Increasingly more people suffer from digestive disorder nowadays. Statistics indicate that ulcer is the predominant condition among people with digestive problems. Ulcer develops due to inflammation and corrosion in the lining of the gastrointestinal tract. Ulcers that occur at the level of the duodenum are referred to as duodenal ulcers, while ulcers that occur at the level of the stomach are called stomach or gastric ulcers. Duodenal ulcer is considered to be of a benign form, while gastric ulcer is considered to be very dangerous. People who suffer from stomach or gastric ulcer may develop more severe forms of the disorder such as perforate or bleeding ulcer. Perforate ulcer refers to breaches within the protective walls of the stomach or internal organs. Bleeding ulcer involves either slow or abundant bleeding of the lesions caused by the disorder.
Ulcer occurs due to the contamination with a certain bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. The bacteria alone can’t produce ulcer, as research findings also indicate its presence in the organism of people who don’t develop ulcer. However, the excessive secretion of gastric acid may cause the deterioration of the mucosal membrane covering the stomach, thus enabling infection with Helicobacter pylori. Duodenal ulcers and gastric, stomach ulcers that involve excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid and pepsin are called peptic ulcers.
Duodenal ulcer occurs to both sexes and regardless of age. However, statistics indicate that male persons are more likely to develop forms of duodenal ulcer than women. In order to prevent the development of either gastric or duodenal ulcer, it is important to control alcohol and caffeine intake. Smoking also contributes to acquiring and the development of duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer, slowing the natural process of healing.
If a person is already diagnosed with a form of ulcer, keeping an appropriate ulcer diet can ameliorate the symptoms of the disorder and also improve the efficiency of the prescribed treatment. An ulcer diet should completely exclude beverages that are known to increase gastric acidity – coffee, tea, (certain teas increase the PH values inside the stomach) milk, (although many people tend to think that milk is benefic for ulcer, in many cases it also increases acidity) alcohol, cola. The foods contained by a good ulcer diet should also be picked according to their level of acidity. It is important to avoid some anti-inflammatory medicines during an ulcer treatment (aspirin, ibuprofen) as they are known to augment the symptoms of the disorder.
Duodenal ulcers are considered to be the most easy to treat among other gastrointestinal disorders. The symptoms of duodenal ulcer ameliorate after only a few days of treatment. However, even after the improvement of the disorder, specific treatment needs to be administered until the complete remission of ulcer. Gastric ulcer is more problematic, as it tends to recidivate after certain periods of time. Gastric ulcer has a pronounced chronic character and it is more difficult to overcome the disorder. Regardless of the form of the ulcer, it is vital to diagnose the disorder quickly, in order to prevent further complications.