A Closer Look At Gastric And Duodenal Ulcers

For long, doctors and the medical fraternity have been given to believe that gastric and duodenal ulcers occurred on account of factors such as poor diet and smoking cigarettes as well as by alcohol intake and even by extended bouts of stress. All that changed in the year 1992 when two doctors that were later to win the Nobel Prize found that gastric and duodenal ulcers were caused not by the above mentioned factors but by infections caused by bacteria that was able to survive in the acidic conditions prevalent in the stomach.

A Changed Landscape

This revolutionary discovery about the causes of gastric and duodenal ulcers has changed the very landscape of these two conditions and now diagnosis and treatments are vastly different as compared to the tried and trusted option of performing surgery in order to remove gastric and duodenal ulcers. At one time, patients suffering from gastric and duodenal ulcers even had to endure months and even years of having to take drugs meant to reduce acid in the stomach; today, however, the same treatment offers relief in just a week in which patients only need to take antibiotics.

The best part about modern treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers is that the chances of recurrence is only twenty percent whereas for conventional treatment methods there was between fifty and ninety-five percent chance of recurrence.

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Duodenal Ulcer Pain Varies From Dull To Sharp To Penetrating To Burning

People that suffer from duodenal ulcers will complain about a variety of discomforts among which duodenal ulcer pain is a very real one that in fact needs to be dealt with at the earliest. Of course, there are many individuals that are also asymptomatic while others have to deal with severe complications including hemorrhages of the gastro-intestinal tract. It is however possible to generalize the ill-effects of duodenal ulcer and among these are duodenal ulcer pain that can be sharp or dull or penetrating and even burning.

Hunger Pains

Accompanied by duodenal ulcer pain, patients can also suffer from hunger pains and it is believed that about twenty to forty percent of people complaining about duodenal ulcer pain will also experience bloating and belching and even certain symptoms related to gastroesophageal reflux.

Furthermore, duodenal ulcer pain is most often experienced about two to three hours following consumption of a meal and it can be severe enough to wake you up from deep sleep. The reason why the duodenal ulcer pain occurs two to three hours after eating is that it is at this time when acid is produced and if the production exceeds acceptable limits, it can cause damage to the duodenum and cause associated pain.

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Duodenal Ulcer Disease Is A Very Common Disease

Today, almost every doctor that you consult regarding stomach ulcers will first check you to see whether or not you have duodenal ulcers. And, these doctors will also first look for the bacteria H. pylori that have been established as being the real cause of such a form of ulcers. Duodenal ulcer disease is in fact primarily caused by Helicobacter pylori and the disease seems to affect people that are still in their youth. There is not much clarity about why stress can prove to be a factor in the onset of duodenal ulcer disease while alcohol as well as diet is not very major factors in causing duodenal ulcers.

H. Pylori Bacteria

Though H. pylori bacteria is the major reason why duodenal ulcer disease begins there is also the risk that certain medications that you may be taking can also cause such a disease. In particular, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are known to also cause the duodenal ulcer disease.  Another possible reason why people develop the duodenal ulcer disease is because of a condition known as Zollinger-Ellison syndrome that causes excessive production of acids which will then overpower the stomach’s protective layering and cause duodenal ulcers.

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Duodenal Ulcer Treatment Often Involves Taking Of Different Kinds Of Drugs

Duodenal ulcer often occurs whenever there is an ulcer that grows in the walls of the duodenum and which may progress and affect different components of your digestive system, and in certain cases, the condition can even become life threatening. The most common means of affecting duodenal ulcer treatment is to take a four to eight week course in which you will need to take drugs that help in reducing the amount of acid in your stomach. In this regard, taking the drug that is known as proton pump inhibitor (PPI) is a good option.

Other Drugs

In addition, you can affect proper duodenal ulcer treatment by taking another class of drugs that work on the cells in the lining of your stomach and so reduce the amount of acid produced there. These drugs include esomeprazole, and lansoprazole as too omeprazole and are sold under different brand names. Often, to affect proper duodenal ulcer treatment you may also need to use a different class of drugs known as H2 blockers that work differently on the cells in your stomach’s lining but which still help to reduce acid levels.

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Perforated Duodenal Ulcer Is A Life Threatening Condition

Perforated duodenal ulcer is fortunately a rather uncommon type of disease in children. However, in the case of adults this is a disease that is more prevalent. In the event that a person is diagnosed with perforated duodenal ulcer the normal ulcers treatment method to cure the condition is surgical operation. One such surgical method that is widely used to treat this condition, laparoscopic surgery gives rise to a lot of controversy.

Use Of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

Perforated duodenal ulcer can often be caused by taking of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and in the case of the elderly population the risks are even more pronounced. Furthermore, a vast majority of patients suffering from perforated duodenal ulcer are believed to have a prior history of smoking as well as alcohol abuse and they may also have suffered from extreme stress. Furthermore, these patients are more susceptible to infection from the duodenal ulcer causing bacteria H. pylori.

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