Stomach ulcers are sores present inside the stomach lining. It is also known as gastric ulcers. Hence, you will feel great pain in the stomach. It occurs if the mucus in your stomach lessens. This mucus is a thick layer that protects your stomach from digestive juices. The goal of these juices is to break down carbs, fats, and proteins. However, if it becomes thin, it will also eat the tissues at the stomach. The result is an ulcer. Ulcer refers to an open sore in or out of the body due to the thin mucus.
Signs
1. Pain Between the Chest and Belly Button
This sign is the common effect of ulcers. Ulcer pain results from the bleeding sores due to the acid. Also, the pain is worse if you haven’t eaten anything for a while or if it’s empty. This pain lasts for a few minutes to hours. You may wake up at night because of the pain.
2. Lack of Appetite and Weight Loss
The ulcer pain you have may keep you from eating or drinking anything. As a result, you are likely to lose weight.
3. Nausea or Vomiting
Nausea often occurs early in the morning. Likewise, a severe sign includes vomiting. You may notice that the vomit is bright red, brown, or black. Also, it is due to the blood from a damaged artery. It may be as dark as coffee grounds.
4. Bloating
Your belly appears swollen due to the gas buildup. Also, having sores in the stomach tissue leads to bloating.
5. Often Feeling Full
As the damaged tissue blocks your food passageways, it will make you feel that you are full. Therefore, you’ll lose appetite even when you didn’t eat anything.
6. Burping or Acid Reflux
Burping itself is natural. It is the body’s way of removing extra air. However, too much burping often is a sign of a stomach ulcer. If the stomach acid reaches the esophagus, acid reflux will occur. Also, this flow back will cause heartburn.
7. More Pain After Eating or Drinking
You may think that the solution to the pain is to eat something. However, doing so causes more pain, then you may have a stomach ulcer.
8. Anemia
Moreover, one can suffer from a large amount of blood from an ulcer. You may also experience fatigue and dizziness. Likewise, your skin might appear pale due to low red blood cells.
9. Dark and Tarry Stools
Try to look at your stool. If it is dark or black, you may have an ulcer. This coloring is due to the blood from the sores. As a result, the poop becomes dark in color.
Causes
10. Infection
The main cause of ulcers in the stomach is the bacterium H. pylori. This germ causes infection. It often happens during childhood. This bacterium affects more than half of the people in the world. You may not know that you have one because it may not show signs. However, some people do not get sick of it. You’ll likely know that you have one if your body shows signs and symptoms.
You are at high risk of having H. pylori if you:
- Live in a crowded area.
- If you do not have a clean supply of water.
- Do not have proper sanitary living conditions.
- Live with someone who has this infection.
The common test for ulcers is a blood test. By doing so, doctors will know if you have such bacteria in the body.
11. Long-term Use of Certain Drugs
Another cause of ulcer comes from too much drug use. Therefore, using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for a long time will cause stomach sores. Examples of these drugs are aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen.
12. Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome
In this condition, the acid from the body gives increases. Alsop, in rare cases, this syndrome causes ulcers in the stomach and intestine.
Eating spicy food is not a cause of the ulcer. But it can increase stomach acid, making it worse. Relieve the symptoms by eating:
- Food with probiotics like yogurt
- Ginger
- Fruits that are rich in color (e.g., apples, cherries, lemons, and oranges)
- Plantain bananas
- Honey
- Turmeric
- Garlic
- Aloe vera
Do not shove off a pain, even if it’s from the stomach. It is normal to feel hungry. But if you have the signs above, do not hesitate to go and see a doctor.
