Thursday, March 28, 2024

What Medicine To Take For Ulcer

Must read

Risk Factors For Peptic Ulcers

Stomach Ulcer (Peptic Acid Disease) Medication â Pharmacology | Lecturio

Not everyone who regularly takes NSAIDs will also need to take medication to protect their stomach. This will mainly depend on your personal risk of developing a peptic ulcer. Peptic ulcers are more likely to develop in people who

  • are over the age of 65,
  • have had a peptic ulcer in the past,
  • take several different painkillers at once for instance, including acetylsalicylic acid for the prevention of complications following a heart attack or stroke,
  • take steroids too,
  • take a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor antidepressant as well as a painkiller.

Younger people who dont have any risk factors arent likely to get peptic ulcers. So they hardly benefit from taking medication to prevent peptic ulcers.

When Should I Go To Er

Seek emergency care if you have:

  • Severe pain that doesnt go away.
  • Signs of blood in your poop or bloody vomit.
  • Signs of severe blood loss, such as paleness and faintness.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Stomach ulcers are common and treatable, but they should be taken seriously. Even when they dont cause symptoms, they arent a good sign. A stomach ulcer means that your natural stomach acid is overwhelming your protective stomach lining. Thats a situation that can only get worse if it isnt managed. Lifestyle changes may help, but youll still need to treat the underlying cause. Its probably either NSAID use or a common bacterial infection. Your healthcare provider can help prescribe the right medicines for your condition.

Medication To Prevent Ulcers

Various medications can lower the risk of getting a peptic ulcer. These include, in particular, drugs called proton pump inhibitors and H2 blockers. Both of these types of drugs reduce the production of stomach acid. In Germany, the most commonly used PPIs are omeprazole and pantoprazole. The H2 blocker that is normally used is ranitidine.

The hormone-like drug misoprostol is sometimes used too, although less often. One of the things misoprostol does is increase the production of gastric mucus, which helps protect the stomach wall. In Germany, misoprostol is available as a combination drug together with the painkiller diclofenac.

Read Also: Compression Therapy For Venous Leg Ulcers

What Are The Possible Complications Of Peptic Ulcer Disease

An ulcer left untreated may cause serious complications, including:

  • Internal bleeding: While most people with ulcers wont have bleeding, this is the most common complication that can occur. A slow bleeding ulcer can cause anemia or even severe blood loss.
  • Perforation: An ulcer that is continuously eroded by acid can eventually become a hole in the stomach or intestinal wall. This is intensely painful and also dangerous. It allows bacteria from the digestive tract to enter the abdominal cavity, which can lead to an infection of the abdominal cavity called peritonitis. From there, the infection is at risk of spreading to the rest of the body . This can lead to a life-threatening condition called .
  • Obstruction: An ulcer in the pyloric channel, the narrow passageway that leads from the stomach into the duodenum, can become an obstruction that blocks the flow of food into the small intestine. This can happen after the ulcer has healed. Ulcers that have gone through a healing process may build up scar tissue that enlarges them. An ulcer that is big enough to obstruct the small intestine can stall the digestive process, with numerous side effects.
  • Stomach cancer: Some gastric ulcers can become malignant over time. This is more likely when your ulcer is caused by H. pylori infection. H. pylori is a contributing cause of gastric cancer, though fortunately this is uncommon.

How Is A Stomach Ulcer Treated

ORALMEDIC, Fast Pain Relief Mouth Ulcer Treatment (Comes with Cotton ...

Treatment for stomach ulcers usually involves a combination of medications which reduce acid secretion, protect the mucosa, and kill H. pylori bacteria .

This allows ulcers to heal and reduces the chance of them will come back. All medications should be taken exactly as prescribed.

Examples of medications that may be considered to treat stomach ulcers include:

  • Antibiotics to kill H. pylori
  • H2 receptor blockers that reduce stomach acid production
  • Proton pump inhibitors to block stomach acid production
  • Protectants that coat the ulcer and protect it against acid and enzymes, enhancing healing
  • Bismuth .

Rarely, surgery may be needed.

If NSAIDs have caused your stomach ulcer, your doctor may advise you to stop taking them, reduce their dosage, or switch to an alternative medicine. Follow his/her advice. Talk to your doctor before taking antacids as these may reduce the absorption of some other medications.

Read Also: When Does Ulcerative Colitis Start

What Does A Stomach Ulcer Feel Like

The classic symptoms of peptic ulcers are stomach pain and indigestion. Ulcer pain feels like burning or gnawing inside your stomach, which is between your breastbone and your belly button. It may improve temporarily when you eat or drink or when you take an antacid, medication to reduce stomach acid. It may feel worse between meals and at night when stomach acid builds up without food to digest. It may also make you feel like you dont want to eat.

How do I know if I have an ulcer or gastritis?

Gastritis and gastric ulcers share many symptoms and often go hand in hand. Gastritis can be a precursor to stomach ulcers, caused by the same conditions that will eventually cause ulcers, including H. pylori infection and mucous erosion. You may also have both.

Both gastritis and stomach ulcers can cause stomach pain, as well as symptoms of indigestion. Usually, the pain from an ulcer will feel more localized like its coming from one particular spot. But since some ulcers are silent, you might not feel it if you do have one.

If you have symptoms of either gastritis or stomach ulcer, you should seek medical care. Gastritis can lead to ulcers if it hasnt already. It can also indicate an infection or other condition that needs to be treated. Medical testing can quickly determine the causes of your stomach pain.

How can I tell if I have ulcer pain or heartburn?

What To Eat If You Have A Stomach Ulcer

Since H. pylori bacteria is now known to be an important cause of ulcer formation, scientists are exploring what foods may have a role in fighting against an infection.

In addition to taking the antibiotics and acid-blocking medications recommended by your doctor for your ulcer treatment, eating these foods may also be helpful against the ulcer-causing bacteria:

  • cauliflower

for ulcer treatment. These foods, such as miso, sauerkraut, and kimchi, may prevent reinfection.

Turmeric is currently being studied as a potential treatment for ulcers as well.

Garlic, decaffeinated green tea, and licorice round out the list of things you might want to incorporate in your diet.

Don’t Miss: Foods To Eat With Peptic Ulcer Disease

How To Treat A Bleeding Ulcer

This article was co-authored by Dale Prokupek, MD. Dale Prokupek, MD is a board-certified Internist and Gastroenterologist who runs a private practice based in Los Angeles, California. Dr. Prokupek is also a staff physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and an associate clinical professor of medicine at the Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles . Dr. Prokupek has over 30 years of medical experience and specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the liver, stomach, and colon, including chronic hepatitis C, colon cancer, hemorrhoids, anal condyloma, and digestive diseases related to chronic immune deficiency. He holds a BS in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin Madison and an MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He completed an internal medicine residency at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine.There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. In this case, 100% of readers who voted found the article helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 407,516 times.

Bismuth: Cures Cramping In The Stomach Due To Diarrhoea

Peptic Ulcer Disease: Causes and Medications â Pharmacology | Lecturio Nursing
  • Brand name Kaopectate, Peptobismol
  • Composition Bismuth subsalicylate
  • Popularity level 7
  • Bismuth is an antidiarrhoeal drug that acts by decreasing PG synthesis in the intestinal mucosa due to which chloride secretion and loss of water from the intestines deceases.
  • Dosage It is taken as a suspension, 60 ml in every 6 hours.
  • Price Kaopectate costs $14.00 per pill or unit.

You May Like: How Do You Know If You Have Ulcerative Colitis

What If A Peptic Ulcer Doesnt Heal

Most often, medicines heal a peptic ulcer. If an H. pylori infection caused your peptic ulcer, you should finish all of your antibiotics and take any other medicines your doctor prescribes. The infection and peptic ulcer will heal only if you take all medicines as your doctor prescribes.

When you have finished your medicines, your doctor may do another breath or stool test in 4 weeks or more to be sure the H. pylori infection is gone. Sometimes, H. pylori bacteria are still present, even after you have taken all the medicines correctly. If the infection is still present, your peptic ulcer could return or, rarely, stomach cancer could develop. Your doctor will prescribe different antibiotics to get rid of the infection and cure your peptic ulcer.

What About Complicated Ulcers

While most ulcers are successfully treated with medication, some complicated ulcers may require surgery. Ulcers that are bleeding, or that have perforated your stomach or intestinal wall, will need to be surgically repaired. An ulcer that is malignant, or obstructing a passageway, will need to be surgically removed. In severe cases, an ulcer that keeps coming back may be treated by surgery to cut off some of the nerve supply to the stomach that produces stomach acid.

Don’t Miss: How Can You Cure An Ulcer

How Do Nsaids Cause A Peptic Ulcer

To understand how NSAIDs cause peptic ulcer disease, it is important to understand how NSAIDs work. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs reduce pain, fever, and inflammation, or swelling.

Everyone has two enzymes that produce chemicals in your bodys cells that promote pain, inflammation, and fever. NSAIDs work by blocking or reducing the amount of these enzymes that your body makes. However, one of the enzymes also produces another type of chemical that protects the stomach lining from stomach acid and helps control bleeding. When NSAIDs block or reduce the amount of this enzyme in your body, they also increase your chance of developing a peptic ulcer.

What Should I Know About Storage And Disposal Of This Medication

TREATMENT OF PEPTIC ULCER

Keep this medication in the container it came in, tightly closed, and out of reach of children. Store it at room temperature and away from excess heat and moisture . Do not freeze sucralfate liquid.

Unneeded medications should be disposed of in special ways to ensure that pets, children, and other people cannot consume them. However, you should not flush this medication down the toilet. Instead, the best way to dispose of your medication is through a medicine take-back program. Talk to your pharmacist or contact your local garbage/recycling department to learn about take-back programs in your community. See the FDAs Safe Disposal of Medicines website for more information if you do not have access to a take-back program.

It is important to keep all medication out of sight and reach of children as many containers are not child-resistant and young children can open them easily. To protect young children from poisoning, always lock safety caps and immediately place the medication in a safe location â one that is up and away and out of their sight and reach.

Don’t Miss: Best Food For Peptic Ulcer

Proton Pump Inhibitors Lower The Risk Of Peptic Ulcers

The proton pump inhibitors used in the studies were lansoprazole , omeprazole and pantoprazole . The studies lasted up to six months. They showed that, compared to a placebo, all of these proton pump inhibitors clearly lowered the risk of getting peptic ulcers:

  • Without a proton pump inhibitor, 36 out of 100 people developed an ulcer.
  • With a proton pump inhibitor, 14 out of 100 people developed a peptic ulcer.

In other words: Proton pump inhibitors prevented the development of NSAID-related peptic ulcers in 22 out of 100 people.

Proton pump inhibitors may cause headaches, diarrhea, constipation and stomach pain. Only a few people in the studies stopped their treatment early due to side effects.

But its not clear whether the long-term use of proton pump inhibitors is safe. It has been observed that hip fractures, spinal fractures and wrist fractures are more common in people over the age of 50 who have taken PPIs in a high dose or for longer than a year.

It is also thought that the long-term use of PPIs might increase the risk of intestinal infections and pulmonary infections or nephritis .

Read Also: Ulcerative Colitis And Lactose Intolerance

What To Expect From Your Doctor

Your doctor is likely to ask you a number of questions. Being ready to answer them may reserve time to go over points you want to cover. Your doctor may ask:

  • When did you first begin experiencing symptoms?
  • Have your symptoms been continuous or intermittent?
  • How severe are your symptoms?
  • Are your symptoms worse when youre hungry?
  • What, if anything, have you been taking to relieve your symptoms?
  • Does anything seem to improve your symptoms?
  • What, if anything, appears to worsen your symptoms?
  • Do you take pain relievers or aspirin? If yes, how often?
  • Do you feel nauseated or have you been vomiting?
  • Have you ever vomited blood or black material?
  • Have you noticed blood in your stool or black stools?

You May Like: Ulcerated Nodular Basal Cell Carcinoma

Ulcer Medication Over The Counter

Many non-prescription medications are available that help relieve pain and quicken the healing process. This article discusses various over-the-counter peptic ulcer and mouth ulcer medications.

Many non-prescription medications are available that help relieve pain and quicken the healing process. This article discusses various over-the-counter peptic ulcer and mouth ulcer medications.

Peptic ulcers are open sores which occur on the lining of stomach, esophagus, or duodenum. Many people believe that peptic ulcers are caused by spicy food or stress. However, peptic ulcers are caused due to a specific type of bacteria called Helicobacter pylori. Stress and spicy foods can worsen peptic ulcer, though. NSAIDs, which are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines, like ibuprofen can also cause peptic ulcers.

If you are experiencing symptoms like abdominal pain with a burning sensation, pain after few hours of eating, pain becoming worse on an empty stomach, heartburn, belching, nausea, indigestion, vomiting, weight loss, or poor appetite, then these all point to peptic ulcer. To treat peptic ulcers, the doctor will prescribe you certain ulcer medications. Over-the-counter drugs and many lifestyle changes will also be advised.

Dont Miss: Does Ulcer Pain Come And Go

Complications Of Peptic Ulcers

Oxetacaine – A medicine used for gastric ulcer pain| Hindi & English

Left untreated, peptic ulcers can result in severe complications and emergencies.

  • Internal bleeding You can have bleeding in your stomach, esophagus, or duodenum when the ulcer opens a blood vessel. Ulcers can cause bleeding that occurs slowly over time or quickly, possibly resulting in hemorrhaging that can be life-threatening due to shock. Sometimes you may not notice a bleeding ulcer until you become anemic, a condition in which your body lacks red blood cells because of inadequate iron. This occurs when ulcers cause chronic, low-grade blood loss.
  • A hole, or perforation, in the stomach wall You can develop a perforated ulcer, which means it has eaten through your stomach or intestinal wall.
  • Obstruction This is when you have swelling or scarring related to your ulcer that is preventing your food from being digested properly.

The signs that you are having an ulcer emergency are:

  • Blood in stool
  • Blood in vomit or vomit that looks like coffee grounds
  • Increasing pain
  • Mental confusion
  • Severe abdominal distension

If you think you or someone you know is having an ulcer emergency, seek immediate medical attention.

Read Also: Skin Graft Diabetic Foot Ulcer

How Are Peptic Ulcers Treated

Most H. pylori-related ulcers can be cured. Treatment involves taking two kinds of antibiotics for 2 weeks and an acid suppressor for 2 months or longer. The ulcer may take 8 weeks to heal, but the pain usually goes away after a few days or a week.

A child with an H. pylori-related ulcer should take all the antibiotics as directed by the doctor. Even if the symptoms stop, the infection may not be gone until your child takes all the medicine. Also, be sure to give your child the prescribed acid-reducing medicine.

To be sure the treatment worked, doctors may order a stool test to see if the H. pylori bacteria are gone. If symptoms last or get worse, doctors might do a follow-up endoscopy in 6 to 12 months to check for H. pylori.

Ulcers from NSAID use rarely need surgery and usually get better with an acid suppressor and stopping or changing the NSAID. Because bacteria are not involved, antibiotics cant treat this type of ulcer. Kids who get a medicine-related ulcer should avoid NSAIDs and any medicines that contain ibuprofen or aspirin.

Unless a particular food is bothersome, most doctors dont recommend diet changes for kids with ulcers. A good diet with a variety of foods is essential to all kids growth and development.

If your stomach ulcers caused by a Helicobacter pylori bacterial infection, youll be given:

  • a course of antibiotics
  • a medication called a proton pump inhibitor

If Your Ulcer Was Caused By Helicobacter Pylori

Most stomach ulcers are caused by infection with H. pylori. Therefore, a main part of the treatment is to clear this infection. If this infection is not cleared, the ulcer is likely to return once you stop taking acid-suppressing medication. For more information, see the separate leaflet called Helicobacter Pylori.

Dont Miss: How To Treat An Ulcer After Gastric Bypass

Don’t Miss: Signs And Symptoms Of Ulcerative Colitis Flare Up

More articles

Popular Articles