Stomach Ulcer Symptoms

What is Stomach Ulcer
Stomach ulcer is also known as Gastric ulcer. It is mainly caused by a bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori. Regular and prolonged use of anti-inflammatory medicines such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and the like are also known to cause stomach ulcers.

Understanding a Stomach Ulcer
Most of us have heard of the term peptic ulcer. Stomach acid is what causes a peptic ulcer. Peptic ulcers can occur in the lower esophagus, stomach, or the duodenum. The most common of all are duodenum ulcers, followed by stomach ulcers. H. pylori is one of the major causes of peptic ulcers. The damage begins when the H. pylori bacterium starts to weaken and break the protective lining of the stomach. The soft tissue below this lining gets exposed and the strong stomach acid comes directly in contact with it. This acid keeps irritating the soft tissue and this constant irritation in time causes a bad sore / an ulcer.

When you recognize the symptoms of a stomach ulcer as early as possible and consult your doctor, the spread of the ulcer can be arrested and cured fully within a very short span of time. Ignoring the symptoms could lead to the spreading of the ulcer, causing you a lot of pain and discomfort, plus the possibility of serious damage requiring constant medication.

What are the symptoms of Stomach Ulcer
The most common symptom for stomach ulcer is a constant discomfort in the stomach. You may feel a sudden pain in the stomach that may come and go for no apparent reason at all. This will carry on for a few days.

The pain will subside once you have eaten something.

2 to 3 hours after you have eaten, the pain will gradually start again.

There is no pain just after you have had your dinner, but the pain reoccurs in the middle of the night / towards morning.

The pain will subside immediately after taking an antacid.

Also be alert when you notice sudden loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting. It need not be due to stomach ulcer, but if any of the other symptoms accompany it, get medical attention immediately.

Advanced symptoms of Stomach Ulcer
There is a possibility that none of the above mentioned symptoms exist, but the ulcer is present and spreading in your stomach. In such cases symptoms will show only at an advanced level. When you notice any of these symptoms, please do not delay and contact your doctor immediately.

You experience a sudden, sharp, stinging pain in the stomach that will not go away.

You suddenly vomit fresh blood, or blood of a dark brown color.

Your stools contain blood, or is of a dark brown-black color for no apparent reason.

These symptoms need immediate attention since they could be serious. The likely cause of these symptoms could be major damage to the stomach lining and rupture of tissue. This too is totally curable provided medical help is sought immediately.

How is the ulcer cured
If H. pylori is found to be the cause of the ulcer, you will be given drugs that will kill the bacteria, and at the same time will coat the ulcer and reduce the stomach acid to a minimum so that the ulcer can be cured. Most of these drugs will be antibiotics and the dosage would depend on the severity of the infection. If it is just the beginning of an ulcer the medication and dosage will be minimal, but if the ulcers have spread, the prescribed drugs will increase, causing unpleasant side effects. These side effects happen due to the antibiotics and can include a bad taste in the mouth leading to a loss of taste and appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, and headache. Treatment usually carries for 2 to 3 weeks. In most of the cases the patient will feel much better after this and will be cured fully within a couple of months with the right medication.

Whenever you notice any symptoms that may point towards a stomach ulcer, do not try to take medication on your own. Not even antacids. This may just worsen your condition. You must contact your doctor immediately and only take the prescribed drugs. This will ensure a fast and total recovery.

When you recognize any symptom, you must totally avoid alcohol, smoking, taking any sort of aspirin, and eating spicy food till you seek medical help and are totally cured. All of these will just aggravate and speed up the ulcer forming process.

A common misconception
Many a times you might be told that the cause of your stomach ulcer is due to eating spicy food. This should be ignored, since the statement is totally false. Spicy food can't cause stomach ulcers. What it might do is aggravate an already existing stomach ulcer. When you know that you have a stomach ulcer, avoid spicy food till it is totally cured.