Have you been feeling a stabbing pang of pain that gets sharper whenever you try to move on your abdominal area? Do you feel weak and nauseous particularly when you suddenly remembered that you have not eaten breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Have you been skipping meals a lot? Are you acidic? If your answer to all of these questions is yes, then you are in for a really big treat because you are about to find out more about your predicament. What you actually have is called ulcer. It is one of the most common medical conditions that many people experience today.

A lot of individuals believe that peptic ulcer can also be caused by stress, depression, anxiety, and the kind of diet that a person leads such as eating a lot of spicy foods. Contrary to popular belief, this is actually not true. This is actually a myth and it is important that this is clear to you before you move on to learning more about this rather painful and sometimes, disabling condition.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, you must be aware that ulcer can be treated and at the same time, it can also be prevented as long as you know how to avoid it the right way. This article can effectively help you on everything that you need to know about peptic ulcer. This will be your first step in preventing or treating it (if you already have one) properly. Read on to learn more!

The Definition

Ulcer or peptic ulcer is a kind of medical condition that is characterized as inflammation and sores on the stomach linings and layers. These linings protect and cover the small intestine and stomach. If this part has been disrupted, you will immediately feel pain and acid refluxes will occur.

The Causes

There are mainly three elements that can cause peptic ulcer. These are:

• Bacteria. Helicobacter pylori are a kind of bacteria that usually dwell and multiply along the linings that cover and protect the stomach and small intestine. More often than not, this bacterium is quite harmful. Too much of these microscopic things can cause the pain because it disrupts the said layer, causing inflammation. This leads to ulcer.
• Pain relievers. Pain relievers, most particularly when used regularly and/or too much, can irritate the stomach linings, causing it to swell and become painful. Make sure you drink moderately to avoid experiencing this dreadful condition.
• Some medications. There are certain drugs that can trigger ulcer. These meds usually treat osteoporosis so you might want to consult your doctor first about this before actually drinking these drugs.

Signs and Symptoms

Knowing whether or not you have peptic ulcer can be easy. All you need to do is to watch out for the following signs:

• Sharp pain on the abdominal area that comes and goes all throughout the day
• Eating certain beverages or food can temporarily relieve the pain
• Empty stomach can trigger the pain
• Pain that can be erratic
• Gets worse at night
• Gets worse during drinking

Make sure you quickly go to the doctor if you have the following symptoms:

• You vomit blood
• Dark stools that are often tinged with blood
• Feeling nauseous
• Sudden weight loss
• Loss of appetite

Risk Factors

The following factors are the things that can make you prone to peptic ulcer. These are as follows:

• Smoking
• Drinking alcohol
• Constant use of pain relievers
• Certain medications such as Actonel, Fosamax, etc.

Treatment

Several treatments can be done to cure ulcer. Since it is mainly caused by a bacterium called H. Pylori, it is a must that you take antibiotics so that the acid on your digestive system will effectively be reduced. This can also get rid of the pain. Once the bacteria have been removed, proper healing will finally take place. However, you must take in acid-reducing meds for two months so you can control the erratic increase of your acids, thus further encouraging healing in the process.

Alternative Remedies

There are several home remedies that you can do to help manage and treat your peptic ulcer. Aside from making sure you eat a healthy diet by eating a lot of vegetables, fresh fruits, and whole grain, you can try drinking two tablespoons of olive oil every morning, on an empty stomach.

Drinking a tablespoon of honey every before meals can also help manage and stabilize the acids on the linings of your stomach. This is also a great way to relieve the pain and to prevent it as well.

Prevention

Since the main reason why peptic ulcer develop is due to infections and other medications most particularly painkillers, it is highly advisable that you must be careful whenever you intake pain relievers and at the same time, always make it a point to do everything that you can to protect your body from different kinds of viral and bacterial infection.

Now this can be quite difficult unless you completely lock yourself inside a sterilized bubble, which is totally out of the question, however, you can do some things that can effectively minimize this problem. Always wash your hands at all times and as much as possible, eat foods that are well done. Drink clean and sterilized water and drink vitamin C regularly to boost your immune system.