomach Ulcer
Stomach ulcers occur when the lining of the stomach or upper intestine gets irritated by the harmful effects of stomach acid. This can be due to a number of reasons, such as:
- An infection caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori
- Excessive use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
- Drinking too much alcohol
- Radiation therapy
- Burns
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What Causes Stomach Ulcers
Stomach ulcers occur when the layer protecting the stomach lining from stomach acid breaks down. This allows the stomach lining to become damaged.
This is usually caused by:
- an infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria
- taking non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as ibuprofen or aspirin particularly if they’re taken for a long time or at high doses
There’s little evidence that stress or certain foods causes stomach ulcers.
More about the causes of stomach ulcers
Foods To Help Treat Gastritis
Two foods that may help treat gastritis are broccoli and yogurt.
Broccoli contains a chemical called sulforaphane, which has antibacterial properties. It also contains antioxidants, which can help protect against cancer. For this reason, eating broccoli sprouts may help relieve or prevent gastritis and decrease the risk of stomach cancer.
Authors of an older study, published in 2009, found that participants with H. pylori infection who ate 70 grams more than half a cup of broccoli sprouts per day for 8 weeks had lower levels of infection and inflammation than those who did not eat broccoli.
In 2006, another team investigated whether eating about 2 cups of probiotic yogurt daily before using a combination of antibiotics could boost the ability of the medication to combat drug resistant H. pylori infection.
After 4 weeks, the researchers found that the participants who consumed the yogurt and antibiotics tended to eliminate the infection more effectively than those who only took antibiotics.
The results may have stemmed from the yogurts active cultures of beneficial bacteria that help improve the bodys ability to combat infection.
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Home Remedies For Peptic Ulcer Slippery Elm
Slippery elm is another effective home remedy for peptic ulcers. Especially, it helps calm and soothe inflammation and pain due to mucilage property in the inner bark of the slippery elm. Moreover, the mucilage also helps get rid of excess fats in the intestines. To see best results, you can use it as follows.
- Take the inner bark of the slippery elm and then grind it into a powder.
- Mix this powder in one cup of warm water.
You had better drink this mixture three times a day for one week.
What Are The Risks For People With Ulcers
Why do painkillers increase the risk of gastrointestinal problems? The same chemicals that amplify pain — which some pain medicines block — also help maintain the protective lining of the stomach and intestines. When a painkiller stops these chemicals from working, the digestive tract becomes more vulnerable to damage from gastric acids.
For people with ulcers, the risky pain relievers are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs. They include aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, and ketoprofen, the active ingredients in medicines such as Bufferin, Advil, and Aleve.
Other pain relievers may be less dangerous. Acetaminophen — the active ingredient in Tylenol — works differently and poses a much lower risk of GI problems. However, like any drug, it does have side effects of its own. You shouldn’t take any over-the-counter painkiller for more than 10 days without your health care provider’s approval.
The risks from NSAIDs are quite serious. Studies show that people who use NSAIDs are about three times as likely to have gastrointestinal bleeding. Even at low doses, NSAIDs can make mild ulcers much worse.
Aspirin has additional risks. “Aspirin can help prevent blood clotting, which is why it helps people at risk of heart attacks and strokes,” says Cryer. “But in people with ulcers, it can lead to more serious gastrointestinal bleeding.”
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Can You Prevent A Peptic Ulcer
While stress and spicy foods can make symptoms of a peptic ulcer worse, they donât seem to make you more likely to have one. But a few other things can raise your chances.
Be careful when you take pain relievers. Some people who have arthritis or other conditions that cause chronic pain take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for weeks or months at a time to ease pain and swelling. These medicines can affect the mucus that protects your stomach against acid and make you more likely to have peptic ulcers.
These pain relievers include:
You’re more likely to get an ulcer while taking one of these if you:
- Are over age 65
- Are infected with H. pylori bacteria
- Take more than one NSAID at a time
- Have had a peptic ulcer in the past
- Also take a steroid drug or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
To lower your chances for peptic ulcers while you take NSAIDs:
- Use the lowest possible dose to control your symptoms, and stop taking them as soon as you no longer need them.
- Take your medicine with food.
- Don’t drink alcohol while youâre taking these medicines.
While you’re on NSAIDs, you can take medicine to lower the amount of acid your stomach makes. Drugs that can do that include:
- H2 blockers such as cimetidine , famotidine , and nizatidine
You can also take the drug misoprostol to boost the amount of protective mucus your stomach makes. But that can cause side effects like diarrhea and stomach cramps.
Causes And Risk Factors Of Peptic Ulcers
For a long time, it was believed that spicy foods or stress led to peptic ulcers but doctors now know that this isn’t the case.
In fact, the most common causes of ulcers are:
- Helicobacter pylori, a type of bacteria that can infect your stomach
- Use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , such as aspirin, Advil or Motrin , and Aleve , which can wear away at the mucus layer of the digestive tract
Certain factors can put a person at a greater risk of developing a peptic ulcer, including:
- Taking high doses of NSAIDs
- Using NSAIDs continuously over a long period of time
- Being female
- Having a history of ulcer disease
- Taking corticosteroids, medications that may be prescribed to treat asthma, arthritis, or lupus
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If Your Ulcer Was Caused By Helicobacter Pylori
Most stomach ulcers are caused by infection with H. pylori. Therefore, a main part of the treatment is to clear this infection. If this infection is not cleared, the ulcer is likely to return once you stop taking acid-suppressing medication. For more information, see the separate leaflet called Helicobacter Pylori.
Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Stomach Ulcers
If and when you experience any of the symptoms described above, consult a physician immediately for proper diagnosis.Depending on the severity of your condition, you can choose the treatment you wish to follow in order to rectify the situation.If left undiagnosed and untreated, gastric ulcers can lead to the following complications:
- Internal bleeding
- Perforation or splitting open of the stomach lining, i.e., a hole or tear in the stomach wall
- Stomach cancer
- Swelling or scarring that leads to intestinal blockage
You can get any of the following tests done for proper diagnosis of stomach ulcers: urea breath test, stool test, blood test, and gastroscopy or endoscopy.In case the damage to your stomach is not severe and does not require immediate surgical intervention or antibiotic treatment, given below are 10 home remedies that can help you get rid of stomach ulcers and repair your stomach lining.
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Home Remedies For Peptic Ulcer Raw Beetroots
Raw beetroots will help to flush out toxins and bacteria due to their powerful source of stomach cleansing anti-oxidants. For best results, you use fresh beetroot to make a juice or a salad.
12. Vitamin E Rich Foods
Foods rich in vitamin E are good for healing ulcers quickly. They include squash, pumpkin, fish, spinach, olive oil and tofu.
Treating Helicobacter Pylori Infection
If your stomach ulcer’s caused by a Helicobacter pylori bacterial infection, you’ll be given:
- a course of antibiotics
- a medication called a proton pump inhibitor
This is also recommended if it’s thought your stomach ulcer’s caused by a combination of an H. pylori infection and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs .
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Cautions About Natural Remedies For Ulcers
If a person does go on the herbal route, we would stress the need for re-evaluation following treatment. If the infection still persists after botanical agents have been wisely applied in conjunction with any other needed lifestyle measures, judicious use of antibiotics may prove helpful. Indeed, in certain cases the risk factors for stomach cancer may make antibiotics a necessity.
Note that probiotic supplementation such as that in lactobacillus- and bifidobacterium-containing yogurt can improve the antibiotic eradication rates of H. pylori in humans and/or decrease their adverse side effects. Probiotics also decrease mucosal inflammation, thus accelerating healing of the gastric mucosal barrier.3,4
Let Us Tell You Helpful Home Remedies For Stomach Ulcers
A stomach ulcer is also known as a gastric ulcer. This is due to wounding in the stomach lining. It can also occur in the upper part of the intestine.
Stomach ulcers occur when the stomach lining or upper part of the intestine begins to deteriorate due to the harmful effects of stomach acid. This is due to several factors such as infection with the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, overuse of anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs, alcohol addiction or excessive drinking, radiation therapy, burns, and physical injury. The most common symptom of a stomach ulcer is a burning sensation or pain around the chest and belly button. This pain may occur for a few minutes or for several hours. This condition depends on the severity of the ulcer. Other symptoms like loss of appetite, flatulence, heartburn, indigestion, belching, nausea, vomiting, and weight loss.
A person of any age can have a stomach ulcer and women have this problem much more quickly than men. This problem should be treated as soon as possible, duodenal ulcers can be even more dangerous.
Know the home remedies for stomach ulcers in this article on My Health Only. But the good thing is that there are many natural remedies for the problem of ulcers, which you can use while sitting at home. Home remedies make stomach linings safe and strong against acids. Before using home remedies, talk to your doctor about their use.
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What Are The Complications Of Peptic Ulcers
Ulcers can cause serious problems if you dont get treatment.
The most common problems include:
- Bleeding. As an ulcer wears away the muscles of the stomach or duodenal wall, blood vessels may be hurt. This causes bleeding.
- Hole . Sometimes an ulcer makes a hole in the wall of your stomach or duodenum. When this happens, bacteria and partly digested food can get in. This causes infection and redness or swelling .
- Narrowing and blockage . Ulcers that are found where the duodenum joins the stomach can cause swelling and scarring. This can narrow or even block the opening to the duodenum. Food cant leave your stomach and go into your small intestine. This causes vomiting. You cant eat properly.
Home Remedies For Peptic Ulcer Bananas
Both unripe and ripe bananas are very effective home remedy for peptic ulcer. Bananas also help strengthen the stomach lining as well as reduce inflammation. To treat an ulcer, you should use it as follows.
- Eat about three ripe bananas per day. You can make banana milkshakes if you do not like eating them.
- Another option is to peel 2 or 3 bananas and then cut the bananas into thin slices. Afterwards, you put these slices in the sun till they become dry. Grind them into a fine powder. Mix together this powder and honey . Take the mixture three times daily for about a week.
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What Is Indigestion And What Is An Ulcer
A lesion or sore that develops on the lining of your stomach or in the first part of your small intestine is called an ulcer. Ulcers are usually caused by the bacterium H. pylori or by non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications, such as ibuprofen. A lesion can get aggravated by your stomach acid and causes pain and other symptoms.
Indigestion or dyspepsia, on the other hand, describes a chronic or recurring pain in your upper abdomen. Indigestion can be caused by many things, including stress, eating too much, taking certain medications, or having an underlying condition, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease or gallbladder disease.
What Is The Cause Of Peptic Ulcers
When you eat, your stomach produces hydrochloric acid and an enzyme called pepsin to digest the food.
- The food is partially digested in the stomach and then moves on to the duodenum to continue the process.
- Peptic ulcers occur when the acid and enzyme overcome the defense mechanisms of the gastrointestinal tract and erode the mucosal wall.
In the past it was thought that ulcers were caused by lifestyle factors such as eating habits, cigarettesmoking, and stress.
- Now it is understood that people with ulcers have an imbalance between acid and pepsin coupled with the digestive tract’s inability to protect itself from these harsh substances.
- Research done in the 1980s showed that some ulcers are caused by infection with a bacterium named Helicobacter pylori, usually called H pylori.
- Not everyone who gets an ulcer is infected with H pylori. Aspirin and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can cause ulcers if taken regularly.
Some types of medical therapy can contribute to ulcer formation. The following factors can weaken the protective mucosal barrier of the stomach increasing the chances of getting an ulcer and slow the healing of existing ulcers.
- Aspirin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs , and newer anti-inflammatory medications
- Alcohol
- Cigarettesmoking
- Radiation therapy:-used for diseases such as cancer
People who take aspirin or other anti-inflammatory medications are at an increased risk even if they do not have H pylori infection.
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