Couple today’s stress filled, fast-paced world with people’s obsession for diets, and it is not surprising that up to 20 million Americans will develop an ulcer at some point in their lives. People nowadays sometimes prefer, and often must work during their lunch and dinner times. Diet obsession, especially with young people, has led to a number of problems. Too many act on inaccurate, or fad diet information with some skipping many meals altogether.
Every year, 4 million Americans will develop health problems in their gastro-intestinal tracts. Out of this number approximately 6000 will die. These deaths will be the result of not only the ulcer itself, but also from complications of ulcer. Another 40,000 will undergo surgery, with many living restricted lives due to persistent symptoms.
Peptic ulcer is the presence of a hole in the gastro-intestinal lining of the stomach. It is the purpose of this lining to protect the stomach walls from gastric juices during the digestion process. Should this hole become infected, or even bleed, it may result in an internal hemorrhage that could lead to anemia.
Symptoms
It spite of it's prevalence in this country, it can be quite difficult to detect this problem. Ulcer symptoms are not always clear-cut, or occur at regular time intervals. In addition, signs of ulcer will vary from one person to another. What one person experiences may differ completely from the symptoms that another will experience.
The peptic ulcer can be easily confused with other health problems that manifest the same type of symptoms. In fact, peptic ulcer is frequently confused with other abdominal conditions such as dyspepsia. This confusion is perhaps a large reason why doctors are cautious when making an ulcer diagnosis. A number of tests are required for an accurate diagnosis.
A primary, and common symptom of ulcer is a burning sensation in the stomach that can be quite uncomfortable. This type of symptom may also manifest itself as a gnawing ache in the abdominal area that recurs every now and then. To others, this symptom may show up as a sharp pain in the breastbone, or the back. The pain may be of short duration, or last a couple of hours. There is no specific time pattern as the attacks will come and go, sometimes with weeks in between.
These attacks usually cause a reduction in appetite that can result in a significant loss of weight. Many people, during these attacks, may feel nauseous and bloated after eating and may even vomit.
Those who suffer from internal bleeding as a result of ulcer may have bowels that are colored black. This blackened stool color gets this way with the addition of blood.
Diagnosis
An accurate diagnosis of ulcer will involve a long process to eliminate other similiar appearing problems. Peptic ulcer symptoms are similar to some other gastro-intestinal problems. Also, the ulcer problem may have developed as a complication of some another problem.
One of the first things your gastrointerologist will do is to look at an xray of your gastro-interstinal tract. This xray will reveal any hole in the stomach caused by ulcer. Blood tests will be taken to check for the presence of the H. pylori bacteria.
These blood tests also reveal the red blood cell level in the body. A low blood count, or anemia may be a result of internal bleeding. A stool sample will also be taken to check for the presence of blood.
In an effort to reach an accurate diagnosis, and to reduce any chance of serious trouble in the future, this testing is necessary for anyone who experiences any ulcer symptoms.
Copyright ©2007 Carl DiNello