In-depth Study of Stomach Ulcer Disease

So many health diseases I hear about when growing up and some have different ranges that cause them. Some turn out to be curable and some turn out not to be curable. Some are popular in our society like headache, typhoid and many more while some are rarely found. One of the common diseases in society back then which I was inquisitive about is the Ulcer. A lot always comes to my mind when they say ulcer because I tend to wonder why a particular illness causes wounds in the stomach which leads to a lot of things like chronic stomach pain, lack of appetite, and being placed on a lot of restrictions like not eating pepper, garri.

One thing I have come to discover is most of the illness at times comes with their restrictions to doing things. If you notice that diabetes patients are always restricted from eating sugary stuff, taking starchy food and many things like that. Now back to what I was saying, some questions that come to my mind about ulcer is, what is an ulcer? How does it come about and what even causes it? Is it genetic or what causes those wounds doctors always claim ulcer patients suffer from many more. How do we recognise it and in fact how can it be treated? Is it curable or not? Can it be prevented or it happens by fate? These questions keep popping up not until I take a step to do my research about those questions that have lingered for so long which I will be sharing with us in today's publication.

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I will try to break this down as simply as possible for us to understand it, ulcers can be likened to painful boils that appear inside of your body, these boils often happen in the stomach or the small intestine. it is like an open wound and it is capable of causing pain that can at times feel extreme. Trust me, if you have ever witnessed ulcer patients experiencing the pain, you will agree with me the pain that comes with it is always extreme. Most times it is always likened to the pain some ladies experience during their menstrual Cycle. The popular question that has lingered in many of us minds is what causes ulcers. Does it happen to someone by nature, blood, gene or what triggers it among others? Ulcer doesn't appear in one's body, there is always something that causes or triggers it just like other illnesses.

For every disease or illness, there is a cause that can be traced to it as there is no infection that happens in one's body without a cause. The first cause of ulcers I would like to talk about is Bacteria. There is this germ referred to as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), these germs are responsible for causing ulcers. what it does is that it causes harm to the protective layer in your stomach thereby resulting in your stomach acid hurting your inside, this is what we refer to as an ulcer. This is the Starting point that kickstarts the journey or ulcer in some people's body system. When this bacteria is in full action, a high amount of stomach acid in one's system could trigger it to be massive. And that is why every ulcer patient is told to avoid acid.

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The second cause I would like to talk about is Smoking. If you are a smoker, you have a high chance of being a victim of an ulcer in the long run because when one smokes the risk of having a stomach ulcer becomes high due to the stomach wall being damaged and the process of healing up is also hindered. I will need to say that taking certain painkillers otherwise known as Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) can cause stomach irritation and ultimately lead to ulcers. examples of these drugs are aspirin, ibuprofen and a list of others. That is why you must understand that not all painkillers should be taken. Some cause adverse effects on your body systems.

Now that we have been able to establish some factors that can cause ulcers. Let me move to the symptoms or probably how you can know you have an ulcer. Some symptoms follow when you have an ulcer and these symptoms give you a great idea to deal with it at the early stage before it grows to something big that might not be able to be handled again. The first symptom you will quite notice when you are suffering from an ulcer is Indigestion issues. One thing about ulcers is they can cause difficulty in digesting your food, you could feel full or bloated which could also lead to the inability to pass stool. And due to the indigestion, you could feel most times the feeling of wanting to throw up.

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The second symptom is pain. Well Of course, what do you expect from ulcers? Ulcers are very painful, sometimes it is a burning pain just like I said earlier, and at times a gnawing pain in your stomach especially when you are not eating. The pain can be chronic and can be compared to even the pains of menstrual cramps. One other symptom for you to watch out for is Dark Stool. If the ulcer is bleeding then the stool will be dark and sometimes sticky.

Before I conclude, I would like to talk about the treatment of ulcers. It would be unfair if I talked about the causes and the Symptoms of an ulcer and did not mention some of the possible measures you can put in place to treat it. I am quite sure the big question that lingers in people's minds is whether an ulcer is curable or incurable. Well, you will find out in the last section of this post. Of course, the first measure to resort to is Medicine. Most times the treatment given to ulcer patients is drugs that help lower the amount of acid in the stomach which in turn helps it to heal. If the reason for your ulcer is the bacteria we earlier mentioned then antibiotics will be administered to you.

I should have mentioned this in the causes of ulcers but I don't know how it skips my mind. Do you know that certain eating habits cause ulcers? Yes, that is just the truth about it. One of the treatment measures is correcting certain eating habits. certain foods can cause ulcers wores such as spicy foods, coffee and alcohol, these foods should be avoided. And not even limited to eating habits but there are some habits you will need to quit as a means of treating ulcers. Yes, you need to change habits.

You need to understand that to treat ulcers you will need to quit certain habits that are harmful and can make the ulcer worse such as smoking, and avoiding and reducing stress. In worse cases, the ulcer patient may need to undergo surgery in the cause of the surgery causing other serious problems. But this will be the last option I will recommend to anyone suffering from an ulcer. As I conclude, ulcers can be prevented and like they say "prevention is better than cure".

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I mentioned earlier that some bacteria cause ulcers. The way to get rid of the bacteria causing this is to always maintain a clean environment and good hygiene. Not only that but also be careful in the use of pain killers. If you have to take painkillers, then you must be careful how much of it you take and how frequently you take them. Always ensure that you are well rested and not accumulating built-up stress. Ulcers can be very painful, so why should you try to treat ulcers when you can prevent them, if you already have an ulcer then you must ensure that it is well treated and managed. It is important to see medical personnel when necessary.

REFERENCES SOURCES

• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312045

• https://www.primescholars.com/articles/a-brief-study-on-peptic-ulcer-disease-110017.html.

• https://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-an-ulcer-causes-symptoms-and-helicobacter-pylori.html

• https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10350-peptic-ulcer-disease.

• https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/understanding-ulcers-basic-information.......

• https://academic.oup.com/aje/article/163/11/1025/168416

• https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/stomach-ulcer-remedies