Ulcers

Gastric Ulcer Symptoms
By Wendy Simons

A gastric ulcer is an open sore or lesion in the mucous membrane area of the stomach. An ulcer will occur if the pepsin enzyme acid somehow manages to destroy the mucous membrane in the stomach which protects the stomach tissues underneath. There are some gastric ulcer symptoms that can help you to understand if you have a gastric ulcer.

You should first understand what causes a gastric ulcer to occur. By knowing these causes there is a strong possibility that you can prevent a gastric ulcer from happening to you. The main cause of gastric ulcers is the bacterium known as Helicobacter pylori. This is commonly called H. pylori.

These other causes can include the use of various drugs like aspirin, ibuprofen and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Chronic gastritis, smoking, getting older, being put on a ventilating machine, certain blood clotting problems are also gastric ulcer symptoms.

Contrary to earlier beliefs stress and one’s lifestyle does not cause gastric ulcers. Once you know that these conditions can cause gastric ulcers you have ways of avoiding gastric ulcers.

The symptoms of gastric ulcers are in many ways similar to other ulcers. However for your gastric ulcer condition to be diagnosed properly you should consult with your doctor for a medical evaluation. The findings of this evaluation and your reported possible gastric ulcer symptoms will enable the correct medication to be given to you.

Your gastric ulcer symptoms may include heartburn. This pain will be felt as a burning sensation that occurs behind your breastbone. This is the most common of the gastric ulcer symptoms. The other symptoms will be fatigue, unintentional weight loss, abdominal indigestion, nausea, blood in your stools, loose stools or even black, tarry stools.

In addition to these gastric ulcer symptoms you will also feel some abdominal pains that will wake you from a sound sleep, these pains can be relieved with the aid of milk or antacids. Generally you will find that these gastric ulcer symptoms increase 2 to 3 hours after your last meal in the night. This is because the excess stomach acid secretions are causing pain to your gastric ulcer due to the fact that your stomach is empty.

As you can see there are many reasons why you could develop gastric ulcers. For each of the causes the gastric ulcers symptoms can give you a prior indication of a gastric ulcer forming in your stomach. These symptoms will allow you to find out what are the treatments that are available for curing gastric ulcers and the possible side effects that may occur.

Author Details:
Wendy Simons, copywriter for various websites including, The A to Z of Home Ulcers, part of an ambitious project to cover various subjects.

Source: Information Junkie

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