Heartburn Causes And Treatment

Bleeding Ulcers?

Can anyone please tell me more about the cause, diagnosis and treatment for bleeding ulcer…a friend recently found blood in their stool, some had a black appearance. He has GERDs, and often experiences heartburn, bloating and gas. He is concerned about the tests needed to diagnose an ulcer, do they usually only do a breath test?

There are three major causes of peptic ulcers: infection, certain types of medications, and other medical problems that cause the release of too much stomach juices.

The first sign of an ulcer is likely to be a patient’s complaint about one or more of the described symptoms. When a patient visits a doctor for diagnosis, a physical examination alone is not enough. A doctor will look for certain factors in the patient’s history that may suggest the presence of an ulcer. These factors include:
If the patient is male
Age over forty-five
Recent weight loss, bleeding, repeated episodes of vomiting, back pain, or anemia
History of using aspirin or other NSAIDs
History of heavy smoking
Family history of ulcers or stomach cancer.
Endoscopy is one of the best ways to diagnose an ulcer. An endoscope consists of a long, narrow tube that can be inserted down the patient’s throat. The tube contains a light and a tiny camera at one end. The doctor can actually look at the interior walls of the stomach and duodenum. If necessary, tiny scissors may also be attached to the endoscope. The scissors can be used to cut off a small sample of mucous membrane, which can be examined for the presence of stomach cancer. Imaging techniques can also be used to diagnose ulcers. These techniques are not as reliable as endoscopy but they are more comfortable for the patient. Imaging requires the patient to drink a fluid containing a substance that is opaque, or nontransparent, to X rays. An X-ray photograph is then taken of the patient’s digestive system. The opaque substance appears as a white patch on the photograph and shows any abnormal structures, such as an ulcer, that may be present. Blood tests are usually not very helpful in diagnosing ulcers. The most important laboratory tests to perform are those that detect the Helicobacter pylori bacterium. One such test is a breath test. A patient is given a drink containing a radioactive substance that the bacterium will react with if it is present. The patient is then asked to breathe into a mechanism that determines whether the patient’s breath is radioactive. If it is, that means the bacterium is present. This kind of test is important since the vast majority of people with ulcers are infected with Helicobacter pylori.

Many symptoms of ulcers can be treated with over-the-counter medications. These medications may relieve the pain, nausea, and general discomfort caused by ulcers. However, they do not cure the disorder. Two other types of medications are designed to reduce the symptoms of ulcers. Antisecretory drugs are drugs that reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach. Acid attacks mucous membranes and can produce ulcers, so by lowering the amount of stomach acid released, the risk of ulcer formation can be reduced. Protective drugs are also used to treat ulcers. A protective drug is a substance that forms a thin lining over mucous membranes, which protects the mucous membranes from attack by stomach acid. Surgery is generally not used to treat ulcers. However, some of the complications caused by ulcers may require surgery. For example, doctors may cut the vagus nerve to the stomach. The vagus nerve (pronounced VAY-guhss) controls the release of stomach acid. After the cut, less stomach acid will be released, thus reducing the risk of ulcer formation. One direct method for treating ulcers is to kill the bacteria that is responsible for most the vast majority of deaths caused by ulcers. Unless these bacteria are eliminated from the digestive system, ulcers will come back again and again. The drug used to kill Helicobacter pylori is the antibiotic tetracycline. Overall recovery from ulcers is good for most people. Nearly all ulcers respond to the medications now used to treat them. The rate of recurrence of ulcers can be cut to 5 percent through the elimination of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium.

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