What Treatments Can Relieve Ulcer Pain
While over-the-counter medications can treat an upset stomach, they are generally not effective in treating ulcers. And taking over-the-counter painkillers could worsen the problem. That is why its better to see a doctor, who may combine several medications and therapies to relieve pain, cure the infection, and prevent it from worsening. Medications usually include:
Your doctor may also recommend making lifestyle modifications, including:
- Avoiding spicy and oily food
Stomach Ulcer Diagnosis And Conventional Treatment
If you suspect you have a stomach ulcer, see your doctor to first rule out other causes of your pain. In order to diagnose a stomach ulcer, your doctor may perform an endoscopy, which allows the doctor to view the inside lining of the esophagus, stomach and small intestine. Once a diagnosis is verified, treatment options can begin.
Your doctor will likely take your medical history and perform a physical exam along with a blood test, plus ask you about your past use of medications and possibly do an X-ray to locate a stomach ulcer. Testing the blood for H. pylori, plus doing a urea breath test and/or stool test to look for the presence of H. pylori antigens, are common ways to diagnose an ulcer.
The goal of stomach ulcer treatments is to help reduce pain and inflammation in the digestive tract, boost the immune system to fight H. pylori bacteria, prevent complications, and lower the chance for future ulcers from forming or returning.
Today, conventional treatment options for stomach ulcers include:
Natural Remedies For Peptic Ulcer
by Poliana V. Vale, M.D. and Elizabeth Jane Hall | Updated Feb 1, 2022 | Digestive Health
One out of ten people in the United States will develop peptic ulcer disease sometime during their lifetime. Will you have peptic ulcer disease? How can you prevent it? What natural remedies help PUD?
In the digestive system, an ulcer is an area where tissue has been destroyed by stomach acid, pepsin, or an infectious agent. This creates a sore, an open and painful wound in the mucosa. If not treated promptly, this damage can penetrate further into the muscular layer of the stomach or duodenum, producing bleeding, pain, and even perforation!
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When To See A Doctor
People of any age or gender can get stomach ulcers. It must be treated immediately. If left untreated, stomach ulcers may result in bleeding or even a hole in the stomach or bowel.
Conventional ulcer treatment typically relies on medications that can cause side effects, such as headaches and diarrhea. However, in some cases, you just cannot avoid conventional medications. Make sure to discuss with your doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment plan.
Consult your doctor if the symptoms persist or become severe.If you experience symptoms like dizziness, fatigue, weakness, severe back pain, blood in vomit, and bloody or black stools, seek immediate medical attention.
Fortunately, there are several easy-to-follow natural remedies for the treatment of mild cases of stomach ulcers. These remedies usually focus on strengthening and protecting the stomach lining against acids. You may also consult your doctor before using these home remedies to ensure long-term relief.
Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Stomach Ulcers
If and when you experience any of the symptoms described above, consult a physician immediately for proper diagnosis.Depending on the severity of your condition, you can choose the treatment you wish to follow in order to rectify the situation.If left undiagnosed and untreated, gastric ulcers can lead to the following complications:
- Internal bleeding
- Perforation or splitting open of the stomach lining, i.e., a hole or tear in the stomach wall
- Stomach cancer
- Swelling or scarring that leads to intestinal blockage
You can get any of the following tests done for proper diagnosis of stomach ulcers: urea breath test, stool test, blood test, and gastroscopy or endoscopy.In case the damage to your stomach is not severe and does not require immediate surgical intervention or antibiotic treatment, given below are 10 home remedies that can help you get rid of stomach ulcers and repair your stomach lining.
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Plantain Can Help Prevent Ulcers
This large, green, banana-like fruit is starchy and sticky in texture. It helps to soothe inflamed and irritated mucous membranes and has some antibacterial properties to boot. Studies on rats with ulcers caused by daily aspirin use have shown that unripe green plantain can both prevent the formation of ulcers and help to heal them. Plantain works its magic best when its unripe.
Recommended dose: Until human studies determine the amount that might help, use the fruit as they do in Latin America, where green plantain is eaten boiled like a potato. Avoid fried plantain, as the fat can aggravate ulcers.
Here are the 50 best foods for your heart.
Is There A Peptic Ulcer Diet Plan
No particular diet is helpful for people with peptic ulcers. At one time, a bland diet and avoidance of spicy or greasy foods was recommended. Milk and dairy food have been used in the past for ulcer symptoms, but have not been proven to be effective. We now know diet has little effect on ulcers. In some people, however, certain foods seem to aggravate stomach ulcer symptoms. Keep a food diary with your intake and the resulting symptoms and avoid eating any foods that aggravate symptoms.
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What Is Stomach Ulcer
An ulcer is localized inflammatory sore that affects an internal mucous membrane like the stomach linings. Ulcers can occur in different parts of the body. Stomach ulcer, also known as gastric ulcer, is a type of peptic ulcer that basically affects the stomach.
As with other forms of ulcer, stomach ulcers happen when there is a reduction of the protective mucous lining of the stomach. This reduction is caused by several factors, such as an excess production of stomach acids.
Avoid Stress And Panic:
Stress and anxiety will put the pressure in your stomach, leading to ulcers. Although meditation will not make the stomach ulcer disappear, it is said that stress and anxiety are contributing factors of ulcers. Therefore, as the way on how to treat a stomach ulcer, you should take care of your mental health. It is recommended that regular exercise will help you reduce stress and restore your energy. Therefore, 30-minutes of right exercise will keep the ulcers on bay. Smoking is also the cause of stress. If you want to get rid of stress as well as stomach ulcer, it is needed to avoid bad habit including smoking.
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How Long Does Stomach Ulcer Take To Heal
Stomachulcer as the name suggests is an open sore with inflammation that formson the inside lining of the stomach. If left untreated it may turn to becomeserious, leading to dangerous complications. So its usually necessary to take prompttreatment to deal with! The good news, it is treatable and even often curable. Thebiggest question, how long does it take to heal?
Are You Suffering A Drug Side Effect
Besides these underlying conditions, please beware that certain prescription and over-the-counter medications can also cause heartburn. Common culprits include anxiety medications and antidepressants, , blood pressure medications, nitroglycerin, osteoporosis drugs, and pain relievers.
If your heartburn is caused by a medication youre taking, the answer is, of course, to address what, when, and how youre taking that drug. Please do not make the mistake of simply adding yet another drug to counteract this side effect. WebMD4offers a number of helpful tips for how to address drug-induced heartburn, such as:
- Avoid taking more than the recommended or prescribed dose
- Some medications are best taken on an empty stomach, while others are less likely to cause side effects like heartburn when taken with a meal. Check the label for instructions, or ask your doctor or pharmacist for advice on when and how to take your medication
- Ask your doctor or pharmacist to review ALL the medications and supplements youre taking to see if one or more of them cause heartburn.
- Changing the dose or switching to another medication may be advisable to ease your heartburn. Some drugs may be available in cream form rather than a pill, which would be far less likely to cause heartburn
- Avoid laying down right after taking your medication
- Drink some ginger tea
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Soothe The Stomach With Bananas
Bananas can help heal a stomach ulcer by promoting cellular proliferation in the stomach. In addition to this, there are certain antibacterial compounds in bananas that inhibit the growth of ulcer-causing H. pylori. Bananas also help reduce inflammation and strengthen the stomach lining.
A 1986 study published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology suggests that banana powder treatment not only strengthens mucosal resistance against ulcerogens but also promotes healing by inducing cellular proliferation.
A 2001 study published in the Indian Journal of Experimental Biology suggests that the antioxidant activity of bananas may be involved in its ulcer-protective activity.
In a 2013 study published in Pharmacognosy Research, researchers suggest that the anti-ulcer effect of banana may be due to its antisecretory and cytoprotective activity. The healing of the ulcer base might be connected to the basic fibroblast growth factors responsible for epithelial regeneration in the case of acid-induced ulcers.
Both ripe and unripe bananas are very effective in treating a stomach ulcer.
- Simply eat at least 3 ripe bananas a day.
- Alternatively, peel 2 or 3 bananas and cut them into thin slices. Put the banana slices in the sun until they dry. Now, grind the dry pieces into a fine powder. Mix together 2 tablespoons of this powder and 1 tablespoon of honey. Take this mixture 3 times a day for 1 week.
To Medicate Or Not To Medicate
It is your choice whether or not to take prescription medication to heal your ulcer. When I initially got my ulcer, I was determined to heal it naturally. It was a very difficult and uncomfortable process because I was in a lot of pain, especially between meals.
However a few weeks in, and just when things started looking up for me, I got the flu and my ulcer burst. It was a NIGHTMARE. I had to start the process all over again. I decided to take PPIs . This reduced the amount of stomach acid I produced and helped me feel more comfortable between meals.
What PPIs do is essentially inhibit the amount of stomach acid produced. This is helpful because stomach acid can irritate a gastric ulcer.
I dont give credit to the PPIs for healing my stomach. It can reduce the symptoms, but only a diet and lifestyle change can really do the healing part.
If you get tested for the H.Pylori bacteria and you test positive, your doctor may want to prescribe you antibiotics. Again I believe this is a personal choice. Just as with the PPIs I think a diet and lifestyle change is paramount if you really want to see lasting results.
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Exercise May Help Ulcers
A study of more than 11,000 men and women showed that active men had one-half to one-third the risk of developing a duodenal ulcer over a 20- year period when compared to their sedentary counterparts. Men who walked or ran at least 10 miles a week were 62 percent less likely to develop an ulcer than physically inactive study participants.15 Of course, moderate exercise is the best type. Intense activity tends to draw too much blood away from the lining of the stomach and the intestines, thereby rendering the mucosa more susceptible to ulcer formation.
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Bananas – The sitoindosides in dried, unripe bananas increase mucus in the digestive tract, which provides a strong protective coating to help prevent and heal ulcers. Unripe bananas also promote cell growth in the intestinal tract. Bananas contain water-soluble polysaccharides, the same compounds found in the anti-ulcer prescription drug Carafate.
For ulcer treatment, unripe whole bananas will have some effect, but the best results are obtained with banana powder. To make banana powder, peel the bananas and cut them into thin slices. Put them in the sun, an oven, or a food dehydrator, and dry them slowly. When dry, grind them into a fine powder. Mix 2 tablespoons of the powder with 1 tablespoon of honey. Take this mixture three times a day: mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and at bedtime.
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What Is A Peptic Ulcer
A peptic ulcer is a sore or hole that forms in the lining of the stomach or intestine.
The word “peptic” refers to the digestive tract. An ulcer in the lining of the stomach is a gastric ulcer. An ulcer in the first part of the small intestine is a duodenal ulcer.
The lining of the stomach is a layer of special cells and mucous. Mucous prevents the stomach and duodenum from being damaged by acid and digestive enzymes.
If there is a break in the lining , the tissue under the lining can be damaged by the enzymes and corrosive acid. If the ulcer is small, there may be few symptoms. The wound can heal on its own.
If the ulcer is deep, it can cause serious pain or bleeding. Rarely, acids in the digestive juices may eat completely through the stomach or duodenum wall.
Peptic ulcers are very common. They become more common as people age.
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is believed to cause most peptic ulcers. This bacteria causes inflammation in the stomach lining. This probably makes the lining vulnerable. But only a minority of people infected with H. pylori develop ulcers.
Another common cause of ulcers is the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs . Examples of NSAIDs include aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen .
NSAIDs block the formation of some prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are chemicals that normally help protect against ulcers. With less prostaglandins, ulcers are more likely to form.
- Family history
- Smoking
- Excessive alcohol use
Your First Line Of Treatment Unprocessed Foods And Probiotics
Ultimately, the answer to heartburn and acid indigestion is to restore your natural gastric balance and function. Eating large amounts of processed foods and sugars is a surefire way to exacerbate acid reflux as it will upset the bacterial balance in your stomach and intestine. Instead, youll want to eat a lot of vegetables and other high-quality, ideally organic, unprocessed foods. Also, eliminate food triggers from your diet. Common culprits here include caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine products.
Next, you need to make sure youre getting enough beneficial bacteria from your diet. This will help balance your bowel flora, which can help eliminate H. pylori bacteria naturally without resorting to antibiotics. It will also aid in proper digestion and assimilation of your food. Ideally, youll want to get your probiotics from fermented foods. If you arent eating fermented foods, you most likely need to supplement with a probiotic on a regular basis. Ideally, youll want to include a variety of cultured foods and beverages in your diet, as each food will inoculate your gut with a variety of different microorganisms. you can easily make at home include:
- Fermented vegetables
- Cultured dairy, such as yoghurt, kefir, and sour cream
- Fish, such as mackerel and Swedish gravlax
- Addressing Low Acid Production
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How To Get Rid Of Stomach Ulcers
Have you been frequently experiencing sharp pain in your abdominal region? Do you often feel bloated or full despite eating little? Then chances are that you may have a stomach ulcer.Stomach or gastric ulcers are open sores or lesions that develop in the lining of the stomach or small intestine, when the protective mucus lining of the stomach becomes ineffective or is worn away due to the corrosive action of stomach acids.
These ulcers can also occur in the upper part of the intestines and represent a commonly occurring health problem, courtesy of 21st century fast-food and hectic life schedules.It is easy to get rid of stomach ulcers at home, but if they stay undiagnosed and untreated, they can lead to severe problems like stomach or gastro-intestinal cancer.
Fruits Vegetables Whole Grains And Other Foods High In Fibre Can Prevent Ulcers
Add another star to fibres crown. Besides keeping you regular, fibre has a role in keeping ulcers at bay, especially those in the duodenum. A number of studies have found that people who eat high-fibre diets have a lower risk of developing ulcers. In the Physicians Health Study from Harvard, researchers looked at the diets of 47,806 men and found that those who ate 11 grams or more of fibre from vegetables had a 32 per cent lower risk of developing duodenal ulcers.
Scientists arent sure how fibre helps, but it may be thanks to the fact that it slows the emptying of the stomach and thus reduces the amount of time the stomach lining and duodenum are exposed to digestive acids. Soluble fibre, the kind found in oats, beans, barley, peas, and pears, also forms a slippery goo in the stomach that acts as a barrier between the stomach lining and corrosive stomach acids.
Recommended dose: General health guidelines suggest getting 25 to 35 grams of fibre a day.
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What Kind Of Doctor Treats Peptic Ulcers
- If you suspect you may have a peptic ulcer, you may first be diagnosed by your family practitioner or internist.
- Children or teenagers may see a pediatrician.
- For further treatment you will likely be referred to a gastroenterologist, a specialist in disorders of the digestive tract.
- If you have an emergency such as vomiting or severe abdominal pain you will be seen by an emergency medicine specialist in an emergency room.
- In the rare case where surgery is needed, you may see a general surgeon.