When the lining of your stomach is harmed by digesting acids, stomach ulcers develop. Depending on the underlying cause, treatment options may include surgery, home cures, or antibiotics.
Gastric ulcers, another name for stomach ulcers, are painful, open sores that form in the lining of the stomach.
They happen when there is a decrease in the thick coating of mucus that shields your stomach from digestive fluids. This makes it possible for the stomach’s lining tissues to be eroded by the digestive acids, leading to ulceration.
Since stomach ulcers are a subtype of peptic ulcers, stomach acid is a contributing factor. The duodenal ulcer, which affects the small intestine, is the other kind of peptic ulcer.
Although they can be readily healed, stomach ulcers can worsen if left untreated.
Stomach ulcer symptoms
Stomach ulcers can cause a variety of symptoms, the intensity of which varies according to the ulcer’s severity.
A burning feeling or discomfort in the middle of your abdomen, between your chest and belly button, is the most typical symptom, according to the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom.
It usually lasts for a few minutes to many hours and is more severe when the stomach is empty. However, according to some research, pain could get worse once you start eating (Trusted Source).
Additional signs of stomach ulcers could be:
Indigestion with heartburn
pain in the abdomen
inadvertent weight loss
not wanting to eat due to discomfort, nausea, bloating, vomiting, and a dark, tarry stool that appears bloody or like coffee grounds
Can stomach ulcers be brought on by consuming specific foods?
According to the American College of Gastroenterology, there is no evidence to support the assertions that eating particular foods can result in stomach ulcers.
Certain foods don’t cause stomach ulcers, but they can aggravate their symptoms.
Find out more about stomach ulcers and food.
How do you treat stomach ulcers?
The source and severity of stomach ulcers will determine how they are treated. Surgery may be necessary in rare instances, but most ulcers can be managed with a prescription from a physician.
Treatment without surgery
A doctor will prescribe antibiotics and medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) if H. pylori is the cause of your stomach ulcer. PPIs inhibit the acid-producing stomach cells.
The NHS states that if consuming NSAIDs is the cause of your stomach ulcers, your doctor may only recommend PPIs.
Antacids may be able to alleviate symptoms, and H2 receptor blockers may occasionally be used in place of PPIs.
In order to determine whether the stomach ulcer has been adequately treated, you will probably require another endoscopy in 4–6 weeks.
Treatment without surgery
A doctor will prescribe antibiotics and medications known as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) if H. pylori is the cause of your stomach ulcer. PPIs inhibit the acid-producing stomach cells.
The NHS states that if consuming NSAIDs is the cause of your stomach ulcers, your doctor may only recommend PPIs.
Antacids may be able to alleviate symptoms, and H2 receptor blockers may occasionally be used in place of PPIs.
In order to determine whether the stomach ulcer has been adequately treated, you will probably require another endoscopy in 4–6 weeks.
Operative therapy
In extremely rare instances, complex Surgery will be necessary for Trusted Source stomach ulcers if they:
Keep coming back.
Avoid healing
prevent food from passing from the stomach into the small intestine by causing a hemorrhage or rip through the stomach.
Some possible surgical procedures include:
elimination of the ulcer in its entirety
To lessen the production of stomach acid, tissue from another area of the intestines is patched over the ulcer site, a bleeding artery is tied off, and the nerve supply to the stomach is cut off.
You may probably need to stay in the hospital for comprehensive treatment, including endoscopy and intravenous ulcer medication, if your ulcer is bleeding. Additionally, you might need a blood transfusion.