Common knowledge about gastric ulcer

Ulcer is a very common disease, but the cause has not been fully elucidated. It is the combined result of one or more harmful factors that damage the gastric mucosa beyond the ability of the mucosa to resist damage and repair. The condition is more serious than gastritis and usually cannot be cured by dietary adjustment. Clinical studies have shown that gastric ulcer disease may cause serious diseases such as gastric bleeding, perforation, pyloric obstruction, and the possibility of cancer. Therefore, everyone must pay attention to gastric ulcer disease and treat it in time.

Basic knowledge of gastric ulcer Basic symptoms of gastric ulcer The basic symptoms of gastric ulcer are pain, specifically pain under the xiphoid process. This pain will be most obvious about 1 hour after a meal, and the pain will last for 1 to 2 hours before being relieved to a certain extent. In addition to pain under the xiphoid process, gastric ulcer patients will also have symptoms such as acid reflux, belching, nausea and vomiting. Some gastric ulcer patients may also experience symptoms such as vomiting blood and black stools, which seriously affect their quality of life. In addition, some gastric ulcer patients have nutritional disorders, which are often manifested as anemia and weight loss. It can be seen that gastric ulcer disease can seriously endanger the health of patients.

The harm of gastric ulcer Gastric ulcer will not only cause the above-mentioned discomfort symptoms in the body, but also cause a variety of serious complications as the disease continues to develop, endangering the patient's life safety.

The first is ulcer bleeding, which is also one of the most common complications of gastric ulcer disease. Clinical manifestations such as vomiting blood and black stools depend on the bleeding site, speed and amount of bleeding. Fast bleeding speed and large amount of bleeding will manifest as vomiting blood, while small amount of bleeding will manifest as black stools. Patients with very severe bleeding will suffer from hemorrhagic shock, threatening their life safety. Usually, patients with mild bleeding can be cured by endoscopic or interventional embolization treatment; patients with very severe bleeding need surgical treatment.

The second is ulcer perforation. If gastric ulcer lesions continue to accumulate until the entire layer of the stomach is affected by the disease, gastric perforation will occur. Gastric perforation will cause gastric juice to enter the abdominal cavity directly. Because gastric juice is very acidic, it will cause severe abdominal pain, gradually involving the entire abdomen, and the patient's stomach will become as hard as a stone. At this time, emergency surgery must be performed to repair the gastric perforation and flush the abdominal cavity in time.

The second is output tract obstruction, which is mostly caused by pyloric ulcer. Functional output tract obstruction can be effectively treated with conventional medical treatment methods; for organic output tract obstruction, endoscopic dilation or surgical treatment is required.

Finally, ulcers can become malignant. If gastric ulcers are not treated in time, or if treatment is not effective, the condition will recur, which may lead to malignant changes in ulcers and turn into gastric cancer. At this time, surgery is needed to treat the disease.

Pathogenesis of gastric ulcer

There are many factors that lead to gastric ulcers, among which Helicobacter pylori infection is the most common factor. Helicobacter pylori can survive in gastric acid and damage the gastric mucosa, gradually causing gastritis and gastric ulcers. In severe cases, it can lead to gastric cancer, threatening the patient's life safety.

In addition, bad living habits, such as smoking and drinking, are factors that lead to gastric ulcers. In the process of long-term smoking and drinking, the gastric mucosa is constantly damaged, and over time it will cause gastric ulcers. Bad eating habits can also cause gastric ulcers, mainly because irritating foods can cause damage to the gastric mucosa and eventually cause the disease.

Long-term use of drugs that harm the gastric mucosa can also cause gastric ulcers, such as aspirin, ibuprofen and other drugs, so everyone must follow the doctor's advice and take the medicine on their own to avoid damage to the gastric mucosa.

Treatment of gastric ulcers: Eliminating the cause. In the clinical treatment of gastric ulcers, the most important thing is to eliminate the cause. If it is caused by drugs such as aspirin and ibuprofen, the drug must be stopped immediately; if it is caused by Helicobacter pylori, Helicobacter pylori must be eradicated. Therefore, in the clinical treatment of gastric ulcers, the factors that cause the disease must be identified first, and then clinical treatment can be carried out based on this.

Abnormal gastric acid secretion will have adverse effects on the gastric mucosa, which will be corroded by gastric acid and continuously damaged, thus aggravating gastric ulcer disease. Therefore, effective measures must be taken to inhibit gastric acid secretion. This requires the use of acid-suppressing drugs, commonly used drugs include omeprazole, rabeprazole, etc. Usually, patients need to take it continuously for 1 to 2 months, and if the condition is more serious, it will take longer.

In the clinical treatment of gastric ulcer, gastric mucosal protective agents must be used to prevent gastric acid, diet and other factors from further damaging the gastric mucosa. Common drugs include potassium citrate bismuth, etc. After these drugs enter the human body, they form a protective film on the surface of the gastric mucosa, thereby gradually curing the disease.

For the treatment of Hp infection, all Hp-positive patients should receive anti-Hp treatment. The current consensus in my country recommends the bismuth quadruple therapy, which is two antibiotics + a PPI + a bismuth agent. If conditions permit, bacterial resistance monitoring can be carried out first and precise treatment can be given.

Precautions for treating gastric ulcers: Since gastric ulcers are affected by a variety of factors, more attention should be paid in daily life while carrying out clinical treatment.

First of all, patients with gastric ulcers must insist on taking medication during clinical treatment. The course of gastric ulcer disease is relatively long, so long-term medication is required. However, some patients think that they do not need to take medication anymore after their symptoms have improved slightly, so they stop taking medication without authorization. This will not only fail to cure the disease, but may also aggravate the disease.

Secondly, we should maintain good living habits. (1) We should maintain healthy eating habits, stick to a light diet, and avoid eating raw, cold, spicy and other irritating foods. (2) We should maintain a regular lifestyle, go to bed early and get up early, and avoid staying up late to allow the body to get enough rest. (3) We should pay attention to physical exercise, and continuously improve physical fitness through methods such as taking a walk after meals. (4) When receiving clinical treatment for gastric ulcer disease, we should relax and not be too nervous or anxious. When the patient is nervous or very irritable, it may cause autonomic nervous dysfunction, thus affecting the treatment of gastric ulcer disease.