How long do peptic ulcers last

Your doctor may also have suggestions for things you can do at home to relieve discomfort from your ulcer. Consider talking to your doctor about these natural and home remedies for ulcers. If you think you have a stomach ulcer, call your doctor. Together you can discuss your symptoms and treatment options.

Symptoms of these complications can include those listed below. If you have any of these symptoms, be sure to call you doctor right away:.

To prevent the spread of bacteria that might cause a stomach ulcer, wash your hands with soap and water on a regular basis. Also, be sure to properly clean all of your food and to cook it thoroughly as needed. If you need to take NSAIDs, be sure to follow the recommended dosage and avoid alcohol while taking these medications. And always take these medications with food and adequate liquids.

Read the article in Spanish. Gastric and duodenal ulcers are both types of peptic ulcers. These ulcers can cause different symptoms, depending on where they are. A peptic ulcer on….

Weakness in your stomach lining allows digestive juices to damage and inflame it, causing gastritis. Learn more about causes, diagnosis, and treatment. Learn about risk factors, complications, and…. But certain foods may help fight the cause of your stomach ulcer. Stomach ulcers are open sores in the lining of the stomach. They are often extremely painful. Read on to learn about easy stomach ulcer home remedies…. While there are other causes of peptic ulcers, they are rare.

Certain tests, such as stool or breath tests, or biopsies taken when the ulcer is diagnosed, can help your health care provider find out if you have H. If you do, you must take antibiotic medications. To get rid of the infection completely, you must take the full course of antibiotics — usually for 10 to 14 days.

NSAIDs can irritate or inflame the lining of your stomach and small intestine, leading to a peptic ulcer. Taking other medications along with NSAIDs, including steroids, anticoagulants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, can affect ulcer healing or make the complications of ulcers such as bleeding worse. If your doctor suspects medication may be to blame for your ulcer, he or she may recommend you switch to an alternative medication that is less likely to irritate your stomach and intestine lining.

At present there is no good evidence that widespread antibiotic therapy to eradicate helicobacter pylori in the population will prevent ulcer disease. This is the subject on ongoing debate by specialists and may change in the future. Careful use of aspirin and other NSAIDs, as well as avoidance by people at high risk of complications, is also recommended.

Stopping smoking may also reduce the chances of developing and ulcer. Peptic ulcers are usually chronic and may come and go over a period of many years, even without treatment.

The most common symptoms are:. In a few patients, an ulcer may be silent until it erodes completely through the gut wall causing perforation, or erodes into a blood vessel causing bleeding.

These complications are serious and usually present as an emergency. In most cases the diagnosis is made by endoscopy, at which time the ulcer is usually seen and can be biopsied if it appears suspicious for malignancy. Biopsies of the stomach can also be taken to look for the presence of HP organisms.

A further advantage of endoscopy is that treatment can be carried out at the same time if the ulcer is bleeding. The majority of ulcers can also be diagnosed by careful barium meal examination and this is an alternative for patients who cannot or do not wish to have endoscopy. Because of the ability to take biopsies and perform endoscopic treatment, endoscopy is the preferred method of investigation. Although biopsies of the stomach are the "gold standard" for diagnosing HP infection, it is possible to diagnose the infection by using a simple breath test.

A number of blood tests for the infection are also available but these are less accurate. Routine blood tests are usually normal in patients with ulcers apart from those where bleeding has resulted in anemia.

Treatment of a helicobacter pylori infection is now recognized as the most important aspect of treatment. All ulcer patients who are infected with bacteria should be offered antibiotic therapy. Usually this requires a combination of drugs for which many different combinations are available. Usually an acid-suppressing drug is necessary to relieve symptoms and induce ulcer healing, but also to boost the effects of the antibiotics. A family history of stomach cancer. Other symptoms that may point to a more serious problem, such as stomach cancer.

These include: Blood in the stool. Difficulty swallowing dysphagia. Abdominal mass. This test may be done to detect blood in the stool, which may be caused by a peptic ulcer or another serious problem, such as colon cancer.

By itself, an FOBT cannot diagnose peptic ulcer disease, but it may show if an ulcer is bleeding. Complete blood count CBC. This blood test may be done to look for anemia, which may be caused by a bleeding ulcer. Upper GI series. This X-ray exam of the esophagus and stomach may be used to diagnose peptic ulcer disease, although this test is being used less frequently. Treatment Overview Left untreated, many ulcers eventually heal. Most of the time, treatment means taking medicines—such as H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors PPIs —and making lifestyle changes, including: Not taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs , if possible.

Quitting smoking. Not drinking too much alcohol no more than 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women. Treatment if ulcers get worse If you have serious complications from a peptic ulcer, such as bleeding or obstruction, you may need an endoscopy , even if you have already had one. Prevention You can greatly reduce the chance that you will get a peptic ulcer if you: Don't smoke.

Smokers are much more likely than nonsmokers to get ulcers. For ways to quit smoking, see the topic Quitting Smoking. Avoid taking aspirin, ibuprofen, and other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs for longer than a few days at a time.

If you are taking one of these medicines daily, for example taking aspirin for heart problems, ask your doctor about taking medicine to help protect your stomach and intestines from ulcers. Drink alcohol only in moderation. Limit alcohol to 2 drinks a day for men and 1 drink a day for women.

Home Treatment Many people who have mild ulcer symptoms first try home treatment for a short time without seeing a doctor. Try these home treatment steps to stop symptoms and help an ulcer heal: Stop smoking. Try nonprescription medicines that reduce stomach acid. Make sure you tell your doctor about any medicines you are taking. Make changes to your diet, such as eating smaller, more frequent meals. These changes may improve your symptoms, but they won't help your ulcer heal.

Drink alcohol only in moderation, or not at all. Drinking too much alcohol may make an ulcer heal more slowly and may make your symptoms worse. Medications Medicines are used to: Treat peptic ulcers by reducing the amount of acid produced by the stomach.

Kill Helicobacter pylori H. Protect the lining of the stomach and upper small intestine from injury caused by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs.

Medicine choices Medicines to reduce stomach acid Medicines that reduce the amount of acid produced by the stomach are used to treat all forms of peptic ulcer disease.

Antacids such as Tums Acid reducers H2 blockers such as Pepcid. Some H2 blockers are available without a prescription. Proton pump inhibitors PPIs such as Prilosec. Some PPIs are available without a prescription. Medicines to kill H. Medicines to protect the stomach Medicines used to protect the stomach from damage caused by frequent use of aspirin or other NSAIDs include: Acid reducers. These include: H2 blockers such as Tagamet.

Prostaglandin analogs such as Cytotec. Surgery Surgery is rare, but it is needed sometimes to treat: Ulcers that don't heal intractable peptic ulcers. Life-threatening complications of an ulcer , such as severe bleeding, perforation, or obstruction. If surgery is suggested, you may want to: Seek a second opinion and ask whether all medicine treatment options have been tried. Compare the cost of long-term medicine treatment to the one-time cost of surgery.

Remember that no surgery can completely prevent ulcers from returning. Find a surgeon who has a lot of experience with surgery for ulcers. Surgery choices When surgery is done, it usually involves one or more of the following: Cutting one or more of the nerves to the stomach vagotomy. Widening the opening of the bottom of the stomach pyloroplasty. Removing part of the stomach partial gastrectomy. Long-term proton pump inhibitor therapy and risk of hip fracture.

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